August 14, 2022 | www.santansun.com
Relentlessly local coverage of Southern Chandler
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Hartke, Poston, Orlando, Encinas win
BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor
It’s unknown how much the push for a non-discrimination ordinance to protect Chandler’s LGBTQ+ community played in last week’s election, but the outcome likely assures that Chandler will adopt that ordinance in the near future. The candidates who won the election the five-way race for three City Council seats according to unofficial results – incumbent Matt Orlando and
newcomers Jane Poston and Angel Encinas – have all shown strong support for such measure. And while Mayor Kevin Hartke won a second term by a huge margin over challenger Ruth Jones, his opposition to a non-discrimination law will put him in a minority on the seven-member council as of January, when the winners take their seats. “I had a couple of people come up and tell me that’s why they voted for me, so I know that it’s a contributing factor,” Poston said. “We did hear about
the NDO, and most people were very understanding and positive about it.” The last time Council considered an NDO, it failed on a 5-to-2 vote, with Orlando and Councilman OD Harris backing it. Poston suggested the current council would adopt a non-discrimination ordinance since the five opponents can see where things are heading. “I would think that would be the best result possible,” she said. “There is value in having the Council move forward together in the right direction. It’s
a positive move for us as a community, and what’s more, it is something our businesses want.” Orlando in January will begin his sixth term on Council after capturing 27% of the vote, followed by Poston with 21% and Encinas with 20%. Candidates Darla Gonzalez got 18% and Shifa Farhana 14%. Hartke won by a 77-to-23% margin. “I feel honored that our Chandler voters have trusted me with another See
ELECTIONS on page 10
Cities bite big into public safety pension debt BY PAUL MARYNIAK Executive Editor
East Valley municipalities in the last fiscal year took advantage of unanticipated general fund revenue increases to make big additional payments on their debt to pensions earned by thousands of retired police officers and firefighters. But Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler and Scottsdale still have a long way to go before they erase their huge unfunded liabilities. Those five municipalities still owe a
total $1.4 billion for pensions covering 955 retired firefighters, 1,471 retired cops and hundreds more firefighters and officers who are covered by Arizona’s Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, records show. But that combined debt pales in comparison to the staggering $3.4 billion the City of Phoenix owes – which accounts for nearly half the $8.84 billion of the unfunded liability in the retirement system that existed at the close of the 2021-22 fiscal year on June 30. For the entire system, including
Chandler food banks see rising need, falling help BY KEN SAIN Managing Editor
Organizers say that even in the best of times, feeding those in need is a challenge. And these are not the best of times. Chandler’s leading food banks say demand is up, and donations are down. “Yeah, things have definitely increased,” said Mike Dippre, who is the operations director at Matthew’s Crossing Food Bank. “We just went to, we were once a month service before COVID. “We went to once a week service
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during COVID, and we just switched back to twice a month on July 1 just to try and control our quantities of food that we’re handing out.” Dippre said even with that restriction, they are averaging handing out groceries to about 110 families a day. And the number is going up. “And believe it or not, doing it every two weeks, we’ve given out more food this month than in prior months,” Dippre said. They’re not alone. “We are at about 54% increase in our See
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time,” he said, calling the government employers’ additional pay-downs “a huge move.” “I think also it speaks well to the staff that we’ve put in place and the changes we’ve made,” he added, referring to both his agency’s investment strategies and other internal moves as well as the vibrancy of Wall Street prior to its current woes. Although the final results of PSPRS’ investments for the 2021-22 fiscal year won’t be known for a few months, its
(David Minton/Staff Photographer)
F E AT U R E D STO R I E S CUSD students demand mental health effort. . . .News . . . . . . . . . . .Page 3
Chandler Museum rolls out new exhibit . . . . . . . . .GETOUT . . . . . . . Page 35 8/5/22 1:13 PM
PENSION on page 14
It’s probably no surprise that Jose Langarcia Jr, Andrea Nuno and Jose Langarcia figured a good way to spend a summer day was floating on the lazy river at Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center because Chandler is the nation’s best place for swimming pools, according to a national survey. You can read about why on page 20.
Hamilton athlete follows family legacy . . . . . . . . . .Sports . . . . . . . . Page 32
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Chandler home inventory grows, prices dip . . . . . .Business. . . . . . . Page 24
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county and state corrections officers’ retirement plans and the plan for judges and elected officials, that number was $10.9 billion. Still, the state Legislature – together with county, municipalities and fire districts – eliminated $2.85 billion of unfunded pension debt last fiscal year. “I think it’s great,” said PSPRS Administrator Mike Townsend, who has been in the job since November 2019. “This system has been underfunded for so long and those lingering unfunded liabilities just ended up costing taxpayers more and more money over
More Business . . . . . . . 24 Neighbors . . . . . 28 Sports . . . . . . . . . 32 Faith . . . . . . . . . . 34 GetOut. . . . . . . . 35 Directory . . . . . . 37