Gilbert Sun News; September 2015: Opinion

Sound Off: WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

SOUND OFF was transcribed from our Sound Off line during the past month. Sound Off is

monthly editorial feature of Gilbert Sun News. We encourage you

As long as it's not profane or libelous we will print

Please

So the Donald thinks he knows everything and he talks with a split tongue. But how many other billionaires do you know? Really? And you don’t trust them? Well, listen to them anyway.

Well, another haboob is supposed to be on the way. Too bad. Is Grandma the only one who still remembers when the Gila River tribal areas were green with cotton and grain, until civilization decided they do not need all that water they’ve used for 1,000 years? They thought it should be a nice, pretty desert to drive through between Phoenix and Tucson. What happened to all the people who understood what damage was done to this country in the name of so-called civilization like the eastern states had? It’s sickening when you see what has been done to this area.

After 20 or more Obamagates, I’m reminded that George Washington could not tell a lie. Barack Obama could not tell the truth.

Poor Wickenburg being flooded again with many other neighborhoods. So many people come to Arizona to develop it and they know nothing of the topography, let alone the weather. Arizona is at the mercy of all the other people from other places who think they’re going to improve the great, vast desert. Too bad suckers, just build again in another wash area.

Have you noticed yet that there are a million people or more who are only a little bit better off than the refugees in Syria and other countries around the world? What are you doing to help your brothers?

When something happens in politics you don’t like, it is unconstitutional. If you find a picture of the Supreme Court building, the façade says, “Equal protection under the law.” That is for everyone. Laws the Supreme Court interpret are

based on the Constitution. Just because you don’t like or are afraid of gays, that is no reason to show your ignorance. Every president has done something someone doesn’t like. I wonder if the rhetoric will be as bad for the next Democratic president.

A request from the 2016 voters: Will the elected representatives please stand up and the rest of you seventh-grade argumentative crybabies just shut up?

How do you handle a 3-year-old temper tantrum? Oh interesting, the same way you handle people like Donald Trump—ignore them.

Thank you PBS world news for actually showing us world news that’s worthwhile and not just a repetitive pictures of one man—a generally ignorant jerk—still being a popular jerk.

Are there any Roosevelts left in politics anymore in the country? What this country really needs is another Teddy or Franklin. Come out, come out wherever you are!

Gee if stupid hiker laws are just too much to confuse the legislators, how about signs that say no hiking during temperatures over 98 degrees? No hiking between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.? It’s hard to believe some people are that ignorant of common sense—in the public and the Legislature.

At times, I think Sound Off should be renamed Comedy Central.

Obama’s National Security Adviser Susan Rice has admitted there are secret portions of the deal with Iran. Obama is setting America up for destruction by Iran.

Oh dear, the teenage groupies are out again, crying for sympathy for the menopausal grandmas. What country this has

become when ignorant and indiscretion is more important news than anything on TV.

It’s obvious the animal revolt movie is more about people reverting to the kill or be killed psychology of today’s new world attitude. Pay attention to the movies. Sometimes they get it right.

The initials U.S.A. now stand for “understanding attrition.” Get it? U.S.A.? The new nation is training citizens to be ignorant. If someone doesn’t like horses in their area, just kill them. If they see too many children in their neighborhood, get rid of them, too.

America is feeding the world in the world food bank and Mr. Putin is burning the surplus in Russia because it came from America. Who do you think is the nuttiest one in the world? Certainly not Washington, when we have Russians starving their own and they think Putin is a good leader. Oh boy. It’s getting sicker all the time. Too bad.

With primaries fixing to start up soon, I would just like to urge everyone, regardless of party affiliation or viewpoints, remember to take the time and get out there and vote. Make it a priority. Too many times I come across people who refuse to vote and some have never voted in their life, yet they are always the first to criticize when someone they can’t stand gets in. Sorry, but if you don’t vote, shut up. You lost your right to an opinion on the matter. Take care and God bless and go vote.

Reasonable people would not object to using some public resources to preserve history. However, reasonable people would expect that all such public funds be

used effectively and efficiently. In the case of one Arizona state agency, that is not happening. The Arizona Historical Society is a state agency that receives a cash allocation of over $3 million every year. That, however, is only a portion of the annual cost to taxpayers, who also pay to maintain six state history museum buildings in Tucson, Tempe, Flagstaff and Yuma. Those costs are hidden because they are not included in the AHS budget. The building costs are buried in the budget for the Arizona Department of Administration which manages and maintains all state-owned buildings. The mortgage payment alone on the 80,000-square-foot Tempe facility is $1.3 million per year. Therefore, the annual cost of maintaining the half dozen AHS facilities is easily more than the $3 million in cash. So, what do taxpayers get in return for the $5 million to $10 million that the AHS consumes each year? Not much. Total attendance at all six history museums was less than 23,000 last year, and attendance has been declining rapidly for the past 10 years. Apparently, each museum visitor costs taxpayers hundreds of dollars. The AHS does archive documents as well as operate state history museums. However, that function is redundant to the mission of the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records. That state agency also operates a museum at the State Capitol. Therefore, taxpayers are supporting the overhead for two state agencies that do basically the same thing. The AHS, with approximately 40 employees, is a top-heavy organization with some sixfigure and near six-figure salaries. The director is paid more than the governor. The AHS museum in Tempe is especially wasteful. It has 10 state employees, a huge mortgage payment and received less than 3,400 visitors last year. That museum in particular has a history of incompetence and inefficiency. It has SEE SOUND OFF PAGE 51

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It’s always election season for county recorder

BY DENNY BARNEY, MARICOPA COUNTY SUPERVISOR, DISTRICT 1

You might wonder what an entire elections office does in the “off-season.”

There are four consolidated dates for jurisdictions to hold elections: March, May, August and November. This means, in fact, there is almost always an election! On top of the larger city and state elections, the department also manages special elections, such as library, fire, hospital and school districts and the presidential preference.

The department accommodates these workload swings by only having 55 permanent employees supplemented by 200 temporary employees. The temporary employees work for months preceding an election on early voting, voter registration and poll worker recruitment. Others assist in postelection processing and the statemandated hand-count process. On top of that, the department requires 3,846 special election poll workers and 118 troubleshooters at the peak of major elections. These individuals work to setup polling places, replace equipment and monitor polling activity so each voter’s experience is seamless. Elections need this dynamic workforce model to manage the more than 1.3 million ballots cast each statewide election.

When they aren’t administering our First Amendment right to vote, they are promoting it.

The department conducts outreach events several times a week across the 724 precincts countywide. These

include naturalization ceremonies, high school education events and other voter registration efforts. And they are very effective. The elections department registers nearly 10,000 new voters each year. Their good work doesn’t stop there; they also work to spread our democratic values to other countries.

Maricopa County has been asked to provide tours for visitors from France, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Russia, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These tours, organized through the World Affairs Council of Arizona, help develop best practices for transparent and fair elections around the globe. They do all this by being flexible and innovative.

place location. ePollbooks also reduce provisional ballots, ensures each voter only gets one vote and eliminates the need to turn every page of the paper poll books manually. That’s a big improvement. Their achievements have been recognized nationally.

received media ridicule with articles such as “The Museum that Couldn’t Think Straight” by Terry Greene Sterling in 1996. In addition to being wasteful, the AHS is a rather arrogant state agency. As public records show, it has never had a satisfactory performance review because it refuses to comply with state policies. State agencies are reviewed by the Office of the Arizona Auditor General. The auditor’s records show that deficiencies identified by past audits and reviews have never been corrected. Arizona deserves better. The AHS needs to be combined with another, better managed, state agency. It’s redundant management structure and most wasteful museums need to be eliminated. Taxpayers deserve better performance for the funding they provide to preserve Arizona history.— Dick Zimmerman

The elections department is also one of the most tech-savvy departments in government. For the past few decades they have made major advances in new technology. These have improved accountability to the public, accessibility to individuals with disabilities and convenience for everyone. In 2014, they introduced ePollbooks which replace paper registers and rosters at the polling place. Each electronic poll book contains all voters’ files. With a scan of the voter’s driver’s license or identification card, an individual’s registration record will appear. If the voter is at the wrong polling place, the poll book will print a receipt with the address of the correct polling

Since our elected county recorder, Helen Purcell, took office in 1988, her department has been the recipient of many awards and much praise. They have been recognized by The Smithsonian Collection, the National Association of Counties and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. These awards highlight their achievement in military and overseas voting, voting by mail and many more.

So, whether or not the next election “goes your way,” we can all celebrate this fundamental right. But take a moment and remember the individuals who ensure this right is convenient, accessible and fair.