Why I Will NOT Vote for Becky Jackson

Becky Jackson will not get the Amazing Jake's vote for the following reasons:

1.  Her continuing involvement with the Chandler Chamber of Commerce presents a clear conflict of interest for a sitting City Councilmember.

2.  She avoids taking clear leadership positions.  See links here and here.

3.  Ms. Jackson is unresponsive to the public, which seems to be (at least for me) a deal breaker for a City Councilmember. 

1.  Ms. Jackson is the President and CEO of the Chandler Chamber of Commerce.  This is an important position with the mission of promoting Chandler business.  Ms. Jackson has made it clear in the press (I apologize, but I cannot find the link to the article, but it was in the past month or so.  If anyone can send me the link, I will update the post.) that she will NOT resign this position if she is elected to the city council.  This presents a clear conflict of interest.  Imagine that a member of the Chamber of Commerce has a conflict that is being discussed in Council.  Ms. Jackson would have to recuse herself, leaving the possibility of a 3-3 tie vote.  Given the matters that come before the Council, can anyone imagine this not happening frequently?  How effective of a Councilmember can she be if she must continually recuse herself?

2.  Ms. Jackson seems to be the Hillary Clinton of Chandler politics.  She seems to want to take the middle of the road position on all issues, or reveal as little as possible on her view of the issue. 

Ask yourself, "What does Becky Jackson stand for?"  Does this help?  Does it tell you what her priorities are? 

Read her responses to the Riggs Residents for Retail Diversity questionnaire that was sent out to all candidates.  Compare her answers to those of the other candidates.  Does she seem to be giving a full and complete answer on her views?

Regarding the Mark Pentz firing/resignation, Ms. Jackson had the following comment:

 Jackson, who has backing from three of the four Pentz detractors on the council, declined to weigh in on the public review and ouster, saying it should have been done in private.

"I wasn't the one making the decision; it's difficult to make further comment," said Jackson, president and chief executive officer for the Chandler Chamber of Commerce. "If I'm elected, I will make sure we select the best (city manager) candidate to serve the city of Chandler."

Asked whether she would try to lure Pentz back to the post, Jackson said, "Should Mark Pentz desire to reapply, I would accept his application with an open mind."

What matter of consequence has Becky Jackson stood up to be counted for?

3.  My comments on responsiveness are completely personal and anecdotal.  In my personal experience, Becky Jackson does not return calls or emails asking for an opinion (related to point #2?), both in her capacity as Candidate and her capacity as President/CEO of the Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to hosting this website, the Amazing Jake was a regular person with an actual name, address, and phone number.  And when the community struggle with the developer of the proposed Wal-Mart at Riggs and Arizona Avenue was raging, I attempted to contact Ms. Jackson at the the Chamber of Commerce, to determine if the Chamber had an opinion as to the viability of a Wal-Mart at that location, and the appropriateness of the location, given conflicts with the Chandler General Plan.  I left 3-4 phone messages and 3-4 emails.  Any guesses as to Ms. Jackson's response?

On April 11th, I sent emails to Becky Jackson, Trinity Donovan, and Jeff Weninger requesting their positions on the Mark Pentz issue with the City Council.  Trinity Donovan responded here, and Jeff Weninger responded here.  Because of my previous experience with Ms. Jackson, I wanted to make sure she received my email, so I sent them to both her campaign email address and her Chamber email address.  Ms. Jackson's response is here.

So, I won't be voting for Ms. Jackson.  I was already planning on voting for Jeff Weninger, so this means I'm officially throwing my support to Trinity Donovan as well.

Decision 2008 – Hillary Clinton

I was speaking with a friend on Friday about Hillary Clinton’s chances in 2008.  I said that I couldn’t wait for the Democrats to nominate her, citing last week’s Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll.  That poll gave a list of candidates and asked, among other things, which candidate would the respondent “definitely” vote for, and also asked which candidate would they “under no conditions” vote for.  Hillary led the pack in both categories.  It also helps that she loses in every head to head matchup against named Republicans.

When my friend asked why I was so against Hillary, I hesitated for a minute because it seemed so obvious.  I talked about her avoidance of taking stands so she could appeal to the middle, while taking money from the hard left causes.  I also talked about how polarizing she is, as evidenced by the aforementioned poll.

Now come this article in today’s Times Online:

HILLARY CLINTON would make an excellent president, according to Meg Hirschberg, whose husband runs a hugely successful organic yoghurt company in New Hampshire: “She’s amazing and brilliant and smart and lovely.”

So that’s a vote for Clinton in 2008, then? Not at all. Hirschberg is thinking of backing Mark Warner, the former governor of Virginia, a likable, low-key, moderate Democrat who won a traditionally Republican state and, by all accounts, ran it competently. At this stage, it is enough of a recommendation.

“I don’t know a thing about him and I don’t care,” Hirschberg said last week as Warner listened to her husband explaining the finer points of organic farming. “I just want somebody with decent values who can win. It’s nothing to do with Hillary personally. It’s irrational and unfair, but she is polarising.”

If Democrats recognize this fact, it will make a very interesting primary season.  Ultimately, they won’t be able to help themselves from nominating Hillary, but the primaries will ensure that Hillary takes firm positions that put her squarely in the leftist camp, and will ensure that she turns off middle-of-the-road Democratic voters.