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Mayor Pledges Continued Dedication; Run-Off to Determine Council Seat

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Incumbent Mayor Greg Mengarelli won an uncontested second term as mayor of Prescott during the primary election Aug. 27. Mengarelli received 10,093 votes – almost double the 5,048 needed for a majority. There were 377 write-in votes for mayor.

Speaking almost immediately after the election results were announced, Mengarelli said he felt privileged to have led the city for the past four years. “I appreciate all those who voted for me, and I pledge to dedicate my efforts to doing what is best for the benefit of the entire community in coming years.”

Mengarelli, 52, has been a Prescott resident since 1995. He earlier had served on the Prescott Unified School District School Board, but resigned to avoid conflicts with his elected city position. He and his wife, Sheila, have nine children and one grandchild.

 

City Council Positions Not All Filled

The race among four candidates for the three Prescott City Council positions did not conclude as clearly as that for the mayoral position. Four candidates were running for four-year terms. Three positions were open.

Newcomer Cathey Rusing received 11,677 votes. Incumbent Billie Orr received the second highest number of votes, with 8,442.

Both were elected.

The other candidates – incumbents Jim Lamerson and Steve Sischka – did not receive enough votes to be elected, so they will face off in a Nov. 5 run-off election.

Lamerson received 5,661 votes. Sischka had 7,715 votes.

Lamerson has been a council member for four prior terms. Sischka was completing his first term.

Data released by Lauren Custis, the Yavapai County Registrar of Voters, showed that slightly more than one half the eligible voters – 15,958 (52.37%) cast ballots in the city election. Registration numbers show that 30,469 people are eligible to vote. QCBN

By Ray Newton, QCBN

Making Decisions for Prescott’s Future

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Thirty-nine years ago, I was a young man on a mission. I had just left corporate life in Southern California and was itching to make a life on my own terms in God’s country. I knew that if I wasn’t relying on someone else to make me successful, I’d be just fine. In 1980, I brought my young family to Prescott and joined a one-year-old family business started in the tiny town of Chino Valley called Olsen’s Chino Valley Grain. I brought an extensive marketing and pet food sales background to the company as well as some hard-earned cash.

Today, Olsen’s For Healthy Animals is five stores strong in North Central Arizona and is poised for the future. Where am I going with this? You want to do business in an area that is poised for success. You’re not afraid to work hard for the sake of your family and you just want to know that your hard work will eventually pay off. That’s the initiative I’ve been working hard to achieve while on the Prescott City Council for the last four years.

City government can’t make you successful, only you can. The city can, however, provide a financially stable government and a vibrant economic development environment, hopefully resulting in superior economic opportunities for you. I prefer to look at renewal, rather than just raw growth, as the driver of our success in the future. We need to constantly be “renewed” as a city, taking great care to preserve our attractive resources like our iconic downtown and surrounding historic housing district, as well as our natural resources like our lakes, trails, and beautiful open spaces, while not standing still and getting stale.

In 1980, downtown was not nearly what it is today. There were several vacant store fronts, and it was not somewhere you’d take friends from out of town to hang out, unless you were going to a bar. Now, it’s incredibly vibrant, with many family friendly shops, a variety of restaurants and is truly Everybody’s Hometown.

How do we achieve a balance between being a desirable place to live and the need to remain who we are? Part of the answer is reasonable government, a government that understands that it can only facilitate a successful community, not cause it. That’s up to you. How do we deal with our popularity and, say, traffic? Well, many people who work in Prescott live in our surrounding communities and fill up our roads getting to and from work. They can’t afford to live here. Government can improve the flow of traffic on our roads, make our downtown more pedestrian and parking friendly, work with the private sector to achieve regional transportation, and encourage attainable housing… but we can’t keep people out. If it’s hot in the Valley, people will come. If people want to experience Prescott as Arizona’s Christmas City, they will come. If they want the Prescott outdoor experience, they will come. And, we need them to come. 45% of our sales/bed tax dollars for the City of Prescott come from tourists, and another 16% come from people outside of our community. That’s saving our citizens from having to pay the entire bill for police, fire, recreation services and the library.

What about water? In my personal life, I conserve water. I do it because it’s the right thing to do, right now. I’m for the proposed water policy because we can plan for the future rather than just reacting to the future. It quantifies our water and is a much more exact way to allocate our precious resource. Back in the early 1900s, people had a choice to make. For hundreds of years, the horse and buggy in various forms was the preferred mode of transportation. Does that mean it shouldn’t give way to something else, simply because it had provided reliable transportation for all that time? No, the automobile came to bring us and the rest of the world into the 20th century. Likewise, I feel that the new water policy of the city is much more nimble, realistic and will allow us to know exactly what we are using rather than guessing.

What about the Dells? If this City Council didn’t want to save the Dells, the issue would have been off the table and gone a long time ago. That didn’t happen because we all want to save the Dells. I ask, “Is the 500 or nothing, worth the nothing?” Some people like to think that Prescott is the developer’s only alternative. That’s just not true. Some folks think that the state parks will come save the Dells. If it can, and has the money, I’m all for it. For the record, I’m not for the 250 acres of open space in the heart of the Dells that the developer is currently offering. If that’s his best offer, I’ll vote not to annex. It must be worth it for Prescott. QCBN

By Steve Sischka

 

Steve Sischka is a Prescott councilman.

 

Paid for by Northern AZ Social, LLC.

Authorized and approved by Steve Sischka for City Council.

 

Exploring a Medicare-for-All System

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Sparked by Bernie Sanders’s “Medicare-for-All” introduction on the 2016 presidential campaign trail, the issue of free or nearly free health care continues to be discussed. What is Medicare-for-All (MfA) and how might it affect the quality, cost and delivery of health care?

A poll conducted since 1998 by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), reports that 56 percent of Americans surveyed favor “a national health plan, sometimes called ‘Medicare-for-All,’ where all Americans would get their health insurance from a single government plan.”

KFF identifies varying levels of support based on nomenclature and perceived impacts. The bottom line is that semantics, details and messaging matter.      

At 53 percent, “Medicare-for-All” emerges as the most positive moniker, followed by “guaranteed universal health coverage” at 44 percent; “single-payer health insurance system” at 21 percent; and “socialized medicine” at 22 percent.

The poll also identifies how specific factors influence participants’ degree of support: health insurance as a guaranteed right for all Americans (71 percent); removing all health insurance premiums and reducing out-of-pocket health care costs for most Americans (67 percent); eliminating private health insurance companies (37 percent); requiring most Americans to pay more in taxes (37 percent); threatening the current Medicare program (32 percent); and causing  delays in people getting some medical tests and treatment (26 percent).

Seventy-seven percent favor a Medicare buy-in plan for adults between ages 50 and 64; 75 percent support a Medicaid buy-in plan for people who don’t receive health care through their employer; and 74 percent like the idea of an optional Medicare-like program for those who want it.

“Medicare-for-All and/or universal health care would benefit the country as a whole by taking the power out of the hands of for-profit insurance companies and big pharma companies,” said Jessi Hans, executive director at The Coalition for Compassion and Justice (CCJ) in Prescott. “Taking the focus from insurance to how we can create the best working healthcare system would dramatically affect how we look at care.”

Medical care in the United States is heavily influenced by health insurance companies and the negotiating power of individuals with the medical professionals who serve them.

“When billing drives service, we cannot possibly have the focus necessary on best practices for the patient,” Hans explained. “More and more, insurance drives services in both medical and mental health care, dictating what people receive instead of relying on the most effective best care practices or being allowed the liberty to create new treatments, opening the window to new methods.”

Leslie Horton, director of Yavapai County Community Health Services, identified advantages for people who can rely on insurance to help with costs. Her data show that people in in low-income neighborhoods are less likely to have access to healthy foods or adequate space for physical activity, and that their children are more likely to become victims of violence and use tobacco, alcohol or drugs.

“When people have health insurance coverage, they are more likely to attend preventative physicals, utilize preventative screening options and catch illnesses sooner than those who do not have medical coverage,” Horton explained. “Catching illnesses early, before they become serious, can save costly emergency room visits, allow for early treatment and often cure potentially life-threatening illnesses.”

Horton urges uninsured citizens to investigate current systems, such as the ACA or the state’s Medicaid program Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). People often fail to fully comprehend the importance of medical or dental insurance, she added, until hit with serious illness and significant medical bills.   

Concerns about future systems such as MfA often include potential shortages of medical professionals, lack of access to services when needed, emergence of a two-tiered system where privately insured individuals obtain quicker care, and how to pay for it. The Journal of the American Medical Association, for example, states that six percent of reporting patients in the U.S. waited more than two months to see medical specialists, compared to 19 percent of British and 39 percent of Canadian patients.

On a positive note, MfA in the U.S. “easily could be paid for if every level of income was taxed at the same rate or percentage,” Hans said. “There are nations that have adequate [health] resources for all citizens… it is not a pie in the sky dream.” QCBN

By Sue Marceau, QCBN

Advocate Shares Insight Into the Equal Rights Amendment

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The advent of a new legislative session in Phoenix heralds another run by Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) advocates in placing the long-stymied legislation before lawmakers.

ERA Task Force AZ’s Dianne Post, J.D., rallied supporters Dec. 4 at the Prescott Public Library. The Prescott American Association of University Women (AAUW) hosted the session, which was attended by the public and organizations including the League of Women Voters. Quad Cities Business News caught up with Post, who shared insights about the ERA.

QCBN: When and how did you first become aware of the ERA?

Post: When: I can’t recall exactly when, but it was when I was in college; probably 1968-1969. How: by my reading and study of women’s history. We didn’t have women’s history classes then, so one had to go to a woman’s bookstore or library and find the books.

QCBN: What was it that struck a chord with you?

Post: The truth. I knew I had been discriminated against from the day I started going to school at six. I knew it was not fair or right. I had worked on many other causes prior to going to college. But in college, I thought: the closest cause to me is women’s rights.

QCBN: How has your involvement evolved over time?

Post: At 20, I was a “worker bee” in a group. Now, I am 71 and an attorney so I have a different set of skills that I can put to use.

QCBN: What does passage of the ERA mean to you?

Post: It brings to fruition the hopes and dreams and work of millions of women, since the 1700s, when Abigail Adams told John Adams that, when writing the Constitution, not to forget the women. He did. And we have been fighting to correct that mistake ever since. We must – and we will – carry on that struggle through to the end.

QCBN: Why should people support the ERA?

Post: More than 80 percent of American people from all parties, cultural groups and ages support the ERA because it is the right, just and moral thing to do. It will protect women and men, girls and boys, to ensure that everyone is able to be treated with fairness and have opportunity in the U.S., as the American dream says we should. It will fulfill our long-betrayed promise of equality to all.    

QCBN: How does the support of men add value and/or weight to the fight for equal rights for women? Why should men care?

Post: The ERA protects men, too. It says no discrimination on account of sex [and] that includes men. In the past, men were [deemed] guilty of women’s crimes because women could not be held liable. Men had to pay women’s debts because women could have or hold no money. This kind of infantilism was detrimental to women and burdensome to men. We have moved a long way from that with hundreds of years of struggle, but we are not done without the ERA. When men and women have [legally] equal relationships, both prosper as they shed myths and shibboleths (outmoded customs), burdens and penalties, and, in fact, can be the persons they are. That’s called freedom.

QCBN: Why should Arizona be the 38th state to ratify?

Post:  Arizona was once a beacon for women’s rights. Women could vote in Arizona in 1912, and Rachael Berry, from Apache County, was the first woman legislator elected in Arizona in 1914, before women in the rest of the country could even vote. Isabel Greenway was Arizona’s first congresswoman and only representative from 1933-1935. Arizona holds the record for the most women governors (four, three in a row) and having women hold all state offices at the same time (1998).

The first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court came from Arizona. In fact, Sandra Day O’Connor introduced the ERA in the Arizona House. A ratification resolution has been introduced in the Arizona House or Senate, or both, every year since before 1982. Yet, it has not been heard.

The ERA has enjoyed massive public support for decades. Yet, in Arizona, a state with historic high levels of women in the state legislature, several women governors and at one time, five top state offices held by women, it can’t even get a hearing. Arizona needs to reclaim its place in the march toward equality by ratifying the ERA today and moving toward that day that all discrimination will end.

QCBN: What is the game plan now to advance the cause?

Post: The Republican-dominated Senate and House need to hear the bill in committee and pass it there and on the floor. We ask everyone to contact their state senator and two state representatives and ask them to co-sponsor, support and vote for the ERA. We especially ask men who care about their wives, mothers, sisters and daughters to take up this fight. 

QCBN: What kind of support is needed and how can people get involved?

Post: Besides speaking to your state legislators, get active in your local legislative districts, and county and state parties. Ask them to pass a resolution in favor of the ERA and send it to your elected representatives. Write letters and opinion pieces to the editor of your local newspaper. Call in to local talk shows, and urge your neighbors to support it. Get educated about the ERA and then spread that education to your church, your neighborhood and your card club. QCBN

By Sue Marceau, QCBN

For more information, email
postdlpost@aol.com . 

Gosar Wins Another Term

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Yavapai County is reporting a strong 57.40% voter turnout for the election.

GOP Representative Paul Gosar won reelection over David Brill, with nearly twice as many votes in the county as his democratic challenger.

Locals supported Doug Ducey’s second term with about 68% of voters choosing the business-friendly governor. His opponent, David Garcia, garnered about 30% of the votes in the greater Quad Cities.

In the county, District One State Senator race, Karen Fain easily defeated Democrat Jo Craycraft.

For the county’s state representative vote in District One, republicans were the top vote getters with Noel Campbell getting 35.53% of the vote, and David Stringer 33%.

The Yavapai College District six-year term winner is Paul Chevalier, with 55% of the vote over Connie Harris.

For the Prescott Unified School District race, Deb Dillon was the top vote getter, followed by Connie Donovan who edged out Dave Klever 33-to-31 percent.

The $15 million bond for Humboldt Unified School district was defeated with a 52-to-48% vote.

In the Justice of the Peace race in Seligman, Republican Dominick Sarno beat Independent Wade Simon.

More election results are available

Remembering Senator McCain 

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The legacy of war hero, presidential contender and proud American Senator John McCain is being honored and praised by local and national leaders as a country of respectful fans mourns his passing. Known for toughness and integrity, and described as a maverick with his own brand of common sense conservatism, Sen. McCain died Saturday afternoon, Aug. 25, at age 81, following a battle with a malignant brain tumor called a glioblastoma. 

“The Nation has lost our most influential and recognized legislator; Arizona has lost her fondest son,” said Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Julie Pastrick. “John McCain leaves an illustrious legacy of love for family and country that is larger than life itself. He left indelible marks on Northern Arizona and for that, we are grateful.” 

McCain was a Navy pilot who spent five-and-a-half years as a Prisoner of War in Vietnam, two in solitary confinement. His A-4E Skyhawk was shot down by a missile while he was flying his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam in October 1967. He ejected himself into a lake, breaking his right leg and both arms. He was 31. As a POW, McCain was tortured and beaten. Injuries sustained during that time left him maimed, unable to raise his arms over his head. He also walked with a limp. 

Pastrick says he will be remembered for his loyal leadership, combined with an incredible sense of humor. “As chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he led the drive to form the Northern Arizona Military Affairs Council, which I am so honored to try to chair. We are now represented along with the other military councils statewide and have a private sector voice that promotes awareness of our two military installations, Camp Navajo and the U.S. Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station, along with the economic impact they provide.”   

“As a Navy veteran myself, I always felt a connection with Sen. McCain,” said Timberline Firearms & Training owner and retired Navy Senior Chief Rob Wilson. “I met him several times and he was frequently wearing the Navy ball cap that was his favorite. But, it was not until visiting his home in Page Springs and hearing him describe some of the memorabilia in his living room that I learned what a genuine and gracious man Sen. McCain was. He will be missed.” 

Upon news of his death, Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer said the Navy and Marine Corps team  

lost a friend and one of their own. “From the Naval Academy to flight school and throughout his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, McCain displayed unfailing honor and duty to country. If that was the end of his service, he would still be renowned as a hero, but McCain’s desire to serve didn’t stop when his uniform came off. He continued to serve as a representative and senator from Arizona. Throughout his life, McCain never ceased serving our nation or fighting for what he believed.” 

The Senator is also remembered for his high energy and accessibility. He was considered a longtime friend of Flagstaff, attending numerous small business meetings and working to understand the industry sectors that drive the local economy.  

 

“In December, 2008, Senator McCain was our guest at a business meeting over the Christmas break,” recalled Pastrick. “Afterward, the Greater Flagstaff Chamber honored Senator McCain with its Business Achiever Award for the wonderful publicity and spotlight he had shone on the entire State of Arizona during his 2008 Presidential run. He was very honored and when we presented the award to him, he kindly accepted and, with a snicker, apologized for losing!”  

 

“John McCain was a quintessential American, standing up for what he believed was right while serving his country in a variety of capacities,” said Lowell Observatory Historian Kevin Schindler. “Being a politician, he of course will have his detractors, but I think history will treat him fairly and he’ll be remembered as a man of honor, dedication and duty, values that we all should strive for. God speed, John McCain, and thank you.” 

 

McCain became emotional at times during interviews and speeches when he talked about his love for his country. In an HBO documentary about his life, McCain said, “The important thing is not to look back and figure out all of the things that I should have done – and there are lots of those – but to look back with gratitude. You will never talk to anyone who’s as fortunate as John McCain.” FBN 

 

By Bonnie Stevens, FBN 

Bonnie Stevens interviewed Sen. John McCain on several occasions. “He always made time for the media and didn’t back away from the tough questions. When he was present, the room was charged with a tangible sense of reverence. There was so much respect for this man far beyond Arizona’s borders. This summer, a stranger on a city bus in St. Petersburg, Fla., told me, ‘We love your Senator.’ Sen. McCain was my very first in-person, taped television news interview in 1982, working for CBS affiliate KOOL-TV. He was newly elected into the U.S. House of Representatives when I met him in a downtown Phoenix parking lot after the 6 p.m. news. At that moment, I knew I had shaken hands with greatness. I will always be grateful for his kindness and patience with this ‘green’ reporter.”  

 

Photo caption: Sen. John McCain visited with Lowell Observatory staff while checking out the Pluto telescope. Pictured (left to right) Lowell Historian Kevin Schindler, Deputy Director for Development Lisa Actor, Communications Manager Josh Bangle, Sen. McCain, Astronomer Gerard van Belle, Director Jeff Hall, Deputy Director for Administration Anne LaBruzzo and Deputy Director for Science Michael West. 

Courtesy photo 

 

 

 

Candidates Preparing for Run-Off Election

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Both propositions on the primary ballot of Aug. 29 passed handily. However, because no candidates for city offices won outright, a run-off election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 7.

 

City Code Mandates General Election

Prescott City code stipulates that because no candidate, either for mayor or for City Council, received 50 percent plus one vote of the ballots cast, top-finishing candidates must advance to the general election.

The Nov. 7 general election will have Greg Mengarelli opposing Jean Wilcox for mayor. Mengarelli received 6,950 votes (41.79 percent), while Wilcox garnered 4,923 votes (29.60 percent). A third candidate, Mary Beth Hrin, was eliminated, as she had only 4,719 votes (28.38 percent). Write-in candidates received 36 votes.

Of the six Prescott City Council candidates whose names were on the primary ballot, only five will be listed on the November ballot. Gregory Lazzell, a current City Councilman, received the lowest number of ballots cast in the primary (5,445), so he withdrew his name in early September.

The remaining five council candidates are as follows: (votes they received in the primary are in parentheses) Steve Blair (6,922), Connie Cantle (5,920), Phil Goode (7,286), Alexa Scholl (7,224), and Joe Viccica (5,605).

Of those candidates, only the top three vote getters will win in November.

Unofficial election results as of Aug. 30 showed that 17,227 ballots were cast of the potential 29,156 registered voters eligible to vote in the city election.

 

Both Propositions Passed

The first proposition, 442, saw voters approving an extension of the Home Rule option by a substantial margin – 10,786 yes votes, or 66.35 percent, to 5,471 no votes, or 33.65 percent. That vote extended for four years the right of the City of Prescott to control its own budget rather than have it established by the state.

The second proposition, 443, attracted the most attention. It gave the City of Prescott authority to raise the municipal sales tax by 0.75 percent (three-fourths of a cent) for up to 10 years in order to pay down the current unfunded Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) liability, estimated currently to be at about $78 million.

Voters approved Prop 443 by eight percentage points: 9,137 yes votes, or 53.65 percent, to 7,894 no votes, or 46.35 percent.

Prescott native Ken Bennett, who in the 1980s served on the Prescott City Council and became mayor pro tem in 1988, said of the passing of Prop 443, “The citizens of Prescott made a wise decision. They prevented what could have become a monumental debt from becoming even bigger. The majority exercised wise judgment.”

Bennett later was elected to four-two-year terms as an Arizona State Senator, and elected as Secretary of State in 2010.

The cost of the primary election was $98,472, which included the expense of printing and mailing advance publicity materials. QCBN

By Ray Newton, QCBN

 

Predicting Election Effect on Investments

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hepburnNo matter which candidate is elected president this month by American voters, financial advisor Will Hepburn predicts a sell-off in 2017.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, but I am a student of market history, and the first year of a presidential cycle brings a lot of governmental change,” explained Hepburn, president of Hepburn Capital Management in Prescott. “And change is what makes investors nervous.”

It is a given that investors’ moods drive markets up and down. Witness the fact that comfortable investors buy, and uneasy investors hold off or sell. Demand for shares lifts values skyward, while overabundance propels them downward. That is the picture from local investment advisors, such as Hepburn, who recently shared insights regarding the markets’ potential reaction to this month’s presidential election.

Pre-election patterns of increasing volatility have “tended to spike again soon after an election and have typically peaked just after the election,” according to Eric B. Fairbanks, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Charted Financial Consultant (ChFC), Private Wealth Advisor at Ameriprise Financial in Prescott. “The new president tends to make big statements after taking office, causing markets to adjust. As investors become more comfortable with the first 90-day plan, and those 90 days become more transparent, volatility has tended to calm significantly.”

That shorter-term volatility generally has given way to longer run positive returns over most post-election decades. In 17 of 18 U.S. presidential elections in the past 80 years, a $10,000 investment in the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index at the beginning of each election year would have gained value over 10 years. That is according to the Sept. 30 issue of “Investor News” from American Funds. Fourteen of those identified periods would have produced a doubling of that theoretical investment, along with a few instances of tripling.

Only one case of declining value would have occurred in those 80 years and 18 presidential elections, American Funds states, referencing George W. Bush’s win in 2000. The “dot com” crash that year and the financial meltdown in 2008 generated a “lost decade of stocks.”

Just the opposite would have materialized with that hypothetical $10,000 investment under the presidency of George H.W. Bush. In the 10 years following the elder Bush’s election in 1988, American Funds estimates that a hypothetical $10,000 would have jumped in value to $52,448.

Focusing on the present, what could be expected from either a Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump victory this month? Hepburn anticipated what might occur beyond the typical first-year market weakness under each candidate.

“I would expect a Clinton presidency to bring continued government regulation, leading to more slow growth years,” Hepburn explained. “Since the 2000s began, the S&P 500 has averaged a little over four percent per year, with dividends included. That is slow growth.”

Hepburn contrasted that Clinton-inspired scenario with a Trump presidency, which “could very well usher in a sharp recession as greater changes — such as deregulation of various industries — [could] create even more uncertainty among buyers than Clinton’s plans would. However, this recession [might] also be followed by long economic boom like the Reagan reforms created after the economic malaise of the 1970s, as [Trump] deregulates and frees up business.”

Fairbanks offered three things to keep in mind: 1) higher volatility leading up to the election; 2) lower interest rate risk; and 3) the importance of diversification.

“It is important to stay well-diversified across asset classes with a mix of stocks, bonds and alternative investments,” Fairbanks recommended. “The combination of a contentious presidential race, seasonal trends that typically see increasing volatility in September and October – as well as increasing volatility in the European Banking sector – leads us to caution against the complacency that can result from extended periods of abnormally low volatility [which we’ve experienced lately].”

Hepburn noted that “traditional investments and traditional investment advice are becoming less and less effective because the markets are experiencing conditions never seen before. The most important thing an investor can have in their portfolio is flexibility. I advise all of my clients to hold investments that adapt to changing markets.” QCBN

By Sue Marceau, QCBN

Good Governance Group Seeking General Plan Support

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Prescott Good Governance Committee Committed to “Preserve the past and embrace the future,” the Prescott Good Governance Committee kicked off its 2015 campaign with a pledge to help support and pass the City of Prescott General Plan, which will come before voters Nov. 3.

More than 40 community residents met in late January to formulate the committee’s campaign strategy.

Committee Chair Cecelia Jernegan said that the group’s purpose is to “provide educational opportunities about Prescott General plan, to promote increased voter registration and to encourage voters to turn out for the election.”

Jernegan replaced outgoing commitee chair Elisabeth Ruffner, who had guided the committee for the past 20 years.

The organization is a registered nonpartisan political action committee.

Before discussing in-depth strategies, the committee would follow to meet its goal of “fostering civil discussion leading to civil action to build a better Prescott,” those present first adopted standing rules that would define its actions for the year.

 

Organization Endorses Prescott General Plan Elements

Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended in 2002 and 2004, require that communities throughout the state must develop and adopt a general plan that reflects the “Growing Smarter, Growing Smarter Plus” legislation initially approved in 1998.

Consequently, community leaders adopted a General Plan in 2003. Voters ratified it in 2004. In 2014, a group of 12 local citizens drafted a revised Prescott General Plan, which will go before the voting public.

Lindsay Bell, a former Prescott City Council member (1995-1999), was actively involved in creating the first General Plan. She distributed a two-page statement, which she called a “Community Vision” that detailed the principles and values included in the proposed plan.

“The General Plan to be voted on is made up of chapters called ‘elements,’” Bell said. “The plan to go before voters this fall has two more elements than the plan had, which was adopted 10 years ago.”

Elements in the proposed plan include the following:

  • Land Use – the identification and distribution of land uses within the city.
  • Growth Management and Cost of Development – planned growth, construction of necessary infrastructure, and design of multi-modal transportation also requires any new development to pay its fair share of the demand for public services.
  • Circulation-Transportation – goals and strategies to ensure efficient movement of people, goods and services within the community and region.
  • Open Space – the protection and enhancement of natural and scenic beauty and defines and inventories public and private open space.
  • Environmental Planning – addresses and identifies the impact other plan elements have upon air quality, water and other natural resources.
  • Water Resources – stipulates that surface, ground and effluent water supplies be identified and analyzed in anticipation of future population growth.
  • Economic Development Planning – reflects a strong emphasis upon the city’s economic well-being, character and vitality.
  • Community Quality – addresses aspects of the community, which sustain and support a sense of community spirit, including the natural environment, arts and culture, historical preservation and education and healthcare assets.

Community Vision Awareness

Bell emphasizes that it is critical for the voting public to be aware of what the plan does and how it addresses future challenges facing the city.

She told those present, “I think it’s important that voters understand the changes that have happened in Prescott in the last several years. This committee is going to do all it can to stimulate awareness of the plan and why it’s important to pass it. We need a major voter turnout – more than the 50 percent we had in 2013.”

Bell was echoed by Elisabeth Ruffner. “Our citizens need to understand and accept their responsibilities. They need to get out and vote.”

Ruffner said that if the proposed General Plan did not pass, the old plan would remain in place. “But we need to educate everyone about how important this new plan is for our future.”

Jernegen urged those present to tell others of the need for awareness of the Prescott General Plan. She stressed that it was especially important that voters realized the Nov. 3 election will be by mail ballot only. “Ballots will be mailed 29 days in advance, so we need to stress that people get registered to vote well in advance of the election. Then, they certainly need to cast ballots. “

She explained that the committee would meet the fourth Tuesday of every month in the conference room of the Yavapai Title Agency at 1235 E. Gurley Street. “We want to be a group of concerned citizens who commit ourselves to being directly engaged in helping move our city into a dynamic future.” QCBN

 

By Ray Newton

Quad Cities Business News

 

 

 

 

 

Yavapai County Primary Election Night Reporting Delay

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Yavapai County YAVAPAI COUNTY – During Primary Election Night Reporting, Yavapai County, working with new election equipment, experienced technical difficulties properly exporting the results file out of its system. Yavapai County worked throughout the night and exported a results file at approximately 5:40 a.m. Once Yavapai exported the file, that data was successfully uploaded into the state election night reporting system without difficulty.

In May 2014, Yavapai County approved this election equipment for experimental use pursuant to A.R.S. 16-442(F). Since the Secretary of State’s Office certifies an end-to-end voting system, the system as configured in Yavapai County was not certified by the State. This new election system, Unisyn OpenElect, is only used in Yavapai County.

Questions about this new equipment should be directed to Yavapai County, 928-771-3249.