REFERENDUM TO PREVENT
WITHDRAWAL OF MAYORAL RIGHTS FROM FOSTER
 

Quartzsite's officials are about to discover that the TAXPAYERS -- and NOT THE COUNCIL  -- have the final say when officials make unpopular choices...

                      [Legal Resource: REFERENDUM]

With Quartzsite's four councilmen refusing to budge from their 'decision' to withdraw virtually all powers from the Mayoral position, the move is already underway to force the issue to a referendum. This move will allow the new Mayor to operate under the same rules as every other Mayor in Quartzsite until voters can weigh in on the matter in November...  Story:   REFERENDUM
 

QUARTZSITE'S COUNCIL SERVED IN $200,000.00 HARASSMENT SUIT -- HARRIS

    

Repeated warnings aside, Jennifer [Jade] Harris has indicated she could not convince the council she was serious about filing suit -- until Tuesday evening when the Town's Constable served official papers on each of the 'offending' councilmen, another in a string of suits against the Town...

                 See: DOCUMENTATION]

With Quartzsite's four councilmen refusing to budge from their 'decision' to withdraw virtually all powers from t

 MISCOMMUNICATIONS
PLAGUE QUARTZSITE'S TOWN HALL                   --  FOSTER

The Town's officials and even their attorney make no effort to communicate with citizens or press, causing great lapses in factual information coming from Quartzsite's Town Hall, with this week's faux pas at the center of yet another controversy...

                                   [See: AGENDA]

The weakly worded agenda brought more questions than answers as to the intent of Quartzsite's council under the direction of Alex Taft.

While the documentation seemed to suggest it was Foster's position as Mayor that was being brought under scrutiny, it was instead a recount involving four close running candidates: Robert Kelley, Chaunce Hamilton, Russell Sias and Patricia Anderson.

Foster has a strong following even among town employees, many of whom have voiced their concerns to the new Mayor. All of the town's councilmen are now facing recall, the direct result of the frustration between voters and council members. [Click to View] With an escalating debt and evidence of mismanagement, Foster has led the charge for reform: angering officials whose allegiance has been questioned.

 

Recall workers gather petition signatures. Enough signers are already in on Cowell & Winslow's recalls.

Once a peaceful small town known for tourists and an unparalleled rock vending trade, Quartzsite is now embattled, embittered and fighting for solvency amidst a series of controversial moves  by Town Manager Alex Taft while new Mayor Ed Foster seeks advice from those more than familiar with Quartzsite's reputation for  it's  volatile political climate...

Two weeks ago, the Town Hall meeting during which Foster was sworn in deteriorated into virtual mayhem when Taft's proposals to disempower the new Mayor were passed by four council members in spite of strong public outcry demanding the new Mayor have a chance to prove himself before officials sought to withdraw his powers.

Four of them [Winslow, Anderson, Cowell and Lukkasson] immediately went ahead with the decision to vote for the withdrawal of powers from Foster --and without a single word of discussion between them during the meeting. But the move wasn't without a swift and strong backlash from Quartzsite's voters, who promptly began requesting and signing recall papers against those that challenged Foster's rights as Mayor.

Both Winslow and Cowell's positions were already under fire from previous actvities undertaken by the two who are not newly elected and, thus, accessible under recall.

The remainder of the officials have just now taken their seats. Lizarraga abstained, and Kelley voted against the measures to limit Foster's powers.

Foster's Mayoral rights are stipulated under Arizona Law and this week the battle lines are being drawn between those that would challenge Foster -- and may soon discover they have problems they've not even considered. Councilmen that choose to  break the law in order to do what they wish -- or what they are ordered to do by another official -- are not protected against suits brought by those effected by those choices.

Quartzsite is already in an insurance pool [provided insurance only because an insurer is forced to take them] through the Arizona branch of the League of Cities and Towns.

Because of a series of poor choices, the town is virtually 'uninsurable.' Were Foster to challenge those individuals that comprise the sitting council in court, anything they've done that resulted in the breaking of a law would leave those individuals at risk of a suit against them personally, with their personal assets at risk.

Some of the state level officials with oversight responsibilities concerning Quartzsite have already expressed concern over these pending issues.
                                             READ MORE

A political battle has ensued since four sitting councilmen sought to disempower Quartzsite's newly elected Mayor Tuesday, in spite of strong public outcry...   
                  SEE: DISEMPOWERED       READ MORE

Foster has addressed the issue of Tuesday's council meeting here, in The MINESHAFT, his local publication.

Cheers for Ed Foster accompanied a standing ovation from a packed gallery as Foster was seated amidst the councilmen who had just voted to disempower the position in a vote that was immensely unpopular with onlookers.

Only one councilman defended the Mayor's right to hold office with the same set of authoritative powers, rules and regulations as the office has historically held -- newly elected Robert Kelly, who had been appointed to a council position several months before. Kelly condemned the action winning widespread support from the crowd.
                                   READ MORE

In a controversial move Monday, Quartzsite's council faced an agenda on which Town Manager Alex Taft brought several actions designed to disempower Quartz-site's popular new Mayor, before he could be sworn in.

                                     AGENDA

It's officially
FOSTER!

Edward L. Foster won the Mayoral seat by 27  Votes, a 'runaway lead' by the tight standards in this election. The official results were as follows:  CLICK HERE

322 Lukkasson        317 Anderson
315 Kelly                  309 Hamilton
308 Sias                    254 Moore

Is the war already on? The Council scheduled a special session [agenda here] for Friday afternoon to discuss and make decisions on specific issues that -- under normal circumstances -- would be [should be] handled at a regular session. When Foster attempted to question Town Manager Alex Taft, she refused to speak with him, saying the council advised her not to talk to him...

Quartzsite Councilman Winslow made a comment as mics were turned on that rivals anything on the national level...

Now what?     STORY COMING SOON


The already established and required emergency protocol communities are to have in place in the event of an emergency [CLICK FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH SECURITY AND BIOTERRORISM PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE ACT] that would have prevented the problems that resulted in Quartzsite's dilemma... Citizens, in fact, have the RIGHT to know [Click for the RIGHT TO KNOW ACT] if there is a problem that may effect the safety of their drinking water. [Click for the SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT.] Read here for UNDERSTANDING THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT.]                              READ MORE


Steve Bennett's pool [shown here] was the focus of concerns about drinking water over the weekend. ADEQ will arrive Monday to test the water for contaminants and see what, exactly, is in the water.   

The 'public' meeting of the town's incumbents has already created a flap: attendees have indicated that the acting Mayor stated that the town would have to learn to get along without vendors... and he now denies he made that statement.