Mayor Keno Hawker's public e-mail account mayor.hawker@cityofmesa.org on
Tuesday registered about two dozen e-mails related to the report
on the CBS newsmagazine.
Most people wrote that they were upset that Mesa is invoking
eminent domain to try to force Bailey Brake Service, 18 North
Country Club Drive, to relocate to make way for a city
redevelopment project.
City officials want to sell Bailey's land to Mesa businessman
Ken Lenhart so he can relocate his Ace Hardware store at the
site from its current location near First Avenue and Macdonald
in Mesa.
Bailey is waging a legal battle to save the business his family
has operated since 1969.
"Having just watched the"60 Minute" episode, all
I can say is I hope you all rot in hell -- in that special place
obtained through eminent domain for the likes of you,"
wrote Michael Kape. He didn't list where he lives.
Brigitte Johnson, no city listed, wrote: "After watching
"60 Minutes," only an idiot would buy property in
Mesa, Arizona."
She went on to write: "I will never, ever, ever do business
in Mesa again and I will not buy another item at any ACE
[Hardware] store. I bet church, morals and family values
are words you use a lot. Add GREED."
Bill Grant of South Boston, Massachusetts, wrote: "The way
I see it is legalized confiscation of the individual's property.
Using eminent domain to take Mr. Bailey's property is wrong.
It's kind of interesting that his name is the same as George
Bailey in the classic movie "It's a Wonderful Life." I
would recommend all the officials of the city and the owner of
the new proposed business to watch it a few times as they
apparently don't get the message."
Lloyd Croskey of Seattle wrote: "Forcing a resident to sell
his private property so that another private person can utilize
the land is not only immoral it should be against the law. You
should be ashamed if not prosecuted for allowing such a thing to
happen in your city."
Dick Melville, no city listed, wrote: "After watching the
"60 Minutes" TV show about your city's treatment of
the brake shop and Ace Hardware's desire to take over the
location, with the direct help of your municipality, I am about
to look elsewhere in Arizona for my annual two-month vacation."
Jessica Ray, no city listed, wrote: "This is socialism -- or
is it cronyism? What right does the city have to take a man's
property to sell to another business."
She went on to say, "We certainly won't be looking to
move our computer business to Mesa."
Larry D. Nelson, no city listed, wrote to Hawker: "At least
you had the brains to stay off '60 Minutes' -- but that is the
most I can say. What you are doing is wrong, and I don't care
what offers you are making."
On Monday, when asked about the "60 Minutes" episode,
Hawker said he was surprised Mike Wallace didn't interview him
on camera. In May, when Wallace was filming the episode, the
city attorney advised city leaders not to be interviewed because
the case is in litigation.
Gary Leff, no city listed, wrote: Glad to see '60
Minutes' exposed your process of bullying citizens by
abusing the powers given to elected officials. Sure looks pretty
shady when you use eminent domain to push out one business to
let in another."
Hawker wouldn't comment on the e-mails because he said he hadn't
seen them.
But the mayor pointed out that in March 1999, he voted against
expanding the redevelopment area boundaries to include Bailey's
property.
Since then, however, the mayor has cast several votes supporting
the redevelopment project that is forcing Bailey to sell.
Julie Rice, the mayor's assistant, responded to each e-mail with
a position statement written by Hawker on November 1, 2001. julie.rice@cityofmesa.org
The 10-paragraph document states that Hawker doesn't support the
condemnation of land for private profit.
"My voting record reflects my opposition to the current
policy that allows condemnation of parcels by the city to
assemble land for private business expansion," the document
states.
However, the statement seems to contradict the vote Hawker cast
on November 20, 2000, which authorized the use of eminent domain
and approving a contract to transfer Bailey's land to Lenhart.
City Councilwoman Claudia Walters also declined to comment on
the e-mails because she said hadn't read them.
Walters did say that the council could have handled the issue
better, and she has learned from it.
"If there is one city in the country where people can feel
safe having property in a redevelopment area, it's probably
Mesa," Walters said.
"I don't see any inclination from anyone on the City
Council to use eminent domain."
Bailey said he continued to field calls Tuesday from around the
country supporting his battle against the city.
State Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Mesa, said he has scheduled an October
meeting with Hawker and business leaders to talk about improving
the city's reputation of not being 'business friendly.'
He blamed city bureaucracy for the Bailey controversy.
"I don't think the mayor set out to do what happened to
Bailey," he said.
The mayor of Mesa, in his own words while making 'campaign
promises':
Hello, I'm Keno Hawker, and I'm proud to be the Mayor of Mesa,
Arizona. Mesa is a great place to live, learn, work, play and
shop. We have:
World-class parks, museums and cultural facilities;
outstanding Police and Fire Departments; top-notch employees who
provide outstanding customer service; and a thriving economy.
See for yourself all that Mesa has to offer during your visit
to our award-winning web site.
If you have ideas about information or services you would
like to see on our site, please e-mail us your suggestions. And
thanks for visiting our site!
Term of office: June 5, 2000 - June 7, 2004
Mayor Hawker is serving his first term as the Mayor of Mesa. He
served previously as a Council member from 1986 until 1994 and
from 1998 to 2000, and as Vice Mayor from 1990 until 1992.
Mayor Hawker is a member of the National League of Cities and
the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. He enjoys financial
issues and serves as treasurer of the Arizona Municipal Water
Users Association. He serves as Vice Chair of the Maricopa
Association of Governments Regional Council, Vice Chair of the
Williams Gateway Airport Authority, Vice Chair of Valley Metro
Rail and Chair of the Regional Public Transportation Authority.
He serves on the National League of Cities Transportation
Infrastructure and Services Steering Committee as well as the
National League of Cities Transportation TEA-21 Reauthorization
Task Force. Mayor Hawker also serves on two committees of the
Maricopa Association of Governments: Regional Aviation System
Policy Committee and on the Regional Council Transportation
Policy Committee. He is an ex-officio member of the City of Mesa
Economic Development Advisory Board.
Mayor Hawker is a Mesa business owner and President of Hawker
Trucks & Materials, Inc. He has a bachelor's degree from
Wisconsin State University and an M.B.A. from the University of
Wisconsin. He is a member of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, the
Mesa Baseline Rotary and the Mesa HoHoKams.
Mayor Hawker enjoys outdoor sports and activities, including
biking, hiking, climbing and rappelling. He travels extensively
throughout Arizona, the United States and other locations around
the world. He owns his own plane and is a licensed pilot. He
likes extreme sports, such as dirt bike racing, river rafting
and roller blading, his Harley Davidson motorcycle and
co-piloting a T-38 fighter jet.
Mayor Hawker is a devoted family man who stresses education
and self-reliance. He reads a great deal and enjoys financial
analysis and defending the common sense solutions in society.
Hawker's 'Vision' for the city of Mesa:
Leadership, vision, and planning will be required if Mesa is to
become a great city to live, work, and raise a family.
Undoubtedly we shall continue to grow; our population will
double in the next 25 years, and I am determined to provide a
forum by which Mesa's resident can have a voice in shaping our
common future.
During the last year I have had the opportunity to serve on
the Valley Vision 2025 Committee. The committee was initiated by
the Maricopa Association of Governments and is made up of a
diverse cross-section of business, civic and community leaders.
The goal was to develop a broad vision for the valley with
tangible, attainable goals that can be measured over time. As
Mayor, I would like to refine the Valley Vision 2025 goals, to
specifically address a Vision Plan for Mesa.
What do we want to become? How do we change to achieve our
vision? Those are the two questions that we must address.
Residents are questioning the expansive growth in the region
and its impact on their quality of life. Growth and progress
become unlimited development and sprawl if we react instead of
plan. Mesa like Temps has limited space so we must carefully
consider the consequences of all of our growth and development
options. The process should start with the citizens and end with
government implementing the citizen's vision, rather than the
government dictating what they consider best for the citizens. I
support an enhanced citizen participation process to provide
input into decisions affection our city, business and
neighborhoods.
I will work to protect Williams Gateway Airport as a future
employment center for Mesa. A stable community requires a
balance or residential housing and employment. We must focus our
efforts on jobs for Mesa and avoid having Phoenix control our
economic destiny.
I also support an alliance between the City, business and the
schools to provide an educated, qualified work force. This will
assure employers that they will be able to move forward in a
knowledge-based economy.
Our freeway system will be completed in 2007. Mesa must begin
examining the options for a cost effective, high-speed mass
transit system. We should select a transit route that reduces
traffic congestion and encourage high-density redevelopment.
I am dedicated to the preservation of open space. I support
the continued development of Rio Salado from downtown Tempe all
the way to Saguaro Lade, and I believe that Mesa should turn the
existing canal systems into a series of pedestrian accessible
lineal parks.
Mesa cannot continue to do financial planning one year at a
time. The City of Mesa needs to establish a five-year operating
budget, and a twenty-year projected budget. As Mesa approaches
build-out, we need a Mayor who will protect the economic
stability of the city. The police and fire departments need a
stable revenue source to maintain high staffing ratios of public
safety personal to Mesa citizens. City revenues need to be
sufficient in 20 years to repay long-term municipal bonds,
maintain and operate parks; libraries, city courts, and other
citizen requested municipal services. Developers should be
required to pay their share of the cost associated with growth.
With vision and leadership, Mesa can regain its position as
the focal point of activity in the East Valley. If elected
Mayor, I will work to ensure that Mesa remains a city where we
and future generations are safe in our homes and on our streets,
where we are proud to live, work, and raise our children.
http://www.kenohawker.com/
Related story:
Judges rule in favor of Mesa brake
shop after 60 Minutes tackles eminent domain cases
Randy Bailey gets to keep his property
October 2, 2003
By Adam Klawonn and Brandon Babcock, The Arizona Republic
200 East Van Buren Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
To submit a Letter to the Editor: western@arizonarepublic.com
Mesa, Arizona - Vindication finally came for a family-owned
Mesa auto shop Wednesday when the state Court of Appeals ruled
in its favor, saying that City Hall wrongly tried to take
their property so developers could use it.
The 15-page decision took more than 14 months, left at
least two local businesses in legal limbo and the city with a
black eye. It caught the attention of producers from CBS News
60 Minutes, which aired the story Sunday.
It is a landmark ruling that will affect cases everywhere
that involve eminent domain, the right local government has to
take private property for the public good.
And for Randy Bailey of Bailey's Brake Service, the victory
couldn't have been sweeter.
"This ruling today means that justice has prevailed
and America is what America is supposed to be about,"
said Bailey, smiling through a thick beard and covered with
grime and sweat from working on cars.
"Property rights are still sacred in this world."
Motorists drove by his shop Wednesday afternoon, honking
horns and shouting support from their car windows. The parking
lot was full of media, well-wishers and customers needing a
tune-up.
The phone rang constantly while Bailey rang up the bill for
brake work on Paula Whittington's BMW.
Greg Western, 34, of Mesa, a mobile mechanic and
acquaintance, stopped by after he heard the news while pulling
out of a nearby auto parts store.
"I'm a man that believes in property rights, and this
is a victory for the common citizen," he said.
The city had obtained immediate possession of a 5-acre site
that included the shop and other businesses on the prime
corner of Country Club Drive and Main Street about two years
ago to replace it with Lenhart's Ace Hardware, restaurants and
other stores. Bailey's shop has operated there since 1974.
The idea was to renovate the city's "gateway,"
one of downtown Mesa's most visible intersections. Bailey's
attorneys sued in Maricopa County Superior Court and lost.
They appealed.
In a rare reverse of a lower-court decision, the appellate
court's three-judge panel ruled that Mesa failed to prove that
taking the land for private developers was a "public
use," under state law.
The city never proved that it intended to build a street,
park or other public facility on the site. Rather, the
proposal would have benefited a select few rather than the
public at-large, the court said.
"The developers and other private parties wold be the
primary beneficiaries, rather than the public," wrote
Judge John C. Gemmill. "The anticipated benefits to the
public do not outweigh the private nature of the intended
use."
Clint Bolick, vice president of the Institute for Justice,
a Washington, D.C.-based public interest law group that has
fought eminent cases nationwide, represented Bailey. Bolick
said Wednesday's ruling was very clearly written compared with
other court decisions on the issue.
The group has similar cases pending in Ohio and
Connecticut, he said, adding that the Arizona ruling will give
them firepower.
Reached on his cell phone in Missoula, Montana, he said it
was the first time the premise of eminent domain had been
tested in an Arizona court, and it sent a message.
"This puts cities on notice that the days of corporate
welfare dressed up as economic redevelopment are over,"
Bolick said.
Mesa Mayor Keno Hawker said he is "very happy"
with the ruling, and that he is loathe to use the City
Council's right to appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court.
"I think the city as an entity went too far," he
said, "and we got too concerned with cleaning up a corner
and didn't remember there are individual property owners there
that have private property rights."
State legislators changed laws governing eminent domain
earlier this year, making it harder for cities to use the
power by requiring a two-thirds council vote on four separate
public reviews of a condemnation case.
The city was sued under the previous laws, and it's up to
the City Council to decide if the city will appeal. The case
has dragged on nearly four years, but city officials have said
they have no idea what it has cost.
Charlie Deaton, Mesa Chamber of Commerce president/CEO,
supported Bailey's right to contest the case but said the
city's right to use eminent domain is one of the tools
available to preserve its inner core.
"I think we'll just live with a brake shop on that
corner," he said.
At Lenhart's Ace Hardware, east of Bailey's on First
Avenue, it was business as usual Wednesday.
Employees said owner Ken Lenhart was out of town and
declined to comment as they were closing up.
One customer, Noel Palicios, 26, a supervisor at LEJ
Concrete who lives in Mesa, said he would just as soon see
Lenhart's stay where it is. "I think it's great where it
is; it's closer for me."
Staff reporter Sarah Muench contributed to this article.
Adam Klawonn adam.klawonn@arizonarepublic.com
Suzanne Starr, photographer suzanne.starr@arizonarepublic.com
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1002Baileys02.html
http://www.citizenreviewonline.org/oct_2003/judges.htm
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