Al Johnson gives concerned citizens the boot!

Including a reporter from the Arizona Republic Newspaper no less! (I can't wait to see how THAT headline will read...)

At the Wednesday, June 1st special meeting of the Quartzsite Common Council, over a hundred citizens attended to show support for QPD officers who had filed formal complaints of unethical and criminal conduct against Police Chief Jeff Gilbert.  Although people were still arriving, the standing room only crowd was told to leave the building by recently promoted assistant town mismanager Al Johnson. 


The meeting was called to order, but quickly adjourned for lack of a quorum, because only Mayor Foster and Councilman Jose Lizzarraga (a potential challenger for the August mayoral recall election) showed up.

In a disgusting display of disrespect for the voters who enabled them to retain their seats, Council members Anderson, Kelley, Winslow, Lukkasson and Cowell all boycotted the meeting. Their lame excuses are posted on the QTown blog. They did not exercise their option to "attend" the meeting by speakerphone and were officially noted as absent on the roll call. The message was loud and clear - none of them are interested in a crisis involving the police department and put private agendas above public safety. 

Town mismanager Alex Taft was also absent. Reportedly on "a planned vacation", she may not have vacationed further than Lukkasson's business on Main St. , where staff and council members were photographed having an not so secret meeting the previous morning, right after they had received several pages of documents detailing the officer's complaints. Her absence left "Building Official"/Planning & Zoning Director"/"Assistant Town Manager" Albert Johnson crowned as king for a day.

Johnson must have been unaware of the Arizona Republic Reporter sitting front row watching this drama unfold. Or quite possibly, he's just too stupid and arrogant to care. 


Although most were concerned over the investigation of Chief Gilbert, citizens never got to hear about case # 1101388 relating to possible charges against Alex Taft for refusing to fill open records requests as ordered by state officials. "Discussion and possible action regarding investigation by the Arizona Ombudsman's Office." was the only other item on the published meeting agenda.

After adjourning the scheduled meeting, Mayor Foster announced that  the lack of council would allow a "town hall" meeting like the absent council have been holding at the Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA) for months now, and invited the public to speak. 


Chief Gilbert stated that he wanted the record to note his complaint that this "violated his right to due process", something he clearly doesn't even understand. "Due Process" would only have been an issue if the council had bothered to show up, and taken action. The only rights that were violated were the People's right to peaceably assemble and to free speech, when Mr. Johnson announced that he was closing the building and everyone had to leave. 


It seems obvious why 5 member of the Quartzsite Town Council chose not to attend a meeting where they would have been publicly compelled to put Gilbert on "administrative leave" pending investigation, under Police policy manual section P 448.4 (D). They must have been at Lukkasson's sign painting party! Around noon today, Sondra Gilbert, the chief's wife was photographed with welfare grandma Hygea Halfmoon, Lukkasson and others, loading a freshly painted 6' sign into the bed of a certain little red pick up truck. The sign says "Support Chief Gilbert"...

Town Hall meetings recap - a whirlwind week!

Well, where to begin? Chronologically, I suppose.

Tuesday afternoon there was a work session to discuss paying for yet another study of the Town's water and sewer rates. The most important thing you need to know is that Town mismanager Alex Taft did  not draw up a specific proposal for what exactly what was to be studied and put it out to an open bid. So what you had was the representative from economists.com with an impressive powerpoint presentation and bid of $23,000, and the shady Town Engineer PBS & J with a bid of $71,000. After a vigorous round of questions by the public, and Mayor Foster's stated desire for a flat rate usage billing system, the work session ended with a promise that it would someday come to pass! Later that evening, at the regular meeting, the council voted to go with the rate study by economists.com (the group that created the convoluted mess we are currently paying for). Best quote of the work session goes to Vice Mayor Barbara Cowell who said "I'm not that smart - you'll have to spell it out!" Second place goes to the rep from ecomists.com, with talking points like "financial disincentive", "rates accomplish more than just raising revenues", and "it is important to review this data in light of your very aggressive hook up plan". He also confirmed that when they did the $25,000 study in 2009, the Town was "insolvent" and borrowing money from HURF and the General Fund.


Also at Tuesday evening's regular meeting, everything on the agenda passed. Jennifer "Jade" Jones was the first to enter the political fray and announced that she would run for Town Council, but did not state which recall candidate she would take on in the upcoming election. Jones also announced the tentative December debut of her "free community newspaper" (rumor has it that Mayor Foster may have licensed The Quartzsite Mineshaft" to her) Advertisers wishing to get in on the deep discounts available for the premier winter season should stop by her grooming salon located this year at  J & S Covers on Hwy 95.


Thursday was a very busy day with a special meeting, a work session and training from the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.


The special meeting saw the appointment of Doug Ross to the Planning and Zoning Committee. Barbara Bowman's appointment to the Municipal Property Corporation will complete the term of Nella Shaw. In what seemed like an intentional oversight by the Town mismanager, all members of the Council except the Mayor were on the agenda to approve themselves and Alex Taft as "account/check signers for the new Horizon community Bank accounts". An oversight Taft wisely chose to rectify.

The work session had Quartzsite's vendors squarely in the cross hairs of Taft and the (trained at Town's expense) "Building Official" Al Johnson. Talk of changing the business license code, proposals for new County health regulations for mobile kitchens, reducing the vendor permit to 180 days, new ideas for revocation of permits, and other nightmare scenarios are not yet a done deal and changes will NOT affect the current season. However, vendors who want to return next year should attend the next meeting on this topic, the date of which is yet to be announced.


The League of Cities and Towns came to the aide of Mayor Foster and put his critics in their place last night! By the end of the "training", Vice Mayor Cowell's voice was quivering as if on the verge of tears! Police Chief Jeff Gilbert was warned that he had no authority to control the meeting unless ordered to do so by Mayor Foster, and that if he asserted himself in such a manner it could result in a lawsuit. (The warning was overdue, because it already has!). Town Attorney Pamela Walsma was instructed that she works for us, the citizens, through our Mayor and Council. A reality that had apparently not occurred to her as she is dangerously unfamiliar with this legal specialty. At every turn, it seemed as if our Mayor had been correct all along.

Total Recall - 2010

It's official! In an clear statement of disapproval by the voters,

THE QUARTZSITE TOWN COUNCIL HAS BEEN TOTALLY RECALLED! 

(And so quickly too!)

That's right dedicated readers, the petitions were recorded today and joining Babs and Machine Gun Joe will be Anderson, Kelley, Lukkasson and even Lizzarraga, the only Councilperson to receive enough votes to avoid last spring's run off. 

The record breaking voter turn out  in the Mayoral election meant that an unprecedented number of signatures was necessary (152), but that amount was easily exceeded by a third more than the required minimum for all four recently elected officials. An amazing feat for a summer "ghost town" 

Citizen outrage is at an all time high after the treasonous conduct of recently elected members of the Quartzsite Common Council and the malicious persecution of popular "People's Mayor" Ed Foster.

Let's compare May 18th votes to the verified number of recall signatures. With 1234 Registered Voters and 669 Cards Cast  (54.21%)

Patricia Anderson 317 votes, versus 217 recall signatures

Robert Kelley 316 votes, versus 209 recall signatures

Jerry Lukkason 322 votes versus - 211 recall signatures

and Jose Lizzarraga received 273 votes in the March 9th primary with:

Registered Voters 1346 - Cards Cast 506 (37.59%) 

211 recall signatures were easily obtained.

Hey Joe, it's not about "sedition"...it's about accountability. You guys have been pursuing personal agendas instead of doing the PEOPLE'S business! You guys talk about "the Town" as the entity that needs protecting...but the PEOPLE are the Town and clearly, they need protection from corrupt public officials. YOU are the reason that recalls are a power vested in the PEOPLE. (So are initiatives and referendums.) A few thousand dollars spent on a recall is a cheap lesson in civics, compared to a hundred and eighty thousand for Pam Walsma to protect you from the PEOPLE you were elected to serve. There's an old political adage that goes: "Pay me now with your vote - or pay me later with your seat!"

Why do I have gleeful  visions of the Von Trapp Family Singers?

 

What is "Goodbye" ? I'll take epitaphs for a thousand, Alex...

Ad hoc - post hoc

Just when you thought it couldn't be done, last nights Town Council meeting managed to lower the bar for Quartzsite politics yet again. How low can you go? I don't know..everybody limbo!

My, my, my, where to begin...the mayhem was brewing even before the meeting was called to order. When Mayor Ed Foster announced that he would be giving the invocation, Councilwoman Patricia Anderson and tho other haters began to wail...all Councilpersons refused to stand for the prayer. (Here's a novel idea, if you truly believe that our mayor is too unholy to bless the meeting, then I make a motion to actually separate church and state and do away with he invocation all together!) Councilman Jose Lizarrage made a motion that Vice Mayor Cowell chair the meeting. I guess he doesn't understand that legally, the position of "vice mayor" only exists in the absence of a mayor. These childish actions set the tone for what was to follow.

The only "new business" on the agenda was Vice Mayor Barbara Cowell's "Discussion and possible action regarding the ad hoc Ethics Committee recommendations concerning Mayor Foster's "official conduct" and "...to renounce and disclaim all of the actions and communication of Mayor Foster" etc. etc. followed by Mayor Foster's agenda item: "Discussion and possible response to the ad hoc Ethics Committee".

Let me preface the following recap by clarifying the fact that using the word "legal" or "ethical" in a sentence does not necessarily make it so. The Town's "Procedures and Policy Manual - Legal and Ethical Standards of Conduct" is not actually law, code, or statute of any sort, despite Alex Taft's defamatory insinuations to any publication that would waste the trees to print them.(which may be an ethics violation in and of itself as well as a crime under Arizona Revised Statutes 41-772)

Before proceeding to the new business, Mayor Foster explained that Council was "in illegal territory", and should the Council choose to proceed with that knowledge, they would be exempt from the "Executive Protection Clause" and could therefore be held personally liable in a civil action. Apparently, it's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation our leadership has put the taxpayers in , where the only real winners will be the attorneys. Councilman Lizarraga commented that "We were told by our insurance that if we did not do something, we could be held liable."

Mayor Foster inquired as to whether the ad hoc Committee was proceeding under recommendations or legal council made by Town Attorney Pamela Walsma, and made it clear that nowhere in Arizona Revised Statutes 9-240 Powers of Common Council was there a provision for the Council to take sanctions against one of it's members. Foster asked Walsma if she could provide legal justification for such action, and would she sign a statement approving the Committee's recommendation to do so. Taking a page from the Dan Field play book, Walsma waffled and back peddled just as we would expect. She stated "I do not approve of all the things they do" and declined to sign Mayor Foster's document.

Mayor Foster also offered the Council the opportunity to deal with the matter in "executive session", but the Council declined and a video and audio recorded public free for all ensued.

The unethical Committee's recommendations included a demand that, as Mayor, Ed Foster stop publishing The Mineshaft,  cease attending meetings which include the La Paz County Economic Development Board, and not travel at Town expense (something the Mayor has never even done). In addition, it was recommended that recalled Councilman "Machine Gun" Joe Winslow demand Mayor Foster's resignation yet again. Councilman Winslow said he didn't believe the Committee's recommendations went far enough.

Also, it was revealed that Pamela Walsma has been posting inquiries to the Municipal Attorneys  online help blog as to the possibility of sanctions and other actions against the Mayor which included withholding his stipend. Foster made public the responses to Walsma's internet inquiry from Attorney Mary Wade of Tempe, and Scottsdale City Attorney Bruce Washburn , advising her that the proposal of censure was illegal. Something Town Attorney Walsma had not bothered to disclose to the Council, according to Councilman Robert Kelley. All six members of the Council voted to approve the censure of Mayor Foster, who stated that he will be ignoring the illegal demands.

Allegedly, Walsma has posted numerous internet pleas for assistance in municipal law since being retained as Town legal council, and one wonders why the Town mismanager would increase the budget for her services from $35,000 to $100,000 annually, when it seems clear that Walsma is practicing far outside of her legal specialty (wills, trusts and estates). If Walsma doesn't approve of the Council's actions, is she just in it for the money? And why did the Town toss aside more qualified candidates like Glen Gimbut and Gerald Hunt anyway? (Walsma's expertise might be useful however,  if the Town was looking to engage in the eminent domain taking of property owned by residents unlucky enough to die without their affairs in order...)

Despite Mayor Foster pointing out to Police Chief Jeff Gilbert that he was in violation of A.R.S. 14-772 by engaging in politics while on the job and in uniform, Gilbert showed his blatant contempt for the law and insisted on opining on five, count 'em five separate occasions! Mayor Foster graciously told Chief Gilbert that "freedom of speech" was at work and indeed,  Foster seems intent on keeping his promise that he would allow anyone to speak their opinion of him during the meeting.

Resident Violet Kiss falsely alleged that the Mayor had specifically instructed vendor Jennifer Harris to "sue every person on the Council" at a meeting of the Citizens Coalition she attended in June. However, that meeting was recorded and the facts reveal that Harris had publicly notified the Town Council of her intent to do so at a Council meeting roughly a year earlier,  before she had ever met Mayor Foster.

"Point of order! Point of order" repeatedly cried Council and audience members who didn't want any opinion expressed but their own and the meeting was continually disrupted by.those who wanted to silence any criticism of the apparent conspiracy against Mayor Foster.Police Chief Gilbert demanded "we will have order" even though, if acting as "Sergeant at Arms" it is not his legal place to make that demand unless acting on the instruction of the meeting's Chairman (the Mayor).  Resident Ron Burch was even threatened with being thrown out of the meeting (at the direction of Councilman Winslow instructing Chief Gilbert) for trying to speak loud enough to be heard over the clamor. (He had asked that the entire discussion be tabled for review by the Attorney General ). Council members Bob Kelley, Jerry Lukkasson and Joe Winslow got up and stormed out, but were careful to keep a quorum of four members to avoid have the meeting adjourned prematurely. Mayor Foster rightly pointed out that Burch had the floor and should be allowed to speak his peace, and former Quartzsite Mayor Richard Oldham turned his video camera on Police Chief Jeff Gilbert and advised "I don't think you should Chief". Faced with the probability of yet another round of unflattering appearances on the internet, Gilbert backed down.

When Mayor Foster pointed out that under state law, the only recourse for any allegations of ethics breach was a recall, Councilman Jerry Lukkasson's wife Michelle cried out "November 25th!" (Silly woman! In her haste to pull recall papers on the Mayor, she doesn't even realize that Town Hall is not open on that day because of the holiday.)

Perhaps pandering to advertiser pressure, wanna be journalist Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear stated that she was putting the next issue of her free campfire kindling to bed, and for now, would be scaling back her print coverage of Town politics...and then went on to post a lengthy internet dissertation with her biased spin on the meeting. You didn't really believe she could keep her anti Foster opinions to herself now, did you?

Foster allowed supports and critics alike to speak their mind and now (in my opinion) has ample prima facie evidence against his critics to seek possible criminal prosecution in addition to civil damages. Thousands of dollars have reportedly been raised by outraged citizens in the hope that Mayor Foster will use the donations to sue Taft, Gilbert, and the Councilpersons as individuals since Foster has vowed to not sue the Town for the actions of it's officials. The meeting was finally forced to conclude when Al Johnson announced that the timer for the air conditioning would be shutting the system down in five minutes. I'm just impressed it could keep pace with all the hot air as long as it did!

It should also be noted that earlier in the day, the Council held a work session to discuss vendor permits and requirements. Although no action is to be taken this season, Building Official Al Johnson wants the permits changed from the current annual renewal to a permit that would expire every 180 days. This would effectively align the vendor's "temporary structures"  with the current definition contained within the Town Building Code, and Johnson could then use the permit records to target long term vendors for citations. Mayor Foster took a stand for the vendors, stating that they might feel short changed, whether they intended to stay and create revenue or not. Police Chief Jeff Gilbert stated something to the effect that "we should not live our lives for the vendors".  The La Paz County Health Dept. was in attendance and proposed a plethora of new regulations for the food vendors. These proposals were not actually rejected and may possibly be put into effect for the following winter season...that is, if the currently recalled Council members are not removed from office and replaced with "vendor friendly" candidates. So vendors, make your presence felt this winter and attend the meetings!

FBI removes evidence from Quartzsite Police Dept. - post your incident please

Wednesday, the FBI removed what I can only assume was dash cam video and other evidence confiscated from the Quartzsite Police Department. Word around Town is that this visit by the FBI may be related to a recent traffic stop by a Hispanic QPD officer on Interstate 10 which resulted in a sexual harassment complaint to the AZ Attorney General by the female driver. She is rumored to be a reporter for the L. A. Times newspaper that recorded the encounter during which she was directed to follow the officer to Richard Oldham's airport and provide sexual favors in exchange for not receiving a citation. As of this post, these allegations have yet to be verified, however, it has been verified that the Quartzsite Police have been directed to have more than one officer respond, and if the suspect is female, an officer from an outside enforcement jurisdiction such as the County Sheriff or DPS must be present before QPD can even make contact.

My favorite rumor unearthed in the past few days is that Police Chief Jeff Gilbert has been sending out his resume! Gee I hope that one is true, but it won't get him off the hook for pending civil litigation or potential criminal charges. So much for Gilbert's hollow protests that he and his department have been cleared of all wrongdoing.

This thread is for the sole purpose of collecting all of the known misconduct and crimes (both alleged and convicted) in one place for those FBI agents currently looking into these matters. Comments defending the QPD can be submitted elsewhere, but this comment threat will not be used for that purpose. Let's start with the other most recently exposed scandal.

Officer Josh Starr has been accused of "statutory rape" and federal violation of the Mann Act. According to statute, I can see no plausible defense for the alleged actions or Police Chief Jeff Gilbert's refusal to investigate the matter when it was first reported to him last year by the father, Sean Austin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_North_America#Arizona

It is a defense to a prosecution pursuant to section 13-1405 if the victim is fifteen, sixteen or seventeen years of age, the defendant is under nineteen years of age or attending high school and is no more than twenty-four months older than the victim and the conduct is consensual.

http://www.azpost.state.az.us/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.htm

R13-4-105. Minimum Qualifications for Appointment

A. Except as provided in subsection (C) or (D), a person shall meet the following minimum qualifications before being appointed to or attending an academy:

1. Be a United States citizen;

2. Be at least 21 years of age, except that a person may attend an academy if the person will be 21 before graduating;
Sorry Josh, I don't know your birthday, but the math doesn't work. You seem like a likable fellow, so I hope you have a good attorney.

Deja vu! This is reminiscent of a previous officer, whose actions resulted in a felony conviction.

QPD Officer Kirk D. Peterson
Case NO:  S-1500-CR-98000324
Sexual Conduct with a minor = GUILTY
Molestation of Child              = GUILTY
Sentenced to 16 years, last know prison, Florance Prison, AZ
Case Date:  1998-1999

http://www.azcorrections.gov/inmate_datasearch/results_Minh.aspx?InmateNumber=145121&LastName=PETERSON&FNMI=K&SearchType=SearchInet

The case involved a 12 year old girl that allegedly became pregnant (father unknown,. however, QPD Officer Peterson was ordered to pay monthly "restitution"),  A noticeable difference between these cases is the swift investigation conducted in the Peterson case. You might conclude that Vice Mayor Cowell and the rest of the Town Council would have been beating the drum for the diligent investigation of Josh Starr, yet they appear to have no interest and be solidly in Chief Gilbert's camp. Why is Mayor Foster the only one showing concern?

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COURT DOCUMENTED FACT: On 12-31-09, Duty Sergeant Xavier Frausto engaged in an illegal warrantless search of a building on the property of Vito Austin's RV park. False charges against Mr. Austin were dismissed by prosecutor Matt Newman. When Mr. Austin (the brother of the complainant in the aforementioned case) went to the QPD and Town Hall to make a formal complaint against Sgt Frausto (husband of the Town's Magistrate), Chief Gilbert threatened to arrest Vito for "disorderly conduct".

This spring, Chief Gilbert targeted Vito Austin for voting fraud, which resulted in a Grand Jury indictment and subsequent charge against Mr. Austin. Austin plead "not guilty" and the case is currently set for trial.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As publicized in "The Gem" newspaper, on April 23rd, 2008 Quartzsite Duty Sergeant Frausto and Officer Rodriguez along with a third officer illegally searched the private residence of Jennifer Harris and threatened her under color of law after she repeatedly asked for a search warrant. This was openly admitted to in Officer Rodriguez' incident report and is part of La Paz County court records.

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Complaints from the internet:
http://gosw.about.com/b/2009/01/29/travel-horror-stories-bad-experience-in-quartzsite.htm
"And we were charged $l79.00 for this little mistake. The Policeman told me the city needed the money."

http://www.vagabondjourney.com/travelogue/arrival-in-the-desert-quartzsite-arizona/ 
"I pulled into Quartzsite at night after running a gauntlet of agressively patroling highway police. I was driving in Arizona within 40 miles of the California border, and I passed no less than ten police cars who had pulled vehcles over and were in the process of thorouughly searching them and interrogating their drivers."

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/quartzsite-az/TGVP2A8APC2KV5P4E
"To add insult to injury, there is a growing police presence around town that was unknown a couple of years ago. The police are now shaking down out of state tourists. I should know - I got a ticket for something frivilous. I will never go back to Quartzsite.

http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Justice.Court.Quartzsite.928-927-6313/review/read?cid=963407
"I received a ticket two years ago. I paid the fine on time. Then they claimed it was late,I have a copy of the cashed check from Quartzsite. I paid another twenty dollars. Now I discover I have a failure to appear on record. The worst part is that I should not have gotten a ticket as I was not speeding. I was behind a series of trucks and a group of cars went by on my left , I oulled out to pass at 7o mph and the patrol said I was doing 90 he wrote me up for 80 in a 70. He was an angry trooper and was angry that I even tried to explain i thought he was going to oull me out of the car and accused me of being a danger to the public. it was absolutley insane and now they do this. What am to do. They dont respond to anything. i live in Florida and I cant afford to go all the way to Quartzsite of allplace."

REFERENDUM - It's official!

All the desperate maneuvers by Taft and the Town Council have been for naught, Foster will be a fully empowered mayor at the next Council meeting and I predict that heads are gonna roll...

Earlier today the signatures were turned in that effectively repeals the spiteful actions of Alex Taft and the Quartzsite Town Council until the voters decide. After the childish and selfish behavior by Lizzarraga, Wislow, Anderson, Lukkasson, Cowell, Taft and Walsma in their transparent attempt at usurping the legal and rightful powers of Mayor Ed Foster, the citizens were so outraged that the number of signatures easily exceeded that which was required. This was no small feat when you consider that the number is calculated as a percentage of voters in the last regular election. In other words, more signatures were required than for any initiative or referendum in the entire history of the Town, and despite a large number of voters having departed for cooler climates, Foster supporters will be reckoned with.

This leaves the council two choices: either they can rescind the motions amending Town Code, the Town Policy Manual and the protocol for information requests, or they can let the voters have their say at the ballot box. If the voters prevail, it will be "the law of the land" and carry more legal weight than any actions taken by those officials who are supposed to be representing them.

This move should come as no surprise to Town officials, as they were directly advised of the consequences for voting to strip the mayor's position of it's authority at the Council meeting at which Foster was eventually sworn in. Our self serving and arrogant "leaders" have proven that the will of their constituents means nothing to them. How anyone with an IQ over 40 can stand by them now is incomprehensible. Did they really think they could pull it off? I for one can't wait to see Ed assert the power given to him by the people.

Tuesday's Council meeting should be a real show. Come early to get a good seat! The verdict has been handed down by the jury, and the ruling is not in favor of Taft and her dancing puppets.

No "clean" election in Quartzsite! Attorney General investigates...

At the previous Town Council meeting, it was approved to ask the State for a recount of the vote. Then, facts were exposed relating to evidence of potential felony electioneering and voter fraud at "Call to the Public". At Tuesday evening's regular meeting of the Common Council, Mayor Foster revealed that the State Attorney General's Office of Public Corruption is currently investigating. Now, many are left wondering who really won the election for Quartzsite's open seats on the Town Council on May 18th. After all, less than ten votes separated the bottom four contenders..

The hefty file of correspondences at County Prosecutor Sam Vederman's Office clearly shows that after the primary election, Town Manager Alex Taft conspired with Police Chief Jeff Gilbert to investigate voters they personally selected with hopes of turning them over to the County for prosecution. What was the selection criteria? Well, I'm going to speculate that none of the voters Wes Huntley bragged about personally driving to the Registrar's Office were on that list.

This fascinating document shows that  Quartzsite's "news" paper publisher was an eager participant in this improper investigation:

Desert Messenger Publisher
Shannana "Rain" Goldenbear
Notice the date on the above email. It was sent to Alex Taft and Jeff Gilbert on Monday, March 29th -  four days after Alex Taft had sent a letter to the County, requesting the names of everyone who had registered to vote in the last six months and a full 20 days after the primary election! Surely if Ms Goldenbear was truly concerned about Russell and Susan's identification, then she would have immediately contacted the County Elections Board instead of waiting almost three weeks and corresponding with Taft and Gilbert. After all, that would have been the proper thing to do.

That's right folks, while she was editorializing about being fair and impartial, Rain was simultaneously conspiring to alter the outcome of the election. I hope her advertisers are paying attention. Are the "Proud Neighbors of Quartzsite" proud of this? Rain is. She proudly marched up to the podium and said as much after the email was read aloud at the previous meeting.

Keep in mind that even after weeks of QPD investigation, The Sias' were finally cleared of any crimes by Vederman's Office. So in keeping with the mission statement of Rain's beloved Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, how would putting innocent people in jail affect the next 7 generations? Tell us please Rain, inquiring minds want to know.

Ok, let me break this down for you. This is not speculation. The information in this post is verifiable fact that is now in the hands of the FBI and others. Town mismanager Alex Taft and Police Chief Jeff Gilbert combed through names on the list of Quartzsite's registered voters, primarily voters that had registered in the six months preceding Taft's written request for the list. They then chose specific voters for investigation. Chief Gilbert used his official capacity to investigate these individuals, who were targeted for no other "probable cause" than the decision to become a registered voter. At Tuesday night's meeting, Gilbert insisted that he did nothing wrong and was directed to investigate at Vederman's request, but the documents themselves expose this claim as a bold face lie. Vederman had Haws investigate at the request of Gilbert and Taft.

All of this is more than ironic once you appreciate that Police Chief Jeff Gilbert and his wife Sondra voted under circumstances that were probably far more questionable than those of Russell and Susan Sias.

The Gilbert's did purchase lots 6 and 7 in the Palo Fiero subdivision on Feb. 11th, 2010 from then Council  candidate Erik Larson (after reportedly harassing Larson with assistance from Building Official Al Johnson until the price dropped by 20k). And they used to have a home in "Rainbow Acres", (lot #APN 302-32-422) purchased on July 27th, 2006, but they sold it on Feb. 26th, 2009. So where did they live from Feb. of 2009 to Feb. of 2010? My guess is 3210 Newport Dr., Lake Havasu City, a home they've had for about four years.

Take a look at the tiny trailer at 450 N.  Pilgrim Pl. that Police Chief Gilbert was registered to vote at.

It's more like an office really. But the garbage cans were a nice touch, even though I think the same garbage bag has been in it for a while now...and I never saw Jeff's "QPD1" black SUV parked there this spring, but maybe he was just out breaking the law when I drove by. The utilities have never been in Gilbert's  name, they are in the property owner's names, Lowell and Elizabeth Williams. (Beth Williams is the Justice of the Peace in the Quartzsite Division of the La Paz County Court.) Most revealing is the fact that Councilwoman Barbara Cowell of Arizona Westcoast Realty had it listed in her Desert Messenger ad as " never been lived in"! Oh, and Gilbert's wife Sondra had to vote with a provisional ballot because she showed up with a Havasu driver's license.

Who really won this dirty election? Certainly not the voters. If you take the six and seven votes that prevented Chaunce Hamilton and Russel Sias from prevailing, deduct the Gilbert's two votes, add back in Ms. Austin's legal vote for the full "reform slate" then there's only three or four votes separating the winning Council candidates from the losing two. Let's factor in that Taft and Gilbert had no motivation to investigate incumbent supporters and double check to see if that dead woman whose name was still on the rolls voted for anyone, and I believe we would have had an entirely different outcome.

"Reformists" one up Taft with citizen coup, Foster's assumes mayor position!

Alex Taft the fortune teller-Town Manager never saw it coming. But her smug smile faded quickly as it became apparent that control of the regular meeting of the Quartzsite Common Council was beginning to slip from her clutches and back  into the rightful hands of the people. Maybe those folks who called her infamous psychic hot line should now ask for a refund.

A standing room only crowd would bear witness as the carefully crafted attempt to neuter our newly elected mayor fell flat. Although Winslow, Anderson, Lukkason and Cowell were eager to amend the Town Code code, Jose Lizzarraga abstained, and Bob Kelley (in failing health) was the only Council Member who voted in opposition to the the obvious conspiracy. One by one, citizens, many of whom never speak at or even attend these meetings, stepped up to the podium to voice their opposition to the evenings agenda.

"Why now?" "What does this mean, I don't understand what you're trying to do?" "Why don't you swear in the new Mayor?"  "If you vote for this I can promise you a recall!" were some of the concerns voiced. Taft and company tried to justify the proposals as a necessary reaction to the can of worms opened up by the Steve Bennet swimming pool "emergency", but her argument didn't hold water with the audience.

As the majority voted in favor of the proposed amendments to the Town Code, supporters of Foster remained calm and allowed the Council to show their true colors. They shared a delicious secret...and now that the cat is out of the bag, I will share it with you.

You see dear readers, the Agenda is not official until signed by the "Mayor". A fact that was not lost on our savvy new chief executive officer. I suspect that he may have even winked across the counter at Town Clerk Karen Norris when he picked up the meeting packet earlier that day. She must be relieved that what was surely the worst week at Town Hall is finally over.

With wife Mary seated front row, sore loser Wes Huntley made repeated attempts to silence the crowd. Banging his gavel and ordering the police to remove citizens. After he had motioned to discuss the agenda item to accept the County's election results, Huntley made a pathetic speech, then walked out of the room. As the crowd stood and cheered his departure, leaving Vice Mayor Barbara Cowell to pick up the gavel and call for a vote.

Then finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for; Foster, looking every bit the ex Marine was officially sworn in by doomed magistrate Terry Frausto. (Her recent assumption of dual roles as both magistrate and Town grants administer may violate Article VI, Section 28 of the Arizona Constitution.)

As Ed Foster was seated, someone called out to get rid of Huntley's name placard. A grinning Foster was happy to oblige. Then Foster allowed the people their free expression at "Call to the Public". Many new faces stepped up to the mike to welcome him, and a card was passed around for well wishers to sign before a triumphant Foster closed the meeting.

The informal celebration was at McDonalds, a regular after meeting hang out for incumbents and opposition supporters alike. Stay tuned to see if the "new council" will ever be eating at the same table.