Mayor Phil Gordon (Photo: Nick Oza, Arizona Republic)

[Source: Sarah Fenske, Phoenix New Times] — Saying it was a “distraction,” Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has asked supporters to back off a plan that would have kept him in the mayor’s office until 2014.  The plan, first revealed by New Times in this blog, would have consolidated municipal elections in Phoenix.  Currently, half the City Council and the mayor are up for reelection in 2011; the other half will run this fall.  The new plan, which would have required an amendment to the city charter, would put everybody on the same schedule — saving roughly $1 million every two years.

But the plan drew criticism (including some from this writer) because, in the process of consolidation, it would have tacked another two years onto the term of Mayor Gordon, Councilmen Claude Mattox and Michael Nowakowski, and Councilwomen Maria Baier and Thelda Williams — in essence giving them a six-year term instead of the four-year one originally approved by voters.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

[Source: Sarah Fenske, Phoenix New Times] – City officials are weighing a plan to consolidate elections in the city of Phoenix — one that could give Mayor Phil Gordon and certain council members an extra two years in office without being forced to run for reelection, New Times has learned.  On January 9, a group called “Phoenix Election Consolidation Committee” quietly filed papers with the city clerk, establishing a political committee to support a new ballot issue.

Currently, council terms are staggered, with some members due up for reelection at the end of this year and some (including Gordon) due in 2011.  Sources tell New Times that the committee hopes to change the set-up so that everybody’s terms expire at once, thereby saving the city the expense of twice the number of elections. But here’s where we could get some opposition: Rather than have the 2011 folks run for an abbreviated two-year term, we’re told that the new plan would just push them back to 2013 — meaning those lucky council members and the mayor would get six-year terms.

If what we’re understanding is correct, council members Thelda Williams, Maria Baier, Claude Mattox, and Michael Nowakowski could all get a two-year bonus.  But the scenario would probably have the biggest impact on the mayor.  Technically, he’s due to be term-limited out of office after two four-year terms. Handing him an extra two years would surely cause some controversy.  (See: Bloomberg, Mike.)

City Clerk Mario Paniagua told us that, based on the scenario we describe, the change would require a charter amendment. That means we the voters, not the Council, would ultimately have the finally say on the plan.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

[Source: Sarah Fenske, New Times, August 2, 2007] – I have to admit it.  When I heard that Mayor Phil Gordon was in New Orleans last week, announcing that Phoenix city planners will “help” that stricken city with planning and redevelopment, I laughed.  Hey, it’s better than crying, right?

Now, it’s true that New Orleans needs help, by the shovelful.  And it’s certainly true that we all ought to be pitching in. But the city of Phoenix offering its planning services?  Maybe Lindsay Lohan can give New Orleans some sobriety tips while we’re at it.  And George W. Bush can help them run a military invasion.

Here in Phoenix, we’re living in what’s got to be America’s worst-designed major city, a hideous grid of expensive new buildings with no curb appeal.  Even worse, we’re all gnashing our teeth, daily, as we navigate a post-apocalyptic wasteland of torn-up roads, orange barrels and giant, gaping holes in the ground.  Eventually, we’re going to have light rail and a new Sheraton, but downtown is such a mess these days that I get deja vu watching CNN — minus the car bombs, the dusty streets of Baghdad look just like my freakin’ neighborhood.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]