By Theresa Mao, Paradise Valley resident | Guest commentary
The mayor wrote a newspaper column that when he votes differently from Julie Pace, it does not matter.
It mattered to me and my family when the mayor voted to allow a resort proposal to move forward to build a five-unit party and wedding complex with a 24-foot high rooftop bar adjacent to my yard and overlooking my backyard, but apparently we do not count in the mayor’s eyes.
Yes, you read that right, the mayor voted in favor of moving the party and wedding house proposal forward, which would be built adjacent to my house.
I hope that this matters to you and, if so, you should vote for Julie Pace for mayor on Aug. 2. Residents can count on Julie Pace to protect residents’ interests.
In that key vote, Julie Pace supported the residents’ interests and the mayor supported resort development interests with a party house and higher density that would have ruined my house on Camelback Mountain.
A house that my two daughters, Charlotte Mao and Lisa Kay Mao, who grew up and went to school in Paradise Valley will inherit and live in.
The party-house resort proposal should have been stopped dead in its tracks, yet the mayor and Councilmembers Dembow and Thomasson voted to allow the denser, resort development party house adjacent to my home to move forward.
They did not protect my private property rights. Think about that carefully when you vote by Aug. 2.
Building and living in my house since 1972, I do not agree with Jini Simpson’s version of events. I would have endured a year or more fighting to keep the party and wedding complex from being built and used next door to me. My quiet enjoyment of my house would have been ruined forever.
There are up to six resort re-developments coming to council to address.
Residents: our voices and choices matter and our mayor and council need a refresh at the Aug. 2 election.
On Feb. 14, 2019, the mayor is correct that he “won” the vote by 4 to 3 that evening to move the party house proposal forward, but Julie Pace stepped up and took out a full page newspaper ad at her own expense to inform residents of the party house that the mayor and three others on the council were allowing to go forward.
I respect and thank the three councilmembers (Julie Pace, Ellen Andeen and Scott Moore) who had the courage to vote no to this proposal going forward.
And thank goodness the residents’ responded to Julie Pace’s call to action, which led to the resort withdrawing its application. Pace is who we can count on. She is the canary in the coal mine to protect resident interests and lets us know so it is not slipped in under the radar screen.
That is why the mayor and pro-development interests are attacking Julie Pace and other preservation-oriented candidates. The mayor and others cannot slip items through the system if Julie stands up and lets residents know what is happening.
After that party-house vote that the mayor “won,” Julie Pace took the lead so that in the end, PV residents “won,” rather than the mayor.
I applaud Julie Pace for stepping up to serve for mayor to preserve our town and she will govern with integrity and transparency, support public safety, and is a fiscal conservative and a lawyer who has represented companies for 30 years. We can rest assured that Julie Pace as mayor will keep the paradise in Paradise Valley.
During my 50 years in Paradise Valley, I have led efforts to underground utilities and paint the water tanks to blend into the mountains, founded the Camelback Saddle Club in 1970, was president of the Maricopa County Medical Society, and am a member and major donor of the Franciscan Renewal Center. I believe in giving back and I know what it means to fight for our town’s character and values. Julie does too.
