Letters: Cline should be hiding not running for mayor of Surprise

Aly Cline is running for mayor when in my opinion she should be running and hiding from the people of Surprise.

It seems she has a habit of doing the wrong things and then trying to spin it that she was just doing her job. Case in point: campaigning at city functions, which is a forbidden practice and totally against Surprise rules for a council person.

You have most likely heard about this one and her taking down the other candidate’s signs. That, unfortunately, is just the tip of the iceberg. In a recent debate with the other candidate she blurted out she voted for a project that had over 5,000 resident signatures against it because if she did not vote for it the city would be sued for $10 million by the developer.

That was brought about because the city and its staff allowed a very good real estate attorney to use threats and intimidation against the entire council. You see the city was needing a bond election to happen and to have city bonding ability.

If a $10 million lawsuit was filed the city’s bonding ability would be essentially on hold until that was resolved in the courts. Thus, the city had a gun to its head by threat of legal action as no bonding ability, and the city could not do the improvements it needs or wants. This is a backdoor smokey room politics deal from the get go.

When the project the lawyer represented came to a vote and huge opposition turned out at the City Council meeting, the Council, including Aly Cline, listened to the opposition and then went into a backroom out of the public view meeting where the city attorney reminded them of the fact about the lawsuit and what it could mean to the citiy’s bonding ability.

So, they came back called a vote, and, poof, it passed even though the people of Surprise did not want it to happen clearly.

Aly Cline was one of those people on the Council totally intimidated and voted to pass the project by her own admission. She has clearly shown herself to be not for the people of Surprise and in essence a person who can be pressured into acting against the better good of Surprise.

Is this really the person you want for mayor? I sure hope not as politicians who can be swayed by the actions and threats of a developer and their lawyer need not be representing anyone where the future of a whole city depends on their unbiased actions. Think about that before you vote.

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.