Mr. Mankiewicz sings the praises of Mayor Sharon Wolcott as “a visionary and a true leader because she was the only one with the courage to stand up to the developers of City Center to demand something special for our downtown.”
What Mr Mankiewicz fails to mention is that Mayor Wolcott had the city file a lawsuit against the developer in an effort to take the land from them. In the end, she didn’t get what she wanted. It costed the taxpayers about $800,000 in attorney fees to be paid to the developer.
Not only did it cost the city money, but some developers took their projects to other cities. The lawsuit also put a stop to any development in the City Center for a few years. Mayor Wolcott was not a visionary. She was a bully.
Mr. Mankiewicz also keeps repeating the line about the time Councilman Skip Hall and other council members voted to censure Mayor Wolcott for endorsing candidate Hayden. Again, that is not entirely true. Mayor Wolcott was censured for violating the city’s mayor and council handbook. The handbook, at the time, stated that the mayor cannot campaign for a council candidate.
Mayor Wolcott had fundraisers for a challenger to another councilmember in her home. She had robo calls with her voice asking to support the challenger. This caused division on the council. She violated the rule. She got called out on it. She was censured.
After this episode, with the help from the city attorney, the handbook was updated. The language about campaigning for a candidate was removed from the handbook. Therefore, letting Mayor Hall campaign with and support a sitting member of council during his campaign.
Since Mayor Wolcott resigned, we now see development return to City Center. Ottawa University-Arizona is expanding. City Center Drive has been put into place. There are restaurant developments to the north side of City Center. We now have onsite housing complexes for both the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers. A luxury apartment development is coming in. There are retail developments on the horizon.
Developers and investors have taken notice of the direction of our great city. We are seeing growth again. Much of it has to do with the unity and vision of our current mayor and city council. I encourage Mr. Mankiewicz to turn the page from our dark past and join with our leaders in Surprise to move the city forward; as our city becomes, the Jewel of the Valley.
Editor's Note: Mr. Grim is a member of the Surprise Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission.
