As former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods rightfully serves as a co-chairman of a nascent campaign committee to overturn Republican excess at the State Capitol to restrict citizen’s rights, his hypocrisy in another part of the state is notable.
We have written before of Woods and his disdain for disclosure as it relates to why he is opposing a new automobile country club in Maricopa, Arizona known as Apex. Here are some links:
https://arizonaprogressgazette.com/smell-wilmer-moles/
https://arizonaprogressgazette.com/worst-public-affairs-campaign-ever/
https://arizonaprogressgazette.com/lost-maricopa-woods/
He leads the Clandestine Cartel, joined by ethical invertebrate Joe Villasenor and Smell & Wilmer’s Nick Wood.
Widely suspected to be doing the bidding of the Attesa project near Casa Grande which believes its racetrack plans so poor it cannot stand purported competition in Maricopa, the Clandestine Cartel have reverted to every anonymous, dark money trick in the book to oppose and slow their perceived rival. Following Maricopa’s unanimous and enthusiastic approval of Apex, they even imported both a Phoenix and Scottsdale resident in Villasenor’s orbit to form a committee to oppose Apex, even though the City of Maricopa has deemed their efforts unlawful. It’s totally normal of course for a Phoenix and Scottsdale resident to get involved in a local, Pinal County issue. Not! Save for the financial motivation and interest of another business with an inferiority complex.
Which leads us to even more hypocrisy. Attesa’s purported direct or indirect opposition of Apex has focused on how bad the project will be for “noise,” “traffic” and other falsehoods promulgated about the private facility in Maricopa. They have runs ads on local cable television and online broadcasting as such. None of this is true as Apex is a private facility and must get a special event permit from the city to hold large events.
Ironically, what does a quick look of Attesa’s entitlement applications in Pinal County reveal? A desire to attract a lot of racing events with “20,000-25,0000” people to its track. Sounds like a lot of noise. And traffic. And as for the probability of attracting such events to justify its extraordinary entitlement requests we’re sure Phoenix International Raceway and Track President Bryan Sperber will be surprised, as they are in the midst of a $150 million upgrade. Sperber’s concerns may be tempered by the serious questions surrounding Attesa’s ability to get an assured water supply in the near term, if ever.
Integrity the boys at Attesa appear to not have but chutzpah they certainly do.
And that leads us to a discussion about Pinal County and its elected leaders: Supervisor Steve Miller, Supervisor Tony Smith, Supervisor Pete Rios, Supervisor Todd House and Supervisor Mike Goodman.
To reward this type of conduct by Attesa, if true, would be political malfeasance. Actors, and henchman, such as these are not what have positioned Pinal County on the threshold of an economic boom. They should send a strong message, just as Maricopa Mayor Christian Price and the entire Maricopa City Council did when Woods came calling. Go home. We know what’s best for our part of the world. And you aren’t it.
In previous editorials we have welcomed, even encouraged Attesa, to write us and tell us where we are wrong. So far, crickets. It appears they find their own charade so clever they have lost sight of professional moorings with others. So unless and until Attesa’s owner Dan Erickson and all of his employees and consultants can assure Pinal County officials, perhaps with affidavits, they are not behind or funding the skullduggery in Maricopa, directly or indirectly, they should delay if not reject all of Attesa’s requests.