We have written before the notion outré of long-time lobbyist John Karolzak potentially running for Mayor of Scottsdale in 2020. The only thing stranger would be Tyrion Lannister trying to play center for the Phoenix Suns. You can see our previous writings. Click here to read. And here.
Since we haven’t written of Karolzak in a while but with the need and profligacy of his deficiencies so extensive we thought it time for a refresher.
So let’s take you back to October 16, 2010. On that date the Scottsdale Republic, then under the commanding scope of Mike Ryan and Robert Leger, penned a provocative editorial entitled, “Can Corporations Handpick City Officials?”
Several years prior, long-time fire and emergency services provider Rural/Metro had lost Scottsdale’s 911 contract to upstart PMT. Out in the cold and with but one Scottsdale Councilperson at their beck and call, former Councilman Ron McCullagh, Rural/Metro concocted a plan in part crafted by Karolzak to earmark unprecedented sums of Rural/Metro’s corporate money to elect three candidates that if elected would join with McCullagh to give them a majority to get the contract back. Those candidates? Linda Milhaven, Dennis Robbins and Wayne Ecton.
The Scottsdale Republic described it as a “scheme brazen enough to take your breath away.”
They were right. While Milhaven and Robbins went on to win, Ecton did not. With the press so bad and political ethics in mind Milhaven and Robbins didn’t lift a finger to aid the unexpected and untoward benefactor. Rural/Metro never got the contract back and the episode became infamously known as a don’t for the body politic.
Now, for the three people beyond Karolzak himself, who thinks his quixotic mayoral candidacy meritorious, we ask you: if Karolzak spent corporate money like this would you ever want him in charge of the Scottsdale treasury? If he was so inept at something like this, how could he ever be an effective voice and leader for the entire city? That would be like installing Steve Wilks as the Arizona Cardinals coach. Oh, we already tried that. Don’t need to again. Ever.