EDITORIAL FOR FEBRUARY 21-22, 2012
I’m CAVE MANager Paul Lotsof.
Wednesday marks the birthday of George Washington who, according to
legend, couldn’t tell a lie.
In Benson we have another Washington who might be considerably less
honest than the father of our country.
Last summer, the Benson Chamber of Commerce hired Sierra Vista resident
Marc Washington to be the organization’s Executive Director.
Washington says he holds a PhD in finance from Touro University and has
many years of experience working for non-profit organizations.
Some of Washington’s admirers think that he’s something of a magic
man who can do wonderful things for Benson.
On the evening of December twelfth, Washington appeared
before the Benson City Council in an effort to get some cash for the chamber
so that the chamber could pay his salary.
During that meeting, Councilman David Lambert asked Washington some
questions about what the chamber does with the city’s money and some
questions about the chamber’s finances in general.
Lambert did not attack Washington though Washington acted as though his
personal integrity had been questioned.
Shortly after the December twelfth meeting, several Benson area
residents began to complain loudly about Lambert and they threatened to have
him removed from the city council through the recall process.
At every city council meeting since the one on December
twelfth, angry chamber enthusiasts have shown up to condemn Lambert and also
to show their support for Marc Washington and the chamber.
Washington apparently was so impressed with the turnout and support
that he changed his mind about filing a lawsuit against the city and he also
changed his mind about resigning his chamber position.
On the evening of January 23rd there was a
joint meeting of the city council and the officials of the Chamber of Commerce
including Washington. Looking
at the official minutes of that meeting, we read, “ Mr. Washington stated he
sat on the board of directors for the Chamber 1999-2006 for Mesa, Arizona,
which was his residence, (and) the city (of Mesa) gave the Chamber $1.4
million per year on average”.
Also on hand at that joint meeting was Benson City
Attorney Michael Massee who apparently didn’t take Washington’s statement
at face value. So Massee decided
to go off on his own and make a couple phone calls.
In an email to City Manager Glenn Nichols, Massee writes,
“I just got off the phone with Peter Sterling, President and CEO of
the Mesa Chamber of Commerce. He
has no record of Marc Washington being on the board of the chamber, although
he is in their records as a “prospect” for membership, but he never even
became a member. He also states
that they (the Mesa Chamber) do
not and have not received funding from the City of Mesa”.
Massee’s email to Nichols continues, “I had
separately received an email yesterday from Debbie Spinner (Mesa city
attorney) that there is no contract between the City and the Chamber...
Thus, there appears to be nothing to back up Mr. Washington’s
statement made to me during the study session that during the time he was on
the board of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce they received $1.4 M in funding from
the City.”
But Massee isn’t the only one who looked into
Washington’s claims. A
member of the Benson City Council also made some calls to Mesa and got the
same story. So it would
appear that Washington’s claim to have been on the Board of the Mesa Chamber
of Commerce is less than honest as was Washington’s claim that the City of
Mesa gives cash to Mesa’s chamber.
Well, what is Washington’s response to all this?
Someone apparently supplied Massee’s email to Washington and
Washington sent an answer to Massee.
This station has also obtained that email.
Washington accuses Massee of acting to “defame,
discredit and harass”. Washington,
who is black, then goes on to play the race card and claim that Massee was
“racially charged, racially motivated and (engaged in a) calculated act of
intimidation and harassment”.
But Washington’s email doesn’t say anything about the Mesa Chamber
of Commerce or its purported relationship with him or
with the City of Mesa. What
Washington does says it that he’s turning the matter over to his legal
counsel.
The obvious question is what comes next?
How will all this affect the effort to unseat David Lambert from the
City Council or how will it affect the relationship between the chamber and
the Benson City Government? Will
the Chamber and Washington part company?
In my opinion the key player will be the local newspaper and whether
they will continue to portray Marc Washington as a magic man who can solve
many of Benson’s problems. Will
they print anything that casts doubt on Washington?
Will the newspaper continue to portray Lambert’s detractors as heros
even when their claims are false?
In Benson people believe whatever the newspaper prints.
That’s what happened in 2008 when Kathy Suagee and Dianne Tipton were
recalled from the city council. The
outcome will depend on the newspaper and how responsible or irresponsible its
reporting will be.
I’m CAVE MANAger Paul Lotsof and the opinions you’ve
just heard are mine and not necessarily anyone else’s.
If you’d like a copy of this editorial or you’d like to see the
emails sent by Michael Massee and Marc Washington, or you’d like to express
your opinions, go to the CAVE web site at CAVEFM.com and click on editorials.
That’s CAVE-FM.com
From: Mike
Massee
<bensonattorney@qwestoffice.net>
Subject:
Re:
Cease personal
attack immediately
Date:
February
2, 2012
3:30:25 PM
GMT-07:00
To: "marc
m. washington
sr" <marc@bensonchamberaz.com>
Cc:
marcmwashington@yahoo.com, erobaina@robainalaw.com,
MCGOFFINTL@msn.com,
Glenn
Nichols
Mr.
Washington,
I
do not
know how
you obtained
the email
below, but
it is attorney-client
privileged communication and
should not
have been shared
with you or anyone other
than council
members.
That
said, if
there are
any facts
presented in
the email
at issue
that are
incorrect, I will
be happy
to publicly correct
them. In particular, please
tell me
which if
any of the
following are untrue:
(1)
that you
told me
at the
meeting on
January 23
that during
the time
you served
on the
board of
the Mesa chamber
of commerce,
the chamber of
commerce received
$1.4M in
funding from
the city;
(2)
that you
were never
on the
board of
the Mesa chamber
of commerce,
and were
never even
a member;
(3) that the
City of
Mesa has
never funded
the Mesa
Chamber of
Commerce.
I
look forward
to receiving
your response, Best,
Michael
J. Massee
Benson
City Attorney
1071 N.
Grand Avenue
#103
Nogales, AZ
85621 (520) 287-3462 bensonattorney@qwestoffice.net
On Feb
2, 2012,
at 12:28
PM, marc
m. washington
sr wrote:
Mr. Massee,
I have
provided a
copy of your
email to
my legal
counsel and
was informed
to write
this email
and include
the acting
(Vice) Mayor
McGoffin and
City Manager
Glenn Nichols,
as I
am unsure
which of
them [or
city council
official] gave
you the
direct order
to personally investigate me
upon the
Cityʼs behalf
and
direction. I
believe this
email is
beyond reproach
and a
definitive act
to defame, discredit
and harass.
I also
believe it
is racial motivated
and the
City has
now removed
all doubt
that it
intends to
continue to
publicly harass,
humiliate and
defame my
reputation both
personal and
professional.
At this
time it
is unclear
as to
which individual
gave you
the direction
to initiate
this investigative
attack, but
I am
assured my
counsel will
find out
how deep
rooted city
employees or
city council
is involved
in this
racially charged,
racially motivated
and calculated
act of intimidation and
harassment. I am appalled
that the
City of
Benson pays
you
to personally investigate and
attack me.
I hope
the City
is just
as steadfast
in paying
to legally
defend you
and
itself.
Regards,
Dr. Marc
M. Washington
Sr.
Glenn,
I just
got off
the phone
with Peter
Sterling, president
and CEO
of the
Mesa Chamber
of Commerce. He has no
record of
Marc Washington being on
the board
of the
chamber, although
he is
in their
records as
a "prospect"
for
membership, but he
never even
became a
member. He
also states
that they
do not
and have
not received
funding from the
City of
Mesa. I
also just
now got
off the
phone with
Trisha Sorenson,
