Lawmakers lose election but refuse to leave

The 2012 municipal election took place May 15, but the old town council in Quartzsite has since refused to seat Ed Foster as mayor and Mark Orgeron as councilman.

Foster collected 56 percent of the vote to easily defeat opponent Jerry Lukkasson, but officials claim he cannot be seated because of an unpaid debt to the town, and so Jose Lizarraga remains at the helm for now.

Orgeron defeated Vice Mayor Barbara Cowell, but is not being seated, as officials dispute his residency in the town.

“This is outrageous,” says Chris Rossiter of the Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots. “The tea party will not tolerate corruption in public office.”

www.wnd.com...

I thought this story was interesting, and presents a curious problem: if the vote result is effective immediately, then how can those in power stay and enforce laws if they were voted out of office?

Vederman told the paper the situation in Quartzsite is volatile, and he worries about violence breaking out.

March right down there and throw the suckers out!

Whats the point of voting if they just ignore the results?

I thought the uk was bad but wow!!!

It is very simple on how to get rid of him.
Cut his paycheck off and he will leave soon enough.
Works every time, guaranteed.

But if he sticks around and does the job without pay, then we might need to reconsider the person as a good guy that actually cares and not there for the easy paycheck. Very doubtful though.

Quartszite, AZ is full of corruption. This has been an ongoing saga for at least the last year or 2. Council has held illegal meetings, barred Mr. Foster from council meetings, met in secret, refused to hear motions made by Mayor Foster, etc. The police in that town are no better, and are full of corruption and complicity. You want to see damned corruption on a local level, look no further than Quartzsite.

I don't know why the people of Quartzite have put up with this for so long. The time has long passed to remain calm. The time has come to pick up pitchforks and torches and head to City Hall. Drag those bums out of their chairs and lock them up.

Hmm, the situation there is indeed volitile as you can see from this town meeting on June 4. People are pissed!



About 15 minutes in, after they talk about the problems, things start to get heated.

Here is another from a year ago that talks about the corruption there:

Wheres the Sheriff?

Doesnt this fall under his duty?

..I could be wrong- but I dont think I am.

reply to post by Common Good


Heh, the sheriff is rogue and hates the would be mayor more than probably anyone else in Quartzite, he won't find help at the sheriffs office.

This has been going on for years, how the feds have not intervened by now is beyond stupid.

reply to post by Helious


If you ask me, the Feds shouldnt intervene at all. The Sheriff needs to do his job and kick out the old and waltz in the new.

If not- The Sheriff himself is violating his duty and should be thrown out.

No?

2005 Arizona Revised Statutes - Revised Statutes §11-441 Powers and duties
More Sharing ServicesShare | Share on googlebuzzShare on facebook_likeView Current Version (2011)
A. The sheriff shall:

1. Preserve the peace.

2. Arrest and take before the nearest magistrate for examination all persons who attempt to commit or who have committed a public offense.
law.justia.com...

It is his job to make sure anyone who is commiting a public offence be arrested and taken before the courts.

I dont know why this has gone on as long as it has. Even if he doesnt like the new guy- its still his job to enforce the laws and arrest any of those who break it. PUBLIC SERVANTS ARE NOT ABOVE THE LAW

Edit to add- I thought this was another red flag at the bottom of the article I forgot to respond to -

"Quartzsite’s population is estimated by the Census Bureau to be less than 4,000, and there were only 706 ballots cast in last month’s mayoral race.

Town Manager Alex Taft said this week that 168 votes are under investigation for possible fraud.

Cowell told the Republic she and other incumbents believe “something is not right” because about 300 new voters registered before the election, including some staying on federal lands.

“We have proof that there were (three) people who were dead who voted,” Cowell added."


NOT to mention the voter fraud. But Im sure they dont want us talking about that. =X

This is a mutiny!

I cant believe what these councilmen are doing is still being allowed to continue. They have NO EXECUTIVE POWER- Those people have been THROWN OUT. What they say DOES NOT MATTER.

Originally posted by Common Good
reply to post by Helious

 

If you ask me, the Feds shouldnt intervene at all. The Sheriff needs to do his job and kick out the old and waltz in the new.

If not- The Sheriff himself is violating his duty and should be thrown out.

No?

You said duty!

But seriously, once people get in a position of power they have a hard time giving it up. These are just a couple of bruised egos trying to hang on and stay relevant. They will probably find another reason once the current ones are resolved. They actually probably realize the level of apathy in people these days and have decided to do what they want until people demand they step down. If that's the case, they could hang on for years...

If there's evidence of election fraud, then bring the state authorities in on it, and let THEM check it out. In the meantime, those outed should go. I believe in the town meeting the panel accepted the vote tallies confirming the outing. They're just finding technicalities. It's BS, and the people have a right to be mad.

Well this story is a new twist. The authority would be first the county clerk, the county election board, then the Sectretary of State Election Division in AZ. There will be 2 attorneys leading the division. One appointed by the Dems and one by the Repubs. Generally they will have the budget and the motivation to help escort the losers out and open investigations into the mandatory election and campaign finance reports. The wild west has been reborn in this town it appears. Thanks for the reports.

At the way things are going it would not surprise me if Obama lost the election and refused to leave the White House. Voting means nothing any more, maybe it never really did. They pick among themselves who is going to hold what office. I think that some people are starting to see things for what they really are. Too bad there is not enough of them to make any real change and it my soon be too late.

reply to post by six67seven


I know right.

Taking power away from a power hungry politician is like taking cake away from a fat kid.

Sad losers.

Maybe they are afraid they cannot rob cheat and steal anymore. I hope one of em ends up cleaning crap out of porta potties for a living.

Perhaps some of these can shed some light on the situation for those that are not familiar with Quartzite, it's corrupt police chief and fraudulent town council.

Why doesn't everyone just refuse to go to the meeting that is held by the old illegitimate mayor? Also they could make a new temporary venue for the actual mayor and have meetings with him!

During this time the new mayor can go to the feds and get them to act, surely?

Everyone that is turning up to this meeting is giving the old cronies credence! Because I'm sure they wouldn't turn up for some random claiming to be mayor. Yet they turn up for this one!

Any way politics is so far gone now I don't see a way back for it! They are all corrupt at some level! And when they get into power they only get worse!

Originally posted by N3k9Ni
I don't know why the people of Quartzite have put up with this for so long. The time has long passed to remain calm. The time has come to pick up pitchforks and torches and head to City Hall. Drag those bums out of their chairs and lock them up.

And then the local cops ring the feds and tell them a story about "white Al Qaeda," to which they respond with SWAT.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


I remember these guys. The police chief that arrested someone at a city council meeting against the direct orders of the mayor. I'm sure more than enough local people would volunteer to escort these slime from city property without incident. Arizona is an open carry state.

Originally posted by Common Good
Wheres the Sheriff?

Doesnt this fall under his duty?

..I could be wrong- but I dont think I am.

I'm in agreement with you.
It seems that these folks are impersonating officials.
Maybe the new mayor needs to appoint a police chief and have some folks arrested.