9/12/13
Dear Anonymous Admin of Sonorantruth.com:
I take exception with the following that runs in your 9/8 piece entitled Flawed Logic:
“. . . hiring Glassman was a mistake . . . Hiring Glassman was a political favor promulgated his protégé, Adam Trenk. Pure and simple cronyism. We were duped into supporting the worthless idiot and the sooner the Town is rid of Glassman, the better.”
First, I am not Glassman’s protégé. On the contrary there are few I would credit with bestowing that credential upon me and Dr. Glassman is not one of them. He has not put in the time. I met Rodney in 2010, I was 27, already involved in the community, and serving on the Council.
With regards to your “cronyism” comment, as noted above I knew Rodney before recommending him for the interim manager position, a decision I stand by. However, he is not a family member, we did not grow up together, and he was not even invited to my wedding even though I was literally married about 200 yards from his home. Are we friends today, sure, if had nominated Tami Rydall (who I also knew before selecting Glassman) and been working with her since June I’m sure we would be great friends today too. Since when is cronyism retro-active?
If you have a problem with the process used to select Dr. Glassman and feel you were duped it is your right to express that. I am used to criticism, and I would never trample your first amendment rights. I do not wish to relive any admittedly flawed or imperfect process, but say what you will, the new council got a necessary and difficult job done as quickly as possible in an effort to disrupt town operations as minimally as possible. In light of your comments I would like to offer you the following counter point: we needed and continue to need an energetic, dynamic, honest, thick skinned and willing individual to serve as interim town manager in Cave Creek and we have one.
In calling Dr. Glassman “the worthless idiot” you begin to stoop to the level of Sorchych, the nemesis of all good and decent in our community. Freidrich Nietzche [sic] (Ed. correct spelling Nietzsche) once said “those who fight monsters should take care that they never become one”. Baseless ad homonym attacks do nothing to move the community forward. If you have issues with the someone’s actions take the time to explain them, then perhaps that individual may have the opportunity to adjust to the needs and expectations of those they serve.
In three months, under the Council’s leadership, Glassman has: leveraged relationships to get the School of Public Administration to do a performance audit of Town processes at no cost to the tax payer; resurrected the Town newsletter to inform citizens of where their tax dollars are spent; initiated the development of multiple asset management plans to ensure the efficient management of Town resources; orchestrated what may likely be the largest promotion of the Town’s unique lifestyle and tourism venues in our history; has begun to pursue mechanisms for securing designated open space held in trust by the State Land Department, and more.
So I ask, why was hiring Glassman a mistake? To what do you owe your assessment that he is a worthless idiot? Is Dr. Glassman not doing far more than his predecessor to serve the needs of the community and run the town honestly and efficiently?
In what continues to be a contentious environment where the threat of recall and pending lawsuits threaten not just the Council but the entire citizenry and future of Cave Creek, we would be better served by honest criticisms. In the meantime I will take what I can get and continue to work together with residents, the Mayor, my colleagues, Dr. Glassman, and staff for our mutual benefit.
Best,
Vice Mayor Adam Trenk
P.S. If anyone has critiques about the way town hall is run or other matters that you wish to make the Mayor and Council aware of I welcome you to office hours every Thursday morning at 8:00am in the Council Chambers.
Editor responds: As promised, we printed Adam’s letter in its entirety without revision. This is transparency and democracy in action as a free press is key component to a free and just society. In re: Protégé. Glassman considers you his Protégé. If you have issue, take it up with Rodney. In re: Cronyism. In politics, appearances are as important as facts. We supported Rodney based upon the strength and leadership of the new council. Rodney hasn’t done a damn thing to clean out the corruption and incompetence in Town Hall, i.e. he’s a worthless idiot. You tout window dressing as if it was substance. What you consider work doesn’t even register on the grand scheme of things. Hoeppner claims to be the founder of Cave Creek. For those of us who lived in the area before Hoeppner and his hypocrites banded together to form a Town, the unincorporated area of Cave Creek was a great place to live. Our children don’t care whether the Town of Cave Creek exists or not and frankly, there isn’t enough talent in the community to run the Town. Are you willing to run against Vince if there’s a recall? Are you willing to lead the charge for new blood (i.e. folks who are younger than 60)? How are you going to do that? How are you and Rodney recruiting young adults in the Cave Creek area to get involved in politics? How have you and Rodney addressed the violation of constitutional rights against citizens of Cave Creek over the last decade? Rodney’s audit is fluff because it isn’t addressing how Usama used impact fees and building permit fees as an ATM machine when there was no nexus. How many pieces of land were “gifted” to the town as a requirement of an entitlement in violation of state statutes? You are guilty of your own criticism Adam. You are insulting us by insinuating we are no different than Sorchcyh. Really? Would Don have printed your letter? Our critique of Rodney is not baseless. “Baseless ad homonym attacks do nothing to move the community forward,” is nothing more than political rhetoric. Have you cleaned house- gotten rid of the dead wood in town hall/ do you or Rodney even know how to do a management audit? How to handle HR issues? Based on what experience? Why is Bambi still on staff? Or Cordwell? Or Anderson? Or Stein? The first thing Glassman should have done was to request everyone’s resignation and for everyone to write a one page description of what they do and how it contributes to the welfare of running Cave Creek. How much does Cave Creek spend each year on bad advice from a questionable law firm that only got worse now that it was acquired by Dickinson Wright. This is first hand knowledge from a friend of 47 years who worked for Dickinson Wright and quit because he couldn’t stand their unethical approach to practicing law. I suggest that before you branch out into the realms of existential philosophy, you pay attention to the law lest we invoke the famous quote of Shakespeare. That said, we welcome your contribution with respect as a kindred spirit who in time and with maturity will hopefully grow to be an asset to Arizona as opposed to just an ambitious kid who is out for his own self-interests (which is how Glassman is perceived). Birds of a feather flock together. You’re better than that. Show us your stuff Adam. Make us proud we voted for you.