Dear Editor,
In the city of Kingman, we are living in a “round & round, run around”. The city’s circle of continuity with the city leaders and the City Council has not been broken as they continue to brazenly defy the humble, heartfelt cries and pleas of the “Kingman Man on the Street”, the people of Kingman. It would appear the city leaders are both deaf and blind with hardened hearts that are taking full advantage of the same old status quo and hopeless, apathetic surrender of Kingman’s people to THEIR WILL, not OUR WILL. They categorically refuse to talk to the people directly. How often do the people have to “Out” them and “EXPOSE” them from hiding before they stop with the con game that Economic Development is the ONLY good for the people, infrastructure be damned? They have not yet explained in any detail how the resulting uncontrolled growth is good or how they calculate that. I ask how the uncontrolled growth and runaway urban density help the people. Why can’t they meet the people where they are and where the rubber literally hits our poorly maintained, potholed, and patched roadways? Why can’t they see doing the same thing over and over and anticipating a different result as the definition of INSANITY and, in this case, also INSINCERITY?
In the Standard Newspaper of 11-06-24, the new City Manager, Tim Walsh, claims the city is “excited to receive input from the public to give us our strategic plan.” Why have they waited until now? They have now retained a high-priced firm to send out a so-called “selective distribution by invitation survey”. This succeeds their former survey of ONLY 212 (“in crowd”) city people, which concluded crime and homelessness were the people’s TOP concerns. This succeeds thousands of confirmations from countless social media and newspaper publications that clearly drive home the real issues on the minds of the people and not the snake oil the city is pedaling.
As a former candidate for City Council and now as a very concerned citizen, for over a year, I have been asking, begging, and pleading with the city to hear the true wishes of the people. Their multiple actions (including outright deception) said NO WAY to a town hall meeting but just slapped that nomenclature on their customary and regular workshop meetings in an effort to bamboozle the public. They kicked the can, playing hide and seek with the idea of a town hall meeting in a frantic frenzy to avoid the truth but rather advance their special interest agenda and your signature on a blank check.
The city also retained a high-priced firm to assist the City Council in selecting a new City Manager. Our City Manager succeeds a rapid replacement of his many predecessors but is not at all new, born and raised in the local establishment. The city was given a choice of several candidates, but at the end of the day, they chose a good old hometown boy who may already be WALSHed up.
Kicking the can and playing hide and seek was a fun game when we were kids, and nothing was at stake but winning the game. The future of Kingman and its’ people is not a game. The city leaders must come out and talk directly with the people and stop playing hide and seek. The best interests and the welfare of the people are at stake. Our quality of life is not a can to be kicked around.
Elliot Chalew
