Mary Souza’s Newsletter 

No surprise to see the CdA Chamber of Commerce joining the other power groups in downtown to denounce the Recall CdA effort.  What is surprising to me is that the time stamp on their full page, five paragraph scanned and emailed letter, signed by both the Chairman of the Board and the President/ CEO shows it was sent out almost immediately after the meetings where they made their decisions.

You don’t think they had the letter all ready to go, do you? 

I say this because Recall CdA was invited to the Chamber’s meeting yesterday.  Frank Orzell and I attended and were given 15 minutes to present our reasons for the recall. Frank read the excellent remarks he gave to the City Council last Tuesday, and then we answered questions. It was very calm and respectful.

(You can watch a 5 min. video of Frank’s wonderful council comments by clicking on the link in this article: https://opencda.com/?p=11142 )

We told the Chamber this Recall is about the people of our town feeling like their city officials do not listen; do not give them a vote; do not care what the public thinks.  We told them this movement is not personal it’s about getting a VOTE, and that the signatures will only get the issue on the ballot, so everyone can decide.

As a small business owner and a long time member of the Chamber, I told them my hope is that they would stay neutral on this issue.

Get in line and do what you are told!

Then Frank and I left the room and it was the Anti-Recall group’s turn to enter.  I saw them sitting on the other side of the lobby, so I walked over and extended my hand to Mayor Bloem, Sara Meyer and Jennifer Riggs Drake.  As I walked out the door, I watched the three of them enter the conference room. Almost immediately after the meeting, the formal letter against the Recall was emailed out.  It was a done deal.

(One alert reader took all the letters from the power associations who have come out against the Recall, and lined them up, only to realize they seem to be written in the same manner and style.  Could it be that one person/group is authoring these and pressuring organizations to get in line?)

I’ve got to tell you that I’ve been reeling ever since the Chamber meeting yesterday.  Not from anger and not from surprise–we all knew how it would end.  I’m reeling because there is such a huge chasm between the power players and the real people of our town. Those in power positions don’t seem to understand the sincere frustration and disrespect felt by  regular people. The leadership of organizations like the Chamber and others have not even asked their full memberships, they just announce that they are against the Recall effort.  The real people don’t matter.

Do you want them to tell You what to do?

The Chamber’s letter says the Recall is inappropriate because none of the officials have  done anything illegal or fraudulent.  They don’t seem to realize that the Idaho Constitution puts government in the hands of the PEOPLE.  It says that we, the people, have the right to alter or change our government “whenever we deem it necessary”.  But the Chamber and the other power players don’t want us to have that right. They think they should decide for the rest of us.

The Chamber’s action goes hand in glove with the City’s new attempt to hobble our signature gathering. As the latest in a series of dramatic Press headlines announced yesterday, “Petition Drive Pinched” (link below), Deputy Sec. of State, Tim Hurst has now changed his mind from his official statement two days ago, when he said that the City was wrong to shorten the recall time line. Now he suddenly agrees with the City… politics at its finest.

Will you let them take away your Vote again?

We have some folks looking into the legalities of what the City is trying to pull, and believe me, something is not right about the way they are changing the rules in the middle of the game.  That said, the rest of us cannot be distracted by their antics.  We must keep our eye on the goal, which is getting enough signatures to insure this Recall is on the ballot, so every voter of CdA can have a voice of their own.

It’s up to You, dear readers, and all the other regular, real people of CdA.  Since the City has taken 20 days off our time, we have only 40 more days to collect signatures.  We can do it, but it will take EVERYONE  to help.  We know the signatures are out there, we just need to get the petitions to them or get the signers in to our Headquarters (directions below).

Will you help us?  Please bring your family and friends into Recall Headquarters to sign.  Don’t wait for groups to come through your neighborhoods–they might miss you if you’re not home.  If you can’t get out, call us, we’ll send someone to you.

RECALL CDA
In the Sunset Mall, across Hwy 95 from Fred Meyer
We’re near Coin Nuts, AAA and Las Chavelas restaurant

We’re OPEN:   
Monday – Friday 10-6  and  Sat. & Sun 10-4

Phone:  704-1596    www.recallcda.com

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PS:  Here are some videos about the Recall here in CdA:

1.  Here’s Frank Orzell’s council comment:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrZIaI3RkCo&feature=youtu.be

2.  This is a good cartoon asking why the CdA Mayor+3 don’t just see how the vote goes?:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XktVy1oVmF4&feature=related

3.  This is a very good cartoon about the Mayor and how much our “free” parking is going to cost: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK814arCPEU&feature=relmfu

4.  And another cartoon about regular people of CdA talking about their concerns: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM66hjJFxCE&feature=relmfu

“Petition Drive Pinched” CdA Press article: http://www.cdapress.com/news/political/article_81529228-bf3e-5a90-b2a8-6b4083cc51f5.html