The real situation (Quartzsite, AZ) from an outside perspective, July 13, 2011
The real situation (Quartzsite, AZ) from an outside perspective, July 13, 2011
After viewing many local people’s blogs, comments, videos and recent interviews on July 12th 2011 an outsider can see this town is dealing with bad politic and abuse of power. Where power is defined as “possession of control, authority, or influence over others” and politic is defined as “characterized by shrewdness in managing, contriving, or dealing.”
The issues that have erupted in Quartzsite Arizona recently appear to have come from a long term struggle of the local citizens that are fed up with being pushed around. An investigation of the town’s political figures will hopefully bring to light the real inside issues that are at work. If any investigation should occur the agency performing the investigation should not look just for legalities but also focus on the duress caused to the people by the political figures abuse of power and bad politic.
The nation and the media should not take the light from Quartzite so soon. The media appears to be publishing stories as if it is just another small town dealing with local every day disputes. This is not the case and something needs to be done about this bad situation. Even though the town of Quartzite is small the nation needs to understand that no matter the size of the town, the issues are real and is conducted within a form of bad government right here in the United States.
It is obvious the town’s people are so upset with the power given to incompetent leaders that they are now exhausted with their efforts of restoring their government and are acting out and making small mistakes that can hinder their defense. The media is using their mistakes as if they are the ones causing all the problems while interviewing people like Alex Taft who is one of the major concerns the locals are trying to expose. Put yourself in their shoes and think of a time when you were powerless for a moment, exhausted, upset, and feel there is no way out. When this happens the exhausted and powerless begin to lose professionalism, may act irrational, and make mistakes that may hinder their cause. The people should never be this powerless against a city council that was formed by the people to make decisions for the people.
I will provide links to follow this memo so the nation can see the local’s blogs, reports, interviews, and streamed videos. I want to encourage any locals who have not spoken up yet to do so now. Let your voices be heard, post your videos now, and get this story exposed for what it really is not what the media is cautiously reporting. As an outsider I see that the town’s people need all your help and support to recover their composer, and professionalism and begin a full citizen investigation with clear heads to avoid any mishaps and expose the duress and abuse of power in the town. Be cautious, avoid anger, and remain as professional as possible when entering or assisting with the town’s situation.
More updates and links to come. The comment below from “R3v” has most of the video footage we took from the counsil meeting in Quartzsite Arizona on July 12th, 2011.
Blogs
http://quartzsite-thoughts.blogspot.com/
http://www.quartzsitemineshaft.com/news/news.htm
http://thedesertfreedompress.blogspot.com/2011/05/breaking-news-quartzsite-police-chief.html
http://www.quartzsitearizona.blogspot.com/
http://qtown.us/blog/tag/quartzsite-news/
http://www.parkerliveonline.com/?s=brannan
Links
http://www.azcops.com/userfiles/JS%20Quartzsite%2006-14.pdf
Videos
http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=212327.0
http://www.metacafe.com/channels/A+Fur+Salon/
http://tubevube.com/m/u/u/5482775/quartzsite-police-harass-recall-petition-supporters.html
Interviews
http://www.ustream.tv/user/SunrizeTV4512
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V94wnXew4x4
This is a list of key people that should be monitored.
Alexandra Taft, Al Johnson, Martin Brannan, Jeff Gilbert, Joe Winslow
powerandpolitic 
Illegal Town Council meeting in Quartzsite, Arizona
http://www.outpost-of-freedom.com/blog/?p=520
No Confidence in Quartzsite Chief of Police Jeff Gilbert
http://www.outpost-of-freedom.com/blog/?p=526
Thank you Gary. We are looking for more locals to provide new information. This blog is intended to consolidate as many blogs, news, interviews, etc. as possible to prevent confusion. Please let others know about this site so the information can be exposed to the nation. Again thank you for your input.
You forgot http://www.Qtown.us
Thank you Jay,
I did post one link from http://www.qtown.us I appreciate more links and more information. Thank you very much for your contribution and let others know of this site.
Sounds like the outsider does not know what a troublemaker Jones and Foster is! Your links are not all local links to Quartzsite. Many anti-government sites listed but no ligitit local connections. Stay on the outside then! Are you going to report on how well the town is doing or if the reports on Gilbert come back and clear his name ?
Or will it be more harassment of all governent officials just for the sack of harassment? After all, it seems “they” are all out to get us, right?
I went through Quartzsite years back and many of my friends winter there. They love it cause there’s so much to do in the winter! It seems all you want to do is to get people upset.
Hello Oh.Come.on,
Thank you for your reply. These sorts of comments are what we like to hear. This blog is not to stir up more animosity but to help those that are becoming exhausted with havoc. I didn’t see the Police Chief looking for help, nor did I see the town organizer seeking assistance when dealing with the Mayor or Jones. It appears it’s the other way around. Maybe I am too empathetic when I see so many people trying to reach out to the public and media. You have to admit that if so many people have to walk around with video cameras everywhere they go and a large number of locals are posting several times a day on their blog’s dedicated to exposing “something” in their town that “something” must be going on.
If Jeff Gilbert is cleared of course we will report that information. I did notice some of the links are not from locals but I hope to see more locals speaking up if there really is a situation so the nation can see what is happening. This situation is a perfect example of what might already be going on across the US if the allegations are true. Please don’t hesitate to comment any time. Again thank you for your post.
In addition to the above response I do not condone or agree with “anti-government.” In fact I very much love this country, respect our founding fathers, and cherish and hold tightly to our freedoms, rights, constitution, bill of rights, and government. Although if any locality with a formed government entity violates or disrespects the foundation of our country they should be exposed. I would hate to find out later that the media brushed it off as a typical town dispute and nothing is resolved if there truly are violations to our laws, government, and freedoms. This is not an anti-government blog but rather a “pro government, restore government blog.”
So, now holding our elected officials accountable to abide by local and state laws constitutes “harrassment?” Violating the open meetings act, removing an elected mayor from power whether explicitly or implicitly, declaring a state of emergency where even the mayor states no emergency exists? Refusing to address evidence of financial wrongdoing? Open police disobediance of mayoral orders? 10 out of 14 police officers in the department requesting AG investigation of their own chief on criminal matters?
Attempting to follow up on which of these makes one a “troublemaker” as you put it?
Thank you for your comment. I would like everyone to know that the comments are open and I expect professionalism in the comments. Robert White, you are on the same page as we are. Regardless of who is who in this case there are too many accusations of wrong doing and bad politics that violate what our country stands for to sit around and do nothing. No one should fear their government because of stature, position, and power. Hopefully all allegations will be dealt with in a legal matter and posting as much information in one space can assist with future investigations. Thank you again for your input, sir.
Add this video! There is so much more to this story….
Quartzsite Corruption, Fighting for the Constitution in Arizona.
Thanks for putting all this together for the world!
Interview with Sgt William Ponce, Quartzsite PD, 7 12 11 Quartzite, AZ
Interview with Mayor Ed Foster, of Quartzsite, AZ 7 12 11
Quartzsite City Council Meeting 7-12-11
Quartzsite City Councilwomen interviewed
Interview with Quartzsite Police Chief
Quartzsite Corruption, Fighting for the Constitution in Arizona.
Power and Politics Blog
My Blog: sunrizeinthefourthworld.wordpress.com
Arizona’s alternate news
http://www.freedomsphoenix.com
“Uncovering the secrets and Exposing the lies!”
I am not a Quartzsite native infact I knew nor heard anything about this town until I saw the shocking Youtube video of the police dragging away that brave, poor battered woman ripping on her arm. Shortly after Gilbert ripped Jone’s arm this insane fascist council declares a “state of emergency” due to the blowback; due to them reaping what they have sewn. This is completely obviously one sided, an evil council complete with cronies like the town manager, vice mayor, et. al. On the good side is the real Honorable Mayor Mr. Ed Foster, the reporter Jen Jones, the aggrieved locals, and others persecuted by this out of control city government. I live in a desert town so I can identify with Quartzsite and it makes me sad that a town so small can have such an unimaginably lousy and autocratic group conspiring to snuff out liberty and freedom. I hope for some kind of good ending to this and Mr. Foster can again lead Free Quartzsite and the wrongdoers can be punished for their deeds. The Revolution must go on! Overwhelmingly everyone is on the side of the people and against the police chief Gilbert’s led council.
I have been doing alot of countless internet research on this- there is nary a Quartzsite website that I haven’t been to- and even emails to some of the protagonists of this saga there is little doubt that it is 100% true what is going on. There is more than many people realize, the rot goes deep especially for that psychopath in uniform Gilbert who seems to run the show.
Much blessings stay safe I hope the locals of Quartzsite read my post and please get involved boycott the council and anyone tainted by them. Have some kind of rally festival gathering party for freedom outside of the city limits where the council can’t touch a good free people.
http://Www.quartzsiteBlog.com
http://parkerpioneer.net
I’ll tell you what my wife and I have lived in Quartzsite for about 20 years.We have been married for 59 .I meet her in the army in 1948 in Germany.She is not a war bride came to this nation with a quota number .Had her naturalization papers after three years you take a test to get them and speak English,must also the know national anthem.She being born in Germany 1926 she went thru the whole Hitler era WWII ,She told me she thought she would never see somethimg similar to the Nazis again. She said it is a sad day in America when the state and federal authority will not touch this situation what is going on in Quartzsite Arizona. I have talked to the town manager about other maters and have never got a straight answer.I always left thinking I would have felt better talking to my cat.You say what am I going to do about it ,not much at 80 plus years old ,that’s why we need some outside help.The only thing I can do is lip service and vote them out I hope.Closing I heard two powerful words when I was out of town at the doctors,Boycott Quartzsiteta ta ole frog
I’ve checked some of the links and watched some videos. My impression is that the underlying issue is a dispute over the settlement of the Yakima vs La Paz County court case over a Sewage Waste Disposal contract. The county is on the hook to pay Jim Willett of Yakima Company $14 million. Willett has stated he’ll settle for attorney fees and court costs plus title to the landfill property involved in the suit.
If the county is unwilling to Willett’s settlement terms, it’s option is to raise taxes as much as 30% to pay off the lawsuit. Former Quartzsite mayor and former Quartzsite City Attorney (Dan Field currently working for La Paz County)are lobbying heavily for a Public Private Partnership and the former claims to have formed an LLC with private investments of $15 million.
I have a feeling the Quartzsite City Council is acting under pressure from the County and wealthy parties outside Quartzsite. That’s why the state agencies have been negligent in acting on the Mayor’s requests.
That’s my theory.
I visited Quartzsite as part of a small team looking into the situation for the July 12 council meeting. As a board member of the Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots, a group that has managed to lay some pretty good licks on the political machine in Arizona, I can tell you that we get a lot of requests for help in pushing various issues or going to bat for different groups, helping to move or squash legislation or regulations.
So when we saw the video of Ms. Jones being arrested at the town council meeting, and began looking into it, it wasn’t long before the cries for help became clearly audible.
But one thing we have learned in our particular tea party, sometimes in a very hard way, is that things in politics and governmental structure are not always as they appear. Although we had a gut feeling that something was seriously out of place, we wanted to look the situation over for ourselves, and do some talking with people from both sides of the ongoing debate, to determine if, for instance, the arrest video was a staged incident to gain notoriety or to advance an agenda.
We decided to send a delegation to conduct a fact finding tour and discuss the situation with both sides to see where things really stood.
Together with some people from other groups, including some Ron Paul activists, Oathkeepers, Sons of Liberty in Arizona, the Greater Phoenix Tea Party, and Cave Creek Patriots tea party, we worked as a team, speaking with disgruntled citizens, some police officers, the mayor, and the wife of the Police Chief, among many others.
Afterwards, over lunch, we compared notes among team members, evaluating the statements from both sides, hoping to get to some semblance of truth on the matter, at least in a general way. Based on this careful approach, and going in with an open mind, we all agreed that there was a serious problem with the balance of power in the little town of Quartzsite, and with the surrounding area and its political structure as well.
The long and short of it, in my carefully considered opinion, is that this is a case of gross mismanagement at the least, and probably extensive graft and corruption in the worst case. One interesting thing is that there are more paychecks going out each pay period than there are workers in the city. Who gets those checks? Asking that question is what landed the current mayor, Ed Foster in such hot water with the council and the police chief.
The vice mayor of the town is also the area’s biggest realtor. It turns out that there is expected to be massive construction soon, of a large solar array near the town, which would require some 1500 workers for a period of two years. Think back to the sewage rates more than tripling in a single year, resulting in many RVs bypassing their regular stop at Quartzsite and deciding to stay elsewhere. Think back to the non-maintenance of roadways and the squandering of town money on a useless park in a wash, and splurging to pretty up the town government buildings.
Put two and two together with that realtor on the council, and the former town official now working as a county official. What is going on here is, quite simply, an Old West Land Grab. EVERYTHING else follows from there. The simplest story in politics: Follow the money, find the answer.
Michael Bailey
Director at Large, Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots
Chapter head, Sons of Liberty in Arizona
Watching from afar (as an outsider) leaves one feeling rather frustrated, calls and emails only go so far. I want to thank you for hearing the cries of The People of Quartzsite and providing an unbiased prespective. Many thanks to you and all who are able to get involved.
Much love
A Sister Up North
“Oh.come.on” posts sound an awful like like the Desert Mess publisher “Rain”/Anna English is trolling here. Whenever someone puts up a link to her blog, it raises red flags. She was given her “free community paper” by Mayor Waly Aiken, who resigned saying “We’re broke, broke broke.” and from the very first issue she published it was a vitriolic and one sided. diatribe. By starting a rival publication, I had hoped to lead by example and force her to raise the bar for local reporting. I was even looking forward to some good old fashioned journalistic feuding, a healthy debate of facts and issues. Instead, DM sunk to all time lows and their local advertisers appear to be distancing themselves from what has clearly become the losing argument.
Hello Jones,
Thank you for your post. I am absolutly positive that Oh.come.on is Shanana “Rain” Golden-Bear. Only because at my end of this blog I am able to see others email addresses. I was going to keep it a secret and not block any of her comments but I am finding no one but her is speaking of the other side of the issue. I have spent most of my day trying to find what Shanana “Rain” and Starr BearCat have to do with any of this, what is their political gain? It seems like “Rain” does a lot to bring attention and activities to the town which sounds exciting but why so agressive during campaign times? Also I just found out that Alex Taft is a member of the Arizona Community Tree Council, Inc. Dedicated to the care and planting of trees. I just had to throw that out there.