by David Safier
Marana-ites? Is that the right term? It can't be Marana-ans. You could be a Marana-phile without living there, so that doesn't work.
So, anyone live in Marana? Because we have a minor — or maybe more than minor — situation developing in the Town Council election. Tedski reported it on R-Cubed, and I did some digging around on my own as well.
One of the candidates, Patti Comerford, has clearly spent a reasonable amount of money on her campaign, sending out flyers with the words "Paid for by Patti Comerford for Marana Town Council" at the bottom and putting up signs. The problem is, all she claims to have collected for her campaign is $100, a loan she made to herself, and the only expenses she claimed are $30 to the Pima County Recorder for an early ballot list and $25 to the Town of Marana for a sign permit. Here's the campaign finance report with the information.
That can't be good for someone who, in an Explorer article about the Council candidates, says "making good budgeting decisions" is an important issue:
Comerford said her experience with the town puts her in a good place to help take the town’s budget into the future.
“I have an understanding of where our absolute needs are and of areas where we can hold off for now,” she said.
Other issues she brought up as important are maintaining public safety and making good budgeting choices.
For her day job, she's an aide at Marana High School where she runs the Career Center. Maybe she should look for a pamphlet about filling out job applications and financial reports.
Look, you can buy a used desktop sign machine for $100 on eBay (maybe less now that the economy is so bad). Then, the vinyl is literally a few pennies per sign, and cheap sign blanks can be bought for as little as 20-30 cents each. If you already own the sign machine, you can make a few hundred signs for $100.
I’d have to know how many signs she made and how many mailers she sent out before I can make an educated judgment of whether her accounting is incorrect.
My mother used to say that my father’s sister, who she greatly admired for her skill in managing money, could “bite the nickel until the buffalo yelled uncle.” If this woman can do all of what is described with $100, we need her skill!!!!! If she has a recipe, get her to give it out!!