Greg Mengarelli, incumbent and Mayor candidate, says he makes decisions based on his Christian values. Yet multiple times a week his campaign, of which he is the Chair, sends out mailers and newspaper ads attacking his opponent with lies. Nightly, Mengarelli’s campaign runs ads attacking his opponent on Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and the History Channel to name a few. Sounds like he missed the “do unto your neighbor” part. Hypocrisy?
Last week on Facebook, Mengarelli denounced an attack mailer on Eric Moore and Brandon Montoya sent out by the Arizona Residents Council, a dark money organization led by a group of developers in Scottsdale. Yet Mengarelli has not stopped or denounced his own attack ads on his opponent, Phil Goode. Hypocrisy? And just why are Scottsdale developers interested in Prescott’s election? And who paid for the ads?
In 2017, Mengarelli first used the attack ad strategy by sending out mailers full of lies about Mayoral opponents Mary Beth Hrin and Jean Wilcox. He didn’t do this in 2019 when he ran unopposed. Does Greg Mengarelli dislike opponents who focus on issues?
In the June 19 issue of Prescott’s Daily Courier, Prescott Frontier Days Board President said that Mengarelli approached the Board and asked for a job so he could expand events at the Rodeo grounds owned by the city. Now there’s a public clamor for the Mayor to release his employment contract with the Rodeo, which he has yet to do. Wouldn’t releasing the contract prove there’s no ethical issue, or worse?
But wait, there’s more.
Now the City has suddenly decided it needs to renegotiate the 25-year lease it has with the Rodeo after only four years into the lease. Because? Funny how the sudden urgency for a new lease coincides with the Mayor’s new job. And didn’t Mengarelli bring all of these questions on when he asked for a job from a non-profit that leases property owned by the city? How does one person represent the taxpayer, himself, and the rodeo?
Last week we found out that Mengarelli’s campaign treasurer Pam Jones and her partner David Hess have been in business with AED Developer Jason Gisi since 2016. Emails between Jones, Hess, and the Mayor show the two were involved in the process to select Billie Orr’s replacement before the public and other councilors even knew Billie had resigned. Are we supposed to believe that while Greg Mengarelli has been leading negotiations to Save the Dells, there’s been no backchannel?
Then there’s the issue of Sheila Mengarelli selling valuable commercial real estate owned by local developers and investors, worth tens of millions of dollars. Is it a problem when these same developers and investors have business before the City Council?
The dictionary says self-dealing is engagement in a transaction for the benefit of oneself rather than for the benefits of someone to whom one owes a fiduciary duty. If we have to wonder over and over about Greg Mengarelli, maybe our vote should go to someone else. It is true that Greg and Sheila Mengarelli are entitled to earn a living; even a great living. But Greg Mengarelli should not be earning a great living in ways that are tied up with city interests—and still be Mayor.