I was at this meeting. It was the longest 'resignation' I've ever heard. It was offensive. I hope former Council Member Sam Saxton will somehow be reminded that our Constitution guarantees Freedom of Religion and declares that Church and State are separate. He said he hopes everyone finds Christ and follows him. Every time he lead an Invocation, he attempted to infuse his Church with our State. Jesus spoke his truth, but never forced his truth on others. Sam, walk a mile in Jesus' sandals.
Feels like a slow news day, and an opportunity to use this platform as a soapbox to attack the character of a council member. This feels unnecessary and personal. There are MANY things that Mr Saxton and I have not agreed on, and I have continually observed and assessed the accountability, validity, and effectiveness. While I have been vocal in regard to my views on the more recent council, and it’s lack of continuity and cohesion, I can say that I have witnessed Mr Saxton appear to be more community minded, and concerned for the good of the town, than the person responsible for this article. I feel like this was an attempt to use someone’s past against them; Do we really want to do that? Perhaps just wishing him well in his new adventure and endeavors for his future and his family would be more appropriate
I appreciate your viewpoint. The article was fact based, NOT opinion based. Due to the fact that space was limited in the print edition of June 19th Desert Messenger, I chose to use this platform to include the factual history of Quartzsite Council Member Sam Saxton who recently resigned.
For 16 years, I have published information on local public officials when they have been elected, appointed, resigned or died. That is news. This new platform allows for more words than the print edition allowed. And for that, I am forever grateful.
Statements of fact can be proved or disproved with objective evidence, whereas statements of opinion depend on personal values and preferences. Assumptions are things that may be true but cannot be proven to be true at this time. In the article, I admitted to my own "assumption" that the County Recorder's Office had made a mistake. My assumption was proven wrong, as evidence showed Mr. Saxton was not registered to vote when he applied to be a candidate, which in turn caused his name to be removed from the ballot.
However, my personal Opinion is, "That's not a good way to start a political campaign and does not build trustworthiness." (Which was not included in the article.) Opinions are our subjective beliefs about what is true or what will become true in the future. There were many other facts I would have liked to include, such as all the complaints I received about his handyman business. But instead, I chose to publish articles about the legal requirements for a Handyman to operate in the state of Arizona....without naming his company or even referring to him. Some of his victims were angry with me because I did not call him out publicly. But I have worked hard over the years to turn something negative into a teaching moment for the betterment of the community.
My personal opinion is that if he were truly "community minded", he would have completed his Oath of Office. But instead, he admonished the current council members in his resignation statement, telling the public to, "Hold them accountable to that and to the oath they swore to uphold." I think we, as citizens, must do the same. Facts matter and Sam Saxton did not complete his commitment to the Quartzsite community, nor did he fulfill his oath of office. He chose his singing career over the citizens of Quartzsite. And that WAS his choice. Facts.
I can appreciate what you are saying, but while it be heavy on fact, it is deficient on necessity. Why attack his character as he is leaving town? As he has told me, this was a difficult decision for him to make. He knew that his work it was not done. I happen to believe that the council is best served by a member that has more time on his hands probably a retiree who owned a business worked in education, etc.. in addition to the availability of free time they also bring really should bring a vast amount of experience to the position but I digress. Putting all that aside, I would just say that I did not believe the article in discussion was necessary. Let’s focus on the positive. This was not news.
Thanks for the input. Substack is a subscription forum for authors and journalists, full of opinions. I am fairly new to this and will use it to expand upon the print edition, which can be very limited in space. I may use it for more detailed articles and also sharing some tips for local businesses, and information about Quartzsite.
I was at this meeting. It was the longest 'resignation' I've ever heard. It was offensive. I hope former Council Member Sam Saxton will somehow be reminded that our Constitution guarantees Freedom of Religion and declares that Church and State are separate. He said he hopes everyone finds Christ and follows him. Every time he lead an Invocation, he attempted to infuse his Church with our State. Jesus spoke his truth, but never forced his truth on others. Sam, walk a mile in Jesus' sandals.
Feels like a slow news day, and an opportunity to use this platform as a soapbox to attack the character of a council member. This feels unnecessary and personal. There are MANY things that Mr Saxton and I have not agreed on, and I have continually observed and assessed the accountability, validity, and effectiveness. While I have been vocal in regard to my views on the more recent council, and it’s lack of continuity and cohesion, I can say that I have witnessed Mr Saxton appear to be more community minded, and concerned for the good of the town, than the person responsible for this article. I feel like this was an attempt to use someone’s past against them; Do we really want to do that? Perhaps just wishing him well in his new adventure and endeavors for his future and his family would be more appropriate
I appreciate your viewpoint. The article was fact based, NOT opinion based. Due to the fact that space was limited in the print edition of June 19th Desert Messenger, I chose to use this platform to include the factual history of Quartzsite Council Member Sam Saxton who recently resigned.
For 16 years, I have published information on local public officials when they have been elected, appointed, resigned or died. That is news. This new platform allows for more words than the print edition allowed. And for that, I am forever grateful.
Statements of fact can be proved or disproved with objective evidence, whereas statements of opinion depend on personal values and preferences. Assumptions are things that may be true but cannot be proven to be true at this time. In the article, I admitted to my own "assumption" that the County Recorder's Office had made a mistake. My assumption was proven wrong, as evidence showed Mr. Saxton was not registered to vote when he applied to be a candidate, which in turn caused his name to be removed from the ballot.
However, my personal Opinion is, "That's not a good way to start a political campaign and does not build trustworthiness." (Which was not included in the article.) Opinions are our subjective beliefs about what is true or what will become true in the future. There were many other facts I would have liked to include, such as all the complaints I received about his handyman business. But instead, I chose to publish articles about the legal requirements for a Handyman to operate in the state of Arizona....without naming his company or even referring to him. Some of his victims were angry with me because I did not call him out publicly. But I have worked hard over the years to turn something negative into a teaching moment for the betterment of the community.
My personal opinion is that if he were truly "community minded", he would have completed his Oath of Office. But instead, he admonished the current council members in his resignation statement, telling the public to, "Hold them accountable to that and to the oath they swore to uphold." I think we, as citizens, must do the same. Facts matter and Sam Saxton did not complete his commitment to the Quartzsite community, nor did he fulfill his oath of office. He chose his singing career over the citizens of Quartzsite. And that WAS his choice. Facts.
I can appreciate what you are saying, but while it be heavy on fact, it is deficient on necessity. Why attack his character as he is leaving town? As he has told me, this was a difficult decision for him to make. He knew that his work it was not done. I happen to believe that the council is best served by a member that has more time on his hands probably a retiree who owned a business worked in education, etc.. in addition to the availability of free time they also bring really should bring a vast amount of experience to the position but I digress. Putting all that aside, I would just say that I did not believe the article in discussion was necessary. Let’s focus on the positive. This was not news.
Thanks for the input. Substack is a subscription forum for authors and journalists, full of opinions. I am fairly new to this and will use it to expand upon the print edition, which can be very limited in space. I may use it for more detailed articles and also sharing some tips for local businesses, and information about Quartzsite.