Now is the time to take a stand with Transparent Payson.   

Who we are:

We are citizens of Payson, Arizona, striving to make our local government more transparent.  We believe in the people voting on what happens with their money, their land, and their town.  We believe that elected officials are there to serve the public; as such, we should have a voice in making decisions that affect us all.  We are nonpartisan/bipartisan with no party affiliation, no hidden agenda. We believe in Payson, Arizona, and its future.  We support growth that will better serve all its citizens while remaining financially sound.  As a 527 nonprofit PAC, we were responsible for successfully enacting Propositions 401 and 402 in 2018.  A short history of our group can be found here.


Voters' rights are essential to all.

Fundamentally, we are responsible for Propositions 401 and 402 and their defense.  We have been compelled to become a voters' rights group in that defense.  The implications for Payson appear limited to the validity of Propositions 401 and 402 and their enactment.  At the state level, we suspect the implications of our effort have a much more significant impact.  That is, do citizens, as allowed by law, have the ability to initiate law?  Is that law then valid?  Can it be repealed by Town Council or any legislative group?

There was recently an attempt by the Town of Payson to repeal these ballot initiatives.   With the help of an attorney, we are fighting that effort in Superior Court; we still have much work to do to defend your voting rights.

We are defending the rights of Payson citizens on large-scale, publicly funded projects that may be placed on public lands via long-term leases to third parties.  Our goal is NOT to prevent such projects but to ensure transparency in all negotiations, discussions, and contracts that affect your town.  If the citizens approve the funding through an election, or if the citizens approve the lease of public land to complete the project, we would support that effort.  We are protecting YOU – the voter.

Our vision is that our leaders provide all the information as to the proposed spending of Town money as well as the utilization of Town property so that we, the citizens, can choose how and where our money and our land are utilized.

We welcome YOUR involvement in this process.  Dare we say, support the cause.


I appreciate your consideration.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

 

___________________________

Jeffrey S. Aal 

Chairperson, Transparent Payson


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July 31, 2023

KMOG Radio Interview August 2nd, 9:00 am

Transparent Payson will be appearing on KMOG FM103.3 – AM1420 Wednesday, August 2nd at 9:00 am to discuss the current litigation with the Town of Payson. You can listen online if you are out of the area.

We again appreciate the opportunity to provide information on these issues.  We have previously been on KMOG and local station KPJM.  Audio versions of both interviews are available at these links:

We welcome participation from the listeners via call-in so we may answer any specific questions.  It can be difficult for people to listen to the show live, we will post the audio as we can.   Charlie Seraphin is no longer broadcasting, the show will be hosted by former Police Chief and longtime Payson resident, Don Engler.  We look forward to his input and perspective on the issues.

The suit against the Town is quickly becoming a voters’ rights issue.  The implications for Payson appear limited to the validity of Propositions 401 and 402 and their enactment. At the state level, we suspect the implications of our effort have a much more significant impact. That is, do citizens, as allowed by law, have the ability to initiate law? Is that law then valid? Can it be repealed by Town Council or any legislative group?

The issues of voters’ rights are core to all political parties.  We have discussed voters’ rights here, and here.  The tools of democracy have been in place for thousands of years since Athens.  Ultimately, the foundation of a democratic government, in any form, republic, representative democracy, or direct democracy, is based on the people’s sovereignty.  You may have heard the phrase “consent of the governed.” Repealing the people’s will does not appear to reconcile with the “consent of the governed.”

We look forward to the discussion and your input.

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