Letters: Cline is clearly the right choice for Surprise mayor

This election tearjerker should have been cancelled from the beginning.

A complete waste of time and money because a resident decided they knew the law/rules better and chose to defy them.

I’m not talking about Aly Cline. Did she remove a flyer from a post on a Handicap sign? Yes. Was it an official “campaign sign” for opponent Kevin Sartor? No. Had it been, it would have been improper because it was up before the legal posting time of 71 days before a primary. This was March and Mr. Sartor was not yet an official candidate.

Should Ms. Cline have removed it on her own? Probably not. Amazing how the resident placed the paper there right when Ms. Cline arrived, ready with a camera to video their handiwork. As they say, a mountain was made out of a mole hill.

The plot thickens. Ms. Cline had the audacity to wear her city-issued polo shirt with her name on it to casual city functions — something she’s done long before she chose to run for mayor. You got it. Someone complained.

Ms. Cline has always held twice monthly meetings, open to all, to keep constituents informed of what’s going on in the city. She has always answered questions thrown her way. When someone asked if she was still running unopposed, she mentioned Mr. Sartor’s name and a added her “Vote for Aly!” and why she thought she would be a better candidate.

To know Aly, is to know she is very easily approachable and open. Her response would have been a natural for anyone. Yep, someone complained. Are there rules against that? Apparently so, and so on goes the pettiness.

Now to the plot twist. Mr. Sartor entered the race, presumably confident in his abilities and experience. Yet the first thing he did was go running to the mayor and City Council to say that Ms. Cline was not playing fair and he wanted her censured. Then he wanted her to quit the race. Then he wanted her to repay the money the city laid out for outside counsel to look into these allegations.

Maricopa County refused the case of her removing the piece of paper from the handicap sign. Waste of time. The city censured her for speaking about her candidacy on city time at a meeting where she was doing her job, keeping residents apprised of what was going on in Surprise. The snowball keeps rolling.

But do you know what I see? A supposed leader, Mr. Sartor, who should have been confident enough in his own abilities and plans to lead our city. But he made the immature choice to follow someone else’s path, the low road, and try to diminish all the work and time Ms. Cline has spent over 20 years, trying to make Surprise a better community. He seemed to find an easier path to winning than on his own strengths.

I’ve watched three forums now: two online and one in person. The last two, Mr. Sartor, after stating his admirable military career again, has taken jabs at Ms. Cline, again wasting a golden opportunity to expand on his plans, instead using the “kick ‘em while they’re down” method.

The packed in-person meeting, open to all, found Mr. Sartor’s time again used up by reminding us of his military history, but short on real answers or plans. I’m still waiting to hear how he plans to juggle a full-time day job and full-time mayor’s duties. How is he going to have meaningful communication with city staff who only work during the day? Emails? Texts? No answer.

Finally, each candidate was given time to “give your best pitch” as to why we should vote for them. Ed Cunningham was very clear and did a great job explaining his capabilities. Mr. Sartor was next. He used the entire time, the entire opportunity to sell himself, to bash Aly Cline instead.

He did make sure to distance himself from the sign situation that started the whole fiasco. But he certainly had no problem using it to his advantage. The audience responded immediately and not in a positive way, yet he continued about how unfair this was to him. He couldn’t read the room.

At the end, an audience member called out,”Thanks for telling us why not to vote for you.” Aly Cline was next and took the high road by not acknowledging Mr. Sartor’s words.

This is a non-partisan race. Equal representation for all. I want a mayor who represents all of Surprise, no matter who they choose to support or donate to. That’s their personal business. I want an independent thinker who doesn’t take a knee to the demands of their party and who works respectfully with all. A mayor who is available to represent our city full-time.

This soap opera has gone on long enough. Surprise doesn’t deserve this “show” and Mr. Sartor could have done himself and our City a big favor by ignoring the petty childishness and just done his job honorably and respectfully.

My vote is proudly for Aly Cline.

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.