Dan Frazier's thoughts on why Kramer and Krug are "Krooked"

Some may say that a sign calling Kramer and Krug "krooked" goes too far, and is an uncalled for personal attack. I disagree. You have to name names and speak clearly if you want those who have not been paying attention to have a clue what you are talking about. The whole point is to raise awareness of the scandal Flagstaff is witnessing, and to point out who is to blame. I do not believe that this can be done by beating around the bush.

Though I hope most close observers of Flagstaff politics will not need an explanation of why I think Kramer and Krug are "krooked," I suppose I should say at least a few words about this for the benefit of those residents who may not have been paying much attention to the local political scene.

Both candidates are guilty of accepting donations and support from many of the same people who have supported two organizations that appear closely related, and which have repeatedly sent deceptive messages to voters by a variety of means, including a fraudulent telephone poll, newspaper inserts, and direct mailings. You may have seen a tacky "Kelty, Cooper or Fries" TV commercial  funded by one of these organizations. These two organizations are FACT and Citizens for Sensible Government. The organizations have strongly supported the election of Kramer and Krug and have called repeatedly for the ouster of Councilmembers Kara Kelty and Karen Cooper. The two groups have support from a very similar list of donors, and both have received backing from members of the Nackard family. 

FACT (Flagstaff Active Citizens for Truth) has the dubious distinction of having as its Executive Director John Echols. This is the same John Echols who helped lead our Congressman, Rick Renzi, to victory with a ceaseless barrage of negative campaign ads. Also involved are CSG players including Harold Watkins, Joe Nackard, and Dick Henderson. 
Also on the Executive Board is Eldon Kramer. Rick Krug is also a member. FACT claims it provides unbiased information, but the claim is laughable. You may have seen the FACT Finder newsletters in the Daily Sun. These little gems have been ridiculed for their "unbiased" articles and flawed statistics, which tend to favor development over open space. Visit the FACT web site and see for yourself. Partial list of FACT members.

Click here to see a detailed table showing contributors to the Rick Krug, Eldon Kramer and Citizens for Sensible Government campaigns, along with amounts and other information. You can also see a list of contributors to the candidates and to CSG published in the Daily Sun on April 11. Or you can get updated finance reports directly from the city for a small fee.

The Nackard connection to both CSG and FACT is especially notable because of the recent clear-cutting of some 300 trees on property near Wal-Mart. The trees were cleared in the middle of the night by unknown persons in violation of city tree-preservation laws. As reported in the April 11 edition of the Arizona Daily Sun, the property is owned by George Nackard. Months before the trees were cut, Nackard tried to persuade the city to waive its tree-cutting rules to make possible the development of the property. The mayor was quoted as saying, "He'd ask me, 'Can you help me clear-cut those trees?' And I told him, 'There's no way George.'" Nackard had proposed a conference center for the site. A reward-fund has been established in the hopes of apprehending and convicting the individual or individuals who cut down the trees.

George Nackard was also the man behind the publicity stunt involving a thong-clad model advertising gas prices on Milton last year.

Here is a partial list of the deceptive tactics employed thus far by Citizens for Sensible Government and FACT: 

Citizens for Sensible Government sponsored a misleading push-poll. The poll included a deceptive question designed turn voters against the proposed bonds for open space. Listen to the question. Not only does the so-called pollster falsely assert that Flagstaff residents will pay increased taxes if the bond passes, but the sponsor of the poll is not identified. This would appear to be a violation of campaign spending laws intended to require full disclosure. Fred Solop, a professional pollster at NAU has filed a complaint in connection with this deceptive push poll. Articles about this push poll appeared in the Daily Sun on April 8 and April 16. Visit the Web site of the company that did the polling. Read letters by Dan Frazier about that company's founder and president, Michael Crusa. Letter 1. Letter 2.

FACT published a misleading City Government Salary Comparison table in its Spring newsletter. The newsletter was inserted into the Daily Sun in March. The table purports to show that Flagstaff pays its key City employees too much, and that high salaries cost residents too much money. But the table is seriously flawed. See the letter to the editor published in the Daily Sun April 3.

Also in its spring Newsletter, FACT published a brief item about the so-called "Wall of Portland," that city's urban growth boundary meant to control sprawl. FACT suggested that Flagstaff's land-use code is comparable to Portland's, and that we should "Be prepared for higher housing costs, more traffic congestion and increased densities in established neighborhoods." These are very controversial and debatable claims, especially coming from an organization that says it is a neutral and unbiased source of facts. See the excellent letter to the editor offering other views on the Wall of Portland published in the Daily Sun on April 3.

At a city council candidate debate sponsored by FACT and held at the Radisson Woodlands Hotel April 1, a panel of media representatives was on hand to pose some of the questions to the candidates. However, upon arrival, these representatives were given a list of questions to ask of the candidates. The representatives had no choice about which questions they could ask. At least one media representative reportedly walked out in disgust. Also at the forum, the FACT facilitator had the unusual role of not only deciding who would get to ask the next question, but also got to ask his own questions whenever he felt like doing so. 

An article in the May 2, 2004 Daily Sun reported that Rick Krug claims to have no connection to Citizens for Sensible Government, and even disapproves of the some of the group's tactics. But he does not deny having accepted donations from some of the group's key members, nor does he say he is going to return the donations that the members have made to his campaign.

In an interview that aired the same day on KNAZ TV, Kramer also claimed not to have any connection to Citizens for Sensible Government, but he added that some of the people involved are his "friends." Again, there is no mention of returning any of the donations he has received. 

Krug is also guilty of intentionally misstating Flagstaff unemployment figures to make the incumbent council members look bad. At a public forum he cited county unemployment figures when discussing Flagstaff's unemployment rate. But the figures for the county are considerably higher than those for the city. To add insult to injury, he said the situation has gotten worse thanks to the incumbent council members. In fact, as explained in the Daily Sun (April 27), the city's unemployment figures have gotten better in the last few years when compared to county and national unemployment figures. When questioned by a Sun reporter, Krug stood by his use of the county unemployment figure, explaining that Flagstaff is to blame for unemployment in the county.

Dan Frazier