Residents Of Cactus Districts Quizzing Candidates About Foreclosures

August 26th, 2008 | Tags: Foreclosures

At a recent election forum the residents of Cactus Districts were quizzing candidates about foreclosures, taxes and funds for the city. They wanted to know what steps would be taken to improve the health of the neighbourhoods reeling under foreclosure related decline.

About a dozen queries were about the blight caused by vacant foreclosure houses in residential as well as commercial regions of southeast Glendale. There were about 50 residents. Darlene Saracio was one among many who was dissatisfied with the answers. She categorically stated that she wanted “solid solutions”.

Phil Lieberman was seeking a fifth term as the councilman of the district. He said that he regularly contacted the code department of the city. His observations are that in other parts of the city the problem was three fold worse. He added that the city authorities were aware of the worsening situation in Glendale Avenue. As such the council had taken up the job of revitalizing the namesake street of the city the top priority. Operations had taken off this spring with the building of a city courthouse at Glendale and 47th avenues.

Gary Hirsch who was challenging Lieberman lauded the Glendale Avenue project but given a chance he wanted to extend it to southern parts of Camelback Road. Here the vacant or about to be vacant properties could be improved upon to interest business firms. A wider tax base and new jobs could give a fillip to the area. He argued that the city government could not be held responsible for foreclosures although the negative impact was undeniable. Hirsch suggests partnering with banks and realtors to find a way out of the foreclosure related problems.

Some of the queries were candidate specific and related to particular districts. Others were directed at all including Councilwoman Joyce Clark and Carole Marx who were in the fray for seats in Yucca District of west Glendale.

Mayoral candidate Terry Pennington did not give any reply to questions after introducing himself. Mayor Elaine Scruggs is seeking re-election. She was unable to be present because of attending an executive committee meeting of the League of Arizona Cities & Towns.

Although questions were raised about food tax and illegal immigrants the problem uppermost on the minds of most was the foreclosure problem. It was creating havoc with empty units attracting crime and disease while pulling down the real estate market.