The absurdity of this entire affair knows no bounds. The deal for the NHL to sell the Phoenix Coyotes to Matthew Hulsizer has been agreed to by all parties involved. The buyer, the seller, and the elected officials of the City of Glendale. Outside meddling from the Goldwater Institute however, is very close to sinking the entire thing and sending the Coyotes, who will make the playoffs for the second year in a row, packing.
Losing the Coyotes would leave a giant hole in the Arizona sports scene and more importantly be a severe hit to the tax payers in Glendale. Many jobs are on the line, the time for silly attention-grabbing political games is over...but of course, it's not.
The City of Glendale today published an online FAQ to address concerns over the deal and what they feel are Goldwater Institute "myths". GWI has been online for some time now. So, we now have dueling onlne FAQs. Joy.
As an example of just how ridiculous this is, here's a sample of how both sides explain the legal situation around the Arizona Gift Clause:
The Arizona Constitution case law says that public and private entities can work together on projects that benefit the community, so long as the transaction does not require that the public entities' financial obligation is "grossly disproportionate" to the benefit received. Although the law is clear, the Goldwater Institute has consistently misstated the legal test, saying that the assistance must be "roughly proportionate."
The proposed deal violates the Gift Clause of the Arizona Constitution...Mr. Hulsizer is not providing roughly proportionate value for the payments he will receive from the city.
They can't even agree on what the standard of law is for this case.
I am not a lawyer, but it doesn't take one to see that GWI's tactics have been counter productive. Their claims down-playing the impact of the Coyotes leaving are laughable. Their refusal to even meet and discuss concerns with the city remove any hint of their being a principled, fair-minded organization.
Goldwater choose to take this fight public when they sent letters to the bond rating agencies to warm off investors prior to the deal closing.
A much more responsible approach would have been to privately meet with the city to resolve the legal concerns and barring that to file suit after the deal closed. It's their tactics and blatant misleading statements in the media that have ruined whatever credibility they had as a "civic watchdog". Whatever their real agenda is, GWI is clearly not interested in acting responsibly.