Do you remember the TV Game Show called “Truth or Consequences “? The show aired between 1940 through 1988 for a total of 48 years. The most notable hosts were Ralph Edwards1940-1956 and Bob Barker 1956-1975. Contestants were asked questions they had to answer within 2 seconds, or the sound of Beulah the Buzzer would abruptly alarm. There has been a huge concerted effort during this last campaign election cycle and continuing NOW and ONGOING to have the real concerns of the Kingman common man (aka “The Truth” ) heard. Our worst fears have come to fruition as we see “The Consequences” unfolding and Beulah the Buzzer breaking decibel levels alarming “Uncontrolled Growth”.
Consider the TRUTH: The City, appearing to be in conjunction with the County, has launched an aggressive ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Plan that collides with the crucial community citizen concern of maintaining a fully sustainable long-term County and City INFRASTRUCTURE compatible with corresponding growth.
With no intention to make personal attacks on individual governmental leaders, “The CONSEQUENCES” we, the Kingman people, are facing in the quality of our daily life have already reached a dangerous threshold. Our leaders talk TO us but won’t talk WITH with WE, the people. They hem and haw around the TRUTH and the CONSEQUENCES. They hide behind the newest General Plan, using it as a decoy to advance select interests falsely in the name of the people. The City and the County are stalling with the release of formal information requests, which further proves their lack of compliance with Arizona Revised Statutes that govern the passage of the General Plan itself and its, I believe, illegitimate conception.
As stated previously, Ralph
Edwards was the original host of Truth or Consequences and when he and his
producers had pranked the contestants in a setup, he would say, “Aren’t We
Devils?”. I cannot help but see the city leaders smirking and proclaiming the
same, “Aren’t We Devils?”. I am certain they genuinely believe they know better
than the common man, so they feel as justifiable as you might in your point of
view. Truth and Consequences are defined in the sentiment of the
groupthink we embrace. I wholeheartedly
embrace the “we the people” theme because I have seen those to be the best
times for the prosperity of the masses of American people. I breathe by the
sentiment “ONE for ALL and ALL for ONE.
The City will NOT help break through the barriers that keep a GOOD MEDICAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM away from Kingman. They won’t even pave the roads to get good doctors here. I could go on and on and cite issues like urban density, overbuilding, traffic congestion, lack of commercial shopping, and rising electrical costs due to an underdeveloped electrical grid in Mohave County. Need I mention water sustainability, costs, and conservation as critical basic life infrastructures that are uncertain in Kingman’s future? I surely do not wish to water down the threats and the challenges to our quality of life. Our basic existence is in both the Truth and the Consequences, and Beulah the Buzzer keeps sounding the alarm.
The City has repeatedly refused the people a town hall meeting. The Mayor decides what will be discussed at City Council meetings; the people do not. The city attorney and his staff know only lawsuits can stop even illegal actions the City Council and staff make. Mohave County just put the Call to the Public at the very end of the bi-monthly five-hour BOS meetings. It appears City and County leaders are gearing up for a fight with you, the people they were elected to represent.
Modern-day Kingman is no TV show, but some things remain consistent: life is always centered around truth and consequences, and when a failure occurs, Beulah, the Buzzer, always alarms in one annoying way or another and she sounds nonstop 24/7 today in Kingman, AZ.
Many of the 1900 episodes of the TV Show Truth or Consequences were centered around heartwarming family reunions. The truth was most people tuned out with love, hope, and promise in their hearts with goodwill to mankind. I am afraid today that the CONSEQUENCES of the TRUTH in Kingman will overshadow all reasonable hope and promise for the city and the people. The people of Kingman can no longer ignore the TRUTH, nor can we avoid the CONSEQUENCES until we turn the dial back on the 1950 Motorola and come back to the future, facing both the Truth as well as the Consequences.
I am Elliot Chalew, a very common man on an uncommon mission, doing everything possible to make sure all your consequences are good ones.