Man Hit By Tempe Train

A Tempe man was hit by a train last week and is fighting one of the biggest battles of his life. The train, driven by Mark Mitchell of Tempe, apparently blindsided city manager Charlie Meyer.

As reported late last week, Charlie Meyer expects to be fired by his current employers.

The firing of a city manager seems like it would come with some discussion, some type of due process, but it sounds like a private meeting or “executive session” was held last Thursday with city council members. It has also been said that there will be public discussion today at 4 pm in the city council chambers. Whew, it was nice of the mayor and council to notify people of the public discussion beforehand. Oh, wait… It was an email that Charlie sent to city employees that brought all of this to light. Oh, never mind…

Why now?

While the mayor and council can apparently fire the city manager for no reason at all, you would think this decision would be based on job performance, and you might even think there would be some kind of a review process that wasn’t only held behind closed doors. 

Some of us remember back in 2009 when there was a vote to renew Meyer’s employment contract. Obviously, Charlie’s contract was approved at the time, but 2 of the three “no” votes were from Mark Mitchell and Joel Navarro who are still around. The 3rd “no” vote came from Ben Arredondo. Neither Mitchell or Navarro commented on the vote at that time. Maybe they can answer a few questions today?

Look back just a bit to the 2012 mayoral and council elections and the Meyer discussion began again. Unfortunately, like most of the campaigning, more questions were raised and fingers were pointed than answers were given. Many believe that Charlie has done a very good job in helping guide Tempe through some rough economic times. If there is something he is doing or has recently done to warrant a termination of his contract, it seems like the citizens of Tempe should be given a chance to hear the issue(s).

Of course, some in Tempe think that only 250 people run the city, so why would anyone bother to show up at a council meeting to discuss silly stuff like this, right? I happen to be very interested in how and why these council members vote, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. Is there a better candidate for the job? Is this a political move or a payback? What happens to upcoming city negotiations if no there is no city manager?

If you live in Tempe and want to know more about what is happening, join the discussion today ( January 28th 2013 ) at city council chambers at 4pm. The Tempe city council chambers is located at 31 E 5th St, Tempe, AZ 85281.

If you have questions or comments for the Tempe Mayor and council members, you can contact them directly at:

Mark Mitchell – Current Mayor Office: 480-350-8793  Email: mark_mitchell@tempe.gov

Onnie Shekerjian – Vice Mayor  Office: 480-350-8819 Email: onnie_shekerjian@tempe.gov

Robin Arredondo-Savage – Councilmember Office: 480-350-8792 Email: robin_arredondo-savage@tempe.gov

Shana Ellis – Councilmember Office: 480-350-8813 Email: shana_ellis@tempe.gov

Kolby Granville – Councilmember Office:  480-350-8796 Email: kolby_granville@tempe.gov

Joel Navarro – Councilmember Office: 480-350-8795 Email: joel_navarro@tempe.gov

Corey Woods – Councilmember Office: 480-350-8798 Email: corey_woods@tempe.gov

Luckily for Charlie Meyer, this train wreck is not life threatening, even if the carnage could be spread across the entire city.