Letter: There can be better days ahead for Tusayan; Clarinda Vail announces candidacy for mayor of Tusayan

My name is Clarinda Vail and I am running for mayor because the current mayor has, in my opinion, needlessly wasted millions of dollars on things such as a failed housing project, Washington D.C. lobbyists, countless consultants, fines, penalties and created huge expense overages by not following basic rules.

It’s an unfortunate record of failure, but if we work together and make some changes there can be better days ahead for Tusayan.

Tusayan generates about $4.5 million a year in tax revenues. I am proposing that residents, who have worked in Tusayan for over a year, be eligible for excess tax money directly to them. This would amount to a one-time payment of approximately $6,000 next year to address the current surplus and then an annual payment of about $3,000 (economy dependent) for future surpluses. You get this money. It is YOUR TOWN’S money. And it should not just be spent on bloated and ineffective government.

I have consulted with experts about this and believe it to not only be legally sound but morally right. And something worth fighting for . . . for you. And any excess checks my husband or I would receive would be handed back to the town treasury to make the distribution to you even bigger.

The town of Tusayan has promised “affordable housing” for 10 years now. Not a single house has been constructed by them, despite the fact that the mayor and the former town manager squandered nearly $8 million on the Ten X housing project. That’s because they ignored and broke basic rules. The town was penalized and fined and now we have vacant lots after nearly a decade of mismanagement.

Tusayan spends between $10,000 and $15,000 A MONTH on D.C. lobbyists to help promote a nationally ridiculed project. Whether you are for or against this project THEY should be paying for lobbyists, not the town with public money.

For years the town has promised its residents it will build a sports complex including soccer and ball fields on Grand Canyon School District land in Tusayan. Where are those fields?

Throughout this pandemic crisis, the company I work for has kept every single employee on the payroll and covered by health insurance. I will always fight for employees and for you! And I will oppose anyone or anything that poses a threat to Grand Canyon National Park.

I have lived in Tusayan all my life and I keep my promises.

I am asking for your vote because Tusayan belongs to its residents and not highly paid lobbyists and special interests. Let’s reverse a decade of failure so there can be better days ahead for Tusayan.

Learn more at www.ClarindaforMayor.com. Email me at Clarinda@ClarindaForMayor.com

Clarinda Vail

Candidate for Tusayan Mayor