November 8, 2010
WASHINGTON -- First, conservative activists went after "ObamaCare." Now they're going after... "TrashCare."
Tea Party organizations are turning their focus to local issues lately, with a group in Fountain Hills, Ariz. rallying against what it views as a pernicious change in the way that trash is collected in the community.
According to The Arizona Republic, the controversy began when the Fountain Hills Town Council proposed hiring a single trash hauler and starting a curbside recycling program. On Thursday, a divided council approved the changes -- currently there's no recycling program and residents can choose from five haulers -- but not before the local Tea Party activists loudly objected to what they viewed as, essentially, a step toward socialism.
Fountain Hills Mayor Jay Schlum said he wasn't that surprised by the strong opposition and attributed it to the fact that debate happened shortly before the election and the vote just two days after.
"Of course our vote was two days after the national election, so there was quite a bit of angst already nationally," Schlum told The Huffington Post. "So I wasn't completely surprised. I think some of the tone was a little louder because of the fact that our discussion was on both sides of the national election, but I wouldn't say I was surprised by it."
In a bulletin entitled "Trash Talk," the Fountain Hills Tea Party wrote on its website: "On Thursday, November 4 the Fountain Hills Town Council decided, by a 4-3 vote, to take away your ability to choose your own trash hauler. Councilmembers Brown, Dickey, and Leger, along with Mayor Schlum, voted for this action. Councilmembers Contino, Elkie, and Hansen voted to preserve your freedom. Once more, government is trying to restrict free market economics. If you don't like it, stay tuned." The Fountain Hills Tea Party did not respond to an inquiry from The Huffington Post.
Arizona's Campaign for Liberty (C4L), an offshoot of a national organization founded by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), also put up an action alert about the issue on its website, accompanied by a menacing-looking man smoking a cigar in front of a Fountain Hills backdrop:
In its open letter to Fountain Hills, Arizona C4L wrote that the controversy is nothing less than an assault on capitalism:
Opponents of the free-market would have a hard time arguing with the fact that only capitalism could create a situation where companies fight for the honor to haul away and dispose of your least wanted stuff: your family's garbage and waste.
With multiple companies fighting for the compensation associated with this unpleasant task, one would naturally assume that - as with any competitive industry - standards of service remain high and prices stay low.
Unfortunately for the taxpayers of Fountain Hills, that system may soon be dead.
C4L further argued that the change is being pushed by "[l]arge multinational corporations" that are "unscrupulously restricting smaller companies from participating in the [bid] process." "When the government creates the winners, everyone else loses," the group added.
According to The Arizona Republic, some opponents had taken to calling the controversy TrashCare, as a comparison to the heated opposition to health care reform. Additionally, a flier was circulated with an "ominous icon" and the phrase, "The Hills Will Have Eyes." It claimed the "Fountain Hills Green Police" were checking residents' garbage and recyclables.
The Huffington Post spoke with Fountain Hills Town Manager Rick Davis, who confirmed seeing the flier and said the effort against the trash collection change appeared to be very "organized" and "orchestrated." He said that although there were some loud voices speaking out, he received a considerable amount of backing for the proposal -- including from people who were self-proclaimed Tea Party supporters.
"What Tea Party people believe in is lower cost for municipal services, governmental services, and this certainly fit the bill," he noted.
There are actually two different Tea Party groups in Fountain Hills, who don't usually work together. The Tea Party Patriots in the town do not appear to have anything on their site about the trash collection issue.
Davis also disputed the claims of the "Hills" flier, saying that all companies -- including local ones -- were allowed to bid to be the single hauler. The company that received the contract, Allied Waste, submitted a bid that was significantly lower than the others. Schlum said that the process to change the trash collection issue began in 2005 and involved significant public input.
"The main issue -- we have five haulers on our street, so if you're on a residential street, there's a good chance you're going to have five different trash companies, five different trash bins on your street throughout the week, with pick-ups two-three times per week by each individual hauler," said Schlum, adding that the town was looking for a way to ensure that trash collection was less noisy and resulted in less wear and tear on the streets (which costs taxpayers more money to repair).
Fountain Hills isn't the first community to deal with Tea Party protests to trash collection. Over the summer, a local FreedomWorks chapter Gwinnett County, Georgia protested mandatory trash collection.
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