Chandler news and views roundup - June 16

Two key articles for you today related to politics in Chandler, Arizona and the surrounding area:

1. Animal incinerator feared
Covance mum after physicians group warns of public health risk

If the drug-testing company Covance builds in Chandler, it's possible the Price Road site would include an incinerator to dispose of animal carcasses, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine - an outspoken Covance foe.

"The concerns we have from the public health standpoint are multiple," said Dr. Aysha Akhpar, a neurologist and spokeswoman for the committee.

Note that the proposed Covance plant would be built just to the south of Precinct 134 at Price and Frye.

2. Filings end for 5th District races

The final major piece went into place Tuesday for a political showdown for the U.S. House of Representatives seat that represents a large swath of the East Valley.

Democratic challenger Harry Mitchell filed the necessary paperwork with the Secretary of State’s Office to place his name on the ballot for the Democratic nomination for Congress in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District.

Pleae note that the figure given in the article for Mitchell's petition filing is from an early count. Based on last-minute filings from both candidates, the final tallies for petitions filed, from the AZ Secretary of State website, are:

Hayworth: 3479
Mitchell: 2998

3. Sworn in: New council members will tackle tough issues (no permalink)

A plethora of heavy-duty issues await two newly elected officials who were recently welcomed aboard the Chandler City Council. Trinity Donovan and Jeff Weninger were sworn into office June 8 by City Magistrate Michael Traynor, and became official members of the council. The two replaced Vice Mayor Phill Westbrooks and Councilwoman Donna Wallace, who termed out of office. Donovan and Weninger will have to hit the ground running as the two will vote on returning an ousted city manager, whether or not an animal-testing facility belongs in Chandler and if a retail giant’s version of a small grocery store is palatable to a neighborhood.

4. City Hall site selected

To narrow down the possibilities for potential sites for Chandler's new City Hall, Richard Shiffer came to Chandler with a list of questions, and he threw them at nearly everyone he met: the City Council, the city staff, residents, members of the Downtown Chandler Community Partnership, the Downtown Merchants, the Chandler Museum Advisory Board and the Chandler Historical Society.

"What we found was a very focused, very common vision," Mr. Shiffer said. "Across the board, it was almost unanimous that everybody wanted to see downtown improved. They wanted more life and activity downtown, and they wanted something to be done about the traffic. That was the big picture of what we were dealing with."

I haven't followed up on this yet, but I'm curious to know how the newly seated Councilman Weninger feels about this, given that he opposed that site when he was running for election earlier this spring.