“Chambermades”

Maid

CHAM·BER·MAID

/ˈCHāmbərˌmād/  Noun. A maid who cleans bedrooms and bathrooms, esp. in a hotel. 
Synonyms: maid, housemaid, maidservant
Okay, we know what a chambermaid is. But what’s a “chambermade?”

A “chambermade” is a maidservant for the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce. It refers to any candidate for local office who was selected for their loyalty to the Chamber, is endorsed and/or groomed for office by the Chamber, and who benefits from having gobs of secret money poured into their campaigns as a result of political maneuverings by the G.J. Chamber. These outsized campaign funds help chambermades blow the doors off any normal, so-called “traditional” candidates who may be running for office. A person can also qualify as a chambermade without ever having campaigned for office. To qualify, the officeholder must simply,

1) have a previous relationship with the Chamber, or regularly sleep with someone who currently has, or has had a close relationship with the Chamber;
2) agree with the Chamber’s positions on issues, including tacitly through inaction or silence (See “Brainard Debacle”), or
3) vote the Chamber’s preferred way on local issues, no matter how harmful it may be to the city, non-chamber-members and average citizens, or to the area’s prominent historical or cultural features.

Grand Junction citizens coined the term “chambermade” during the 2013 election for City Council, when the existence of chambermades was first discovered.

Chambermades Identified in Grand Junction, CO:

Duncan McArthur, endorsed by the Chamber, ran for City Council and lost. He was later appointed to Council by the three above chambermades, who nixed an election, declared themselves a majority on the seven-seat Council, and appointed McArthur to fill deceased councilor Harry Butler's seat.

Duncan McArthur, endorsed by the Chamber, ran for City Council and lost. He was later appointed to Council by the three other chambermades, who declared themselves a majority on the seven-seat Council, refused to hold an election and instead appointed McArthur to fill the seat of deceased Councilor Harry Butler. (Photo credit: KREX-TV)

DUNCAN MCARTHUR:

Duncan McArthur, the sole candidate backed by the Chamber in the 2013 election who lost, was ultimately appointed to serve on City Council by the three other chambermades who already sat on Council (below). He also lost a preliminary vote of Council when first seeking appointment.

What do we know about Mr. McArthur? As a Chamber-selected candidate, like Brainard was, people have every right to be concerned. In a February, 2013 issue of the Grand Junction Free Press, columnist Jim Hoffman wrote that Duncan “McArthur is the government affairs director for both the G.J. Board of Realtors and the G.J. Chamber of Commerce. He had a home foreclosed in 2010 and another currently slated for foreclosure.” The City’s biosketch of Mr. McArthur says, “During his spare time, Duncan can be found on the Blue Mesa or Lake Powell on his boat he calls ‘Corporate Headquarters.'”  

At the August 7, 2013 City Council Meeting, during the Council Comments (on the video only, at approximately 00:07:00), Mr. McArthur publicly disclosed that he was a member of the LDS (Latter-Day Saints, or Mormon) Church, and a Duncan Leo McArthur was arrested for DUI by the Colorado State Patrol on January 3, 2010 in Montrose County (pdf).  CSP’s narrative of the arrest (pdf) notes that when the officer asked Mr. McArthur if he had had anything to drink that night, Mr. McArthur responded “No.” The officer wrote that Mr. McArthur could not keep his balance during roadside sobriety tests, could not complete a one-leg stand, missed the number 44 while counting from 40 to 50, and according to the officer, “started from A B C D H, A B C D G and could never complete the alphabet.” An alcohol breath test taken 1 hour and 40 minutes after he was pulled over showed a BAC of 0.177%. The legal limit at which someone 21 years or older is considered under the influence of alcohol is 0.8%, so Mr. McArthur’s BAC was more than twice the legal limit. Colorado law states that someone who drives impaired with a BAC of 0.17% or greater may be considered a persistent drunk driver. In Colorado, alcohol-related driving offenses are not just traffic offenses, but “misdemeanor criminal offenses.”  No matter how many prior DUI’s you have on your record, in Colorado any and all DUI convictions are currently only misdemeanors. Colorado is one of only six states where a DUI is not ranked as a felony-level crime.

SAM SUSURAS

Sam Susuras, current mayor of Grand Junction, is married to Lois Dunn, former Chairwoman of the GJ Area Chamber http://thebusinesstimes.com/chairwoman-chamber-to-play-important-role-in-2011/

Sam Susuras, District B City Councilman, is married to Lois Dunn, former Chairwoman of the G.J. Area Chamber. He is a Chamber loyalist  (Ref: http://thebusinesstimes.com/chairwoman-chamber-to-play-important-role-in-2011/)

 

MARTY CHAZEN

Marty Chazen, a 2013 Chamber-endorsed candidate for G.J. City Council (ref: http://www.gjchamber.org/forms/GJACC2013VoterGuide.pdf)

City Councilor Marty Chazen, a 2013 Chamber-endorsed candidate for G.J. City Council, benefitted from WCBA funds (ref: http://www.gjchamber.org/forms/GJACC2013VoterGuide.pdf)

PHYLLIS NORRIS

Phyllis Norris, former chair of the Chamber's Board of Directors

City Councilor Phyllis Norris, former chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, also benefitted from WCBA funds (Ref: http://www.gjchamber.org/newsletters/0312.pdf)