Mayor Mary Manross successful in halting the State auction of 1700 McDowell Sonoran Preserve acres

PRLog (Press Release) – Dec 17, 2007 – Press Release   Press Release   Press Release
Contact:
Scottsdale for Manross 2008
(480) 948-9120

Website:  www.marymanross.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mayor Mary Manross successful in halting the State Trust Land Auction of 1700 acres in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve

During a December 11, 2007 interview on Scottsdale City Cable Channel 11 Governor Janet Napolitano stated that Mayor Mary Manross was instrumental in halting the auction of 1700 acres of State Trust Land within the designated borders of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.  The Governor said “I think she made some good arguments.”

Mayor Manross, a long-time champion of preserving the McDowell Mountains and the Sonoran Desert, has been most outspoken in her support of protecting the lands designated for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.  She has been supported by citizen organizations and residents throughout the city who requested that the auction be stopped in anticipation of successful State Trust Land reform.  The Governor, who has taken up the cause of State Trust Land reform, says that good progress is being made with the Legislature and she expects that State Trust Land reform will be on the ballot as early as 2008.  

In 1995, despite some opposition, then Councilwoman Manross voted to put the very first Save Our McDowells initiative on the ballot.  The initiative passed by a wide margin.  In 1996 Manross proposed expanding the Preserve boundary to include thousands of acres of the Sonoran Desert.  The McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission, as it did for the mountains, advocated strongly for expansion of the Preserve.  The proposal went to a vote and was overwhelmingly supported by Scottsdale residents.  Due to the Mayor’s ardent support of the Preserve and State Trust Land reform she was named a “Champion of the Preserve” in 2003, during a joint ceremony by the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

Mayor Manross’s campaign website  www.marymanross.com deals with issues of preservation, revitalization, public safety, transportation and quality of life.   Manross won a landslide re-election in 2004, capturing over 66% of the vote with backing by the Scottsdale Area Chamber, Scottsdale Police, Sierra Club, U.S. Senator John McCain, Scottsdale Republic, COPP, Bridle and Bit, Jackie Drinkwater and other community leaders.