Famed Tucson Tea Party Whistle-blower uncovers connection

by Eric Dondero

Robert Mayer is the "boy wonder" of the Arizona Tea Party movement. He is the co-organizer of the Tucson Tea Party group. They are currently leading a recall movement for the Mayor and City Council, called "Take Back Tucson."

Mayer, originally from Boston, refers to himself as a "Scott Brown" diehard.

He's also a bit of an international freedom fighter. From Tucson Tea Party:

I spent 2005-2007 studying, writing about, and connecting with the people involved in the democratic revolutions sweeping the former Soviet bloc states of Georgia and Ukraine, among other countries. After the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, I traveled to the capital Kiev and did some work with democracy activists there and in Belarus — the last dictatorship in Europe.

Some commentators are drawing comparisons, calling this win the “Brown Revolution“. My friend Andy Ignatov, whose work in the Orange Revolution helped connect and organize activists using the internet, used Facebook to type up his agreement, “Yep :)”.
So let me get to the point: If it can happen in Massachusetts, it can happen anywhere.

Mayer may now be taking on bigger fish than just the Tucson Mayor, the Council, and even Dictators in Belarus.

Mayer watched Obama's State of the Union speech Wednesday night, and something clicked in his freedom-obsessed mind. Ecotality, an Arizona-based firm, was featured prominently in Obama's speech. Turns out it wasn't by accident.

From Mayer this morning via Gateway Pundit:

Ecotality, based out of Scottsdale, and it was the lead receiver of a $100 million grant from the Department of Energy through the stimulus bill. (Ecotality, which used to be called Alchemy Enterpreises, has MANY subsidiaries, so much of this money is actually going to those subsidiaries rather than directly to Ecotality. One such example is Electric Transportation Engineering Corp., a division of Ecotality, which will be putting in electric vehicle infrastructure as far away as Oregon).

President Honors ECOtality/eTec in State of the Union Address

Total jobs added? According to them, 15 in 2009 and 27 in 2010. For $100 million. Am I supposed to cheer for that?

And it appears on the surface that there are political connections — of course, there always are! — to how Ecotality got this grant.

Its CEO, Jonathan Read, is a successful entrepreneur with wide-ranging political connections in Phoenix. He maxed out his political donations in 2006 to Harry Mitchel (D), who beat incumbent JD Hayworth (R) that year. Ecotality falls within Mitchell’s district.

Slade Mead is on the board of directors. He is a lawyer and former Republican state legislator turned Democrat who has given more than $17,000 to Democrats since 2005. He maxed out to Harry Mitchell’s 2006 campaign.

Further, Colin Read is the Vice President of Corporate Development. He was the Assistant Finance Director for Harry Mitchell’s successful 2006 bid for Congress.

They also met with VP Biden not all that long ago.

Mayer goes on to conclude:

The real take away from this? Obama points to this company as an example of the stimulus bill’s success; but it is really just another example of money being doled out to political allies to little effect. How much of that stimulus money do you think will end up going back as political contributions?

Mitchell now faces a tough re-election bid. His most likely Republican opponent is Tea Party Patriot and former Maricopa Budget Auditor David Schweikert (photo). The District leans Republican. It's notable that during the effort to defeat Hayworth, allegations surfaced of Democrat voter fraud and even possible ACORN involvement.

If the GOP re-takes this seat, no doubt certain individuals involved in these sheananigans may receive a real audit by Arizona taxpayers and tea party patriots.

Schweikert for Congress