shameless stunt

Stunt pulled by mining firm just shameless … ANNE T. DENOGEAN …Published: 03.28.2008
The woman from Rosemont Copper who appeared at the door of the South Side apartment shared by Olivia Aguilar and Willie Hill about two weeks ago must have seemed like the answer to a prayer. She wasn't there to sell them anything, she promised. She wanted to talk to the two, both of whom happen to be recently unemployed, about high-paying jobs for Tucsonans. All they had to do was be treated to dinner by Rosemont and attend a meeting. If they didn't have a ride, the company would provide one. Aguilar, 25, and Hill, 31, were excited but completely unaware that they were about to be part of a shameless stunt by Rosemont to pack a March 18 public hearing in Tucson with shuttled-in, sham supporters of its plans to mine the Santa Rita Mountains. Before the hearing held by the U.S. Forest Service as part of an environmental impact statement on the proposed copper mine, Rosemont representatives went knocking on doors at various locations, including the sprawling apartment complex on South Campbell Avenue near the airport. The "community outreach team," as Rosemont calls it, was rounding up "supporters" to appear on the company's behalf. The pitch was less than straightforward. Aguilar and Hill, who are raising four children and paid this month's rent with tax refund money, said they thought they were being recruited for mine jobs. They didn't know there are no jobs now and won't be for at least two years. "They frigging lied so they could get our damn signatures on that list," Aguilar said. Supervisor Ray Carroll, the most vocal opponent of Rosemont, is disgusted. Rosemont took advantage of people who are struggling to make it in a tough economy and thought it would get away "with treating them like they are so dumb that they wouldn't figure it out," he said this week.
Aguilar and Hill drove themselves to the dinner at Bennigan's, which Hill estimated was attended by 50 to 75 people. The couple also recruited Hill's sister, another job-seeker, to attend.

While shameless the stunt employed by Rosemont Copper to “pack” the recent public hearing was not unlike that employed by ADEQ under then Gov. Symington in the early 1990’s in behalf of his blatant attempt to bring ENSCO incinerators to Arizona by moving the public hearing to Mobil, Arizona.

I was one of those fortunate individuals “inside” the hearing room at Mobil and remember well the hysterics employed by ADEQ with full cooperation of our police to rout those previously deemed unacceptable to give voice to their beliefs and concerns as afforded to them under the first amendment to our Constitution.

Shamelessly abusing of our rights is nothing new for government or its new master – corporate America – as they long ago educated us to believe they grant rights to us.

WRONG – “we” – that’s you and me – are the sovereign and “we” grant rights and privileges to them. They serve us, we do not serve them.