How did Eric Frederick put Nearly $7K into his campaign after filing for Bankruptcy?

Erick Frederick, in response to an Arizona Republic candidate questionnaire, said the biggest challenge facing Phoenix in the next five years is fiscal responsibility.

Erick Frederick sites in his response that there is a systemic risk to the pension system.

Eric Frederick also stated that stated in the Republic questionnaire that transparency is the most important issue that doesn’t get much press.

In August 2010, Eric Frederick was relieved of more than $130,000 in debt, including student loans, as part of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing in Case No. 2:10-BK-09279-CGC. In that filing, Frederick stated he and his spouse had $51,000 in 2008 wages and $91,000 in 2009 wages.

Yet, he could not meet his obligations.

In a FINRA disclosure report on file as part of his State Farm Insurance broker’s license with the Arizona Corporation Commission Securities Division, Frederick stated the bankruptcy was due to “medical bills for a child with developmental disorders.” No where in the Federal Court filings are any medical creditors listed.

That aside, Frederick either loaned his City Council campaign or donated personal funds totaling $6,705, as stated on his August 2, 2011, and June 30, 2011 campaign finance reports on file with the Phoenix City Clerk.

Eric Frederick first registered to vote in Maricopa County in March, 2006, living in Gilbert, AZ, since that first voter registration:

· He failed to vote in both the 2006 State and County Primary and General Elections.



· He failed to vote in the 2010 State and County Primary Elections.


· He failed to vote in the 2007 and 2009 Phoenix City Elections.

He moved and re-registered in Phoenix in October 2006. He moved again and re-registered in Glendale in September 2010 He moved again and re-registered in Phoenix in December 2010.

Eric Frederick’s job record is about as busy as his multiple changes in voter registration in the last five years. Since coming to Phoenix in 2005, according to the FINRA disclosure form on file with the Arizona Corporation Commission, he is on his ninth job, currently as an independent insurance agent affiliated with State Farm Insurance.

Finally, the Arizona Supreme Court online record system for courts across Arizona reports in October 2009, Frederick had a Failure To Appear suspension of his driver’s license issued for failure to respond to an expired registration citation out of the City of Surprise Municipal Court back in August 2009. He finally resolved the matter in 2009 by paying a fine.

The Phoenix City Council member salary is more than $61,000 annually, not including car allowance, smart cell phone, health insurance benefits and an elected official’s pension, which more than $18,000 annually is paid by the City taxpayers to fund that individual pension. Arguably, aside from the military pension we give our nation’s warriors, a city council pension rivals those benefits we bestow on those who go in harm’s way. In some respects, the city council pension exceeds the benefits given to Phoenix’s police and firefighters. Police and firefighters must stay on the job 20 years to earn a pension. Elected officials need only five years to begin collecting at any age and have a higher percentage of employer contribution. In this case, the Phoenix taxpayer is the employer of its council members.

 

· Is Eric Frederick on another job-hoping expedition?

· If Eric Frederick was bankrupt and needed relief in late 2010, how did he manage to put in more than $6,000 of his own money into his city council race?

· Eric Frederick is staking claim to being a fiscally responsible person, yet he was unable to resolve a minor traffic ticket in a timely manner, forcing a court to issue a Failure To Appear and suspending his driver’s license.

· Eric Frederick claims in one information disclosure that his bankruptcy is due to medical bills for his child, but in his Federal Bankruptcy Court filing is there no mention of medical bills or debts.

· Eric Frederick’s own job and voting history, along with multiple moves around the Valley since arriving in 2005 begs the question as to his own stability, along with a short history of living in Phoenix. Is Eric Frederick ready to represent a growing city council district after only a brief time here?

· Eric Frederick raises questions about city pensions, but has made no statement that he would decline the elected officials’ pension which is the most costly contribution pension of any city position. Would Eric Frederick give up the pension?