Ryan Hartung's Blog

Please join 20-year OV Resident and Wake Up, Tucson! radio show host Chris DeSimone for a "Meet the Candidates" event this Saturday. Both Ryan Hartung and Shirl LaMonna are confirmed for the event. Learn more about these folks and why they are putting their real lives on hold to run for local office. Find out why the ruling majority needs to be broken up and why it's so important. These folks do need your support, it wouldn't hurt to bring your checkbook.
Good coffee and some breakfast delicacies will be served.
When: This Saturday, October 3rd 8am-10am
Where: Riverfront Park, Lambert Lane
Javelina Ramada, just to the south of the Tennis court.
RSVP: Yes, if possible. We want to make sure we have enough refreshments. 
Just respond to wakeuptucson@gmail.com.

Please come, I'd love to meet you.

Ryan

Steve Didio, Ryan Hartung, Elizabeth Hartung

Thank you so much for all of your support and involvement!

It’s Official: Oro Valley Residents Ready to DRIVE out the Recalled Incumbents; 2,944 Signatures Filed by Challengers

Oro Valley, AZ — Mayoral Candidate Pat Straney and Town Council Candidates Steve Didio, Ryan Hartung and Shirl Lamonna have filed their nomination petitions to run in the November Recall election in Oro Valley.  A minimum of 221 signatures was required for the Mayoral seat and 526 signatures for Councilmembers.  All four candidates significantly exceeded the signature threshold for the office they are seeking.  The individual totals filed by each candidate were: Pat Straney - 491, Steve Didio - 827, Ryan Hartung - 793, and Shirl Lamonna - 833. 

The incumbents were recalled over their rushed decision to purchase the El Conquistador Country Club, Golf and Tennis Facilities from HSL Properties, among several other issues. 

These challenger Nomination Petitions were, in fact, the culmination of Referendum and Recall petition drives throughout the year with a combined total of nearly 16,000 signatures. 

The high numbers gathered in such a short timeframe are “indicative of  broad support within the town for change in local government” stated Steve Didio, a retired US Navy Officer who is running for a Council seat. “Citizens sought us out to sign all four petitions at multiple locations throughout the town,” he added.

Ryan Hartung, who led the successful recall effort, indicated that he’s “ready to focus on the issues facing Oro Valley and any upcoming debates” now that his petition signatures have been filed.

Former General Motors Executive Pat Straney was a late entry to the race and attributed his rapid success to resident distrust of  the recalled Mayor.  “As a result of the many volunteers that supported me, 491 signatures were obtained in a little over 3 weeks in response to a requirement of 221.”  Candidate Straney further commented “I look forward to the active campaigning phase of this election effort and earning the honor of becoming the Mayor of Oro Valley and representing the interests of all residents and businesses in our community.”

Shirl Lamonna, who led the T.O.O.T.H. (Tee’d Off Over Tax Hike) referendum effort said her candidacy isn’t just about the El Con Golf Course deal.  “It’s about retaining our small town character and following the General Plan.  It’s also a matter of trust:  it’s about the influence of campaign donations from special interest groups; it’s about the recalled incumbents’ voting pattern for a whole series of questionable decisions to increase taxes, to approve nearly 800 apartments and high density subdivisions and to saddle Oro Valley families with millions of dollars in liabilities that will likely require increased taxes. This recall election at last provides voters a voice and a choice on November 3rd.  It’s time to change the course in Oro Valley.”

In Recall Elections, candidates must declare which recalled incumbent they will run against.  Pat Straney will face Mayor Hiremath; Steve Didio will face Lou Waters;  Ryan Hartung will face Joe Hornat and Shirl Lamonna will face Mary Snider on November 3rd.

For more information on each of the candidates, their campaigns and priorities, please visit their websites at:

www.electpatstraneymayor.com, www.steve-didio.squarespace.com, www.ryanhartung.com, www.shirlforovcouncil.com

I know it’s been a few weeks since my last email, but I’ve been waiting to tell you who is going to be running for Mayor this fall. Without further ado, may I present Pat Straney as our Mayoral candidate! If you recall from last August’s election, where the Town was rather uninterested in politics, Pat Straney and Don Bristow heroically took on the M4 juggernaut of Hiremath, Hornat, Snider and Waters. Since the August 2014 election was off the normal cycle, ONLY people registered with the Republican and Democratic parties received mail-in ballots. Did I mention that last year the Town was less than interested in local politics?

Even though frustrations were only starting to mount against the M4, Pat Straney still took in around 32% of the vote. That means this time around he only needs a 19% increase in votes to take the Mayor’s position. I personally believe that this is entirely possible given the Town’s new climate and quite frankly, I think this is our election to win.

I have had the opportunity to talk to Pat many times now and I sincerely believe his leadership will be great for our community. People have asked me numerous times about issues that Pat might have had as a candidate that led to him losing the last election and let me tell you that he is well aware of his perceived shortcomings and they will not be an issue this time around. Remember, there was no El Con last election, there was no aura of a back room deal and there was no half cent enacted sales tax. Pat along with Steve Didio, Shirl Lamonna and myself have so much ammunition to use against the M4 and I know none of us will be hesitant to use it, not this time. We will be quick to point out their many errors, but more importantly, we will present our ideas on how to move our great Town forward.

Just on the quick, here is a bit about who Pat is. He was elected to the Rancho Vistoso Community Association board and served as president for six years. FYI, Rancho Vistoso is over a quarter of Oro Valley’s population. He brings a strong business-based leadership and governance to the town. I believe he can provide an atmosphere of civility, in which diverse ideas can be heard and vetted, while continuing to strengthen relationships with regional municipalities, universities/colleges and businesses (large and small) in an effort to build mutually beneficial partnerships going forward. Lastly, I believe close to 100% of the people who voted for Pat last time will vote for him again (still not liking Hiremath) and much more than 19% of the Town’s population that voted for Hiremath last time will not vote for him again. Again, this is our election to win.

Alright, now that I’m done with Pat I can finally talk about something really cool, ME!  J Just kidding. Shirl, Steve and I are still collecting signatures to get on the ballot and the good news is that all three of us have surpassed the 526 minimum! However we continue to collect for the sake of a cushion and now that Pat as thrown his hat in the ring, we need to gather 221 signatures for him as well (it’s 2% of the total of the last election – there were 3 Council members so a lot more votes). Here are the times and places to sign:

Oro Valley Library next week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9 – noon each day.

SCOV will be set up but I don’t have their times yet – will email when I do.

Signatures are due September 4th at the latest.

Please make the time to sign, or even pick up a sheet to circulate with friends.

Also, my signs have come in and they are looking for great homes for the next 2 months!

As always, forward this email to whomever you wish.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ryan Hartung

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! I spent a major part of the weekend on top of Mt. Lemmon with my family and a church group – 60 of us total. Luckily, besides a few clouds, we were rain free. Unfortunately, sometime very early Sunday morning a skunk made its way through our camp and man did it stink. It smelled so bad three different tents across the camp including mine were woken up and I’m still trying to recover my sleep.

With a little less than 2 months to go we are considerably over the halfway point in terms of gathering signatures. Remember that anyone thinking about running for Town Council needs at least 526 signatures. However, my goal is not just to get the required amount, but to blow it away and show everyone that this race is wide open and we aim to give the incumbents a run for their money.

As good as the signatures are coming; I feel you should know what their side is going to do and is doing right now. This past week there were two almost virtually identical articles in the Oro Valley Explorer. I’ll skip the fact that some editor LET the two very similar articles in. Both of them lied in stating that the recall would cost $150,000. Here is the current breakdown of the cost: $30,000 for the recall election in November, $53,000 in court costs for the REFERENDUM – not part of the recall - and a POSSIBLE $75,000 for a March 2016 special election for the mayor, IF his signatures are not verified until after July. As of now the recall cost is ONLY $30,000. These people writing the articles aren’t idiots, but they hope/think the voters of Oro Valley are.

Now, back to the two articles, it was no coincidence they both lied that the recall would cost $150,000. Both articles had sections that were 100% identical in their words, not one word varied between the two. This is what we are up against. The M4 (majority 4) will do anything and say anything to hang on to their power or get others to do it for them. It is disgusting, but this is the way it is.

By comparison, Shirl, Steve and I are just trying to do the right thing. None of us have political aspirations. If you would have asked any of us last year if we were planning to run for Town Council, I am positive the answer would be a resounding no.

I wish I could write about something more fun, but unfortunately this is just the beginning of the election cycle and with nothing but the referendum error to hold against Shirl, the M4 has nothing on the three of us. This is because we are just normal citizens upset with their disregard for fiscal responsibility, non-adherence to the General Plan and general uncaring attitude toward voter sentiment concerning their actions.

Hopefully we will win this election and take at least one of their seats away. This will mean both sides will have to negotiate and will in turn give Oro Valley a better political process. Even if the recall would cost us $150,000, based on their voting records and the $1.5 million the El Con golf will lose in just its first year, I would still say the recall is a financially sound decision.

I know everybody is already helping in some way or another, but if you want to help even more, here’s what I need. I need locations on people’s lawns and private property to put up signs. But probably the most important and unmet need is simply word of mouth. We need everyone to talk to their neighbors and anyone else they know in Oro Valley about what’s going on. Only through word of mouth and a true grassroots campaign will we be able to garner the necessary votes to change the current direction of our great Town.

Ryan Hartung

Well, it's been almost two weeks now and out of the 526 signatures that I need to run for Town Council, I'm standing right at right about 240!  I think that's a great start with only having two events in about a ten day time span.

Like always, I need to thank everybody that helped out at the Library, at the Town Hall Courtyard and at SCOV. There's just no way I'd be even close to having as many signatures as I do now without all of your generous contributions of your time and energy. It really is a lot of work.

I've started going door to door this week and every time I go out, I'm never super pumped to do so, but I always meet so many people that are annoyed with the direction of the Town that I come away feeling more and more optimistic about our chance of victory. Even if half of the people I meet are annoyed, I think that's a HUGE telling card that says there's a good chance this election will come out in our favor!

This week was kind of stressful as I made two large purchases which depleted my funds by about a third!  I was a little timid to hit the "pay for it" button in case I misspelled a word or was ordering the wrong size or material or whatever, but I barreled through and did it anyway.

Now, sometime in the next two weeks, my signs should be arriving as well as 1000 magnets, which have another variation of my sign on them. I thought of business cards, but I know what I do when someone gives me their business card, so hopefully when I go door to door and hand them a magnet, they'll slap it on the fridge and think of me for a few more months until the election rolls around!

Working with Steve Didio and Shirl Lamonna at SCOV this past Sunday for Sun City's 4th of July concert was a great experience. I know we're not going to agree on all issues and maybe not on even some of the bigger ones, but they really are great candidates in themselves and I've enjoyed getting to know both of them.

Well, that's all for this little update. Now that my signs are ordered, I need some rock lawns to put them in! If you'd be willing to give one of my signs a good home, please send me an email at ryanhartung1953@gmail.com  As always, forward this message to anyone else who you think would like to read about what's going on with my campaign. There are  additional updates at www.ryanhartung.com. You can donate there as well!  Thanks again for believing in me and happy belated 4th of July!

Ryan Hartung

Steve Didio, Shirl Lamonna, Ryan Hartung

Again I must say thank you to everyone that spent their time and sweated to help me start gathering a portion of the 526 signatures needed to be on the November 3rd ballot as a candidate for Town Council. 

I'm pleased to be able to tell you that although the day's weather was pretty miserable,  we were able to gather over 100 signatures for my candidacy, which is right around 20%.  The time frame to turn in signatures is the beginning of August to I believe the 4th or 5th of September. In essence, I have a little over 2 months to collect the necessary signatures. 

Unlike last Wednesday, the day's event was quiet and unencumbered by the M4's supporters. Although one of the volunteers was rudely told to "get out of my face" by a patron entering the library, who was either unsympathetic to our cause or else uncaring of the state of our town, the day was nicely laid back.

Additionally, as we are required to have the name stated on each petition of who's Council seat we are attempting to overtake, it should be known that I will be facing off against Council member Joe Hornat in the upcoming debates and the November election.

Regardless of the stifling heat and high humidity, Saturday was an important first step toward changing the future of Oro Valley. Thanks again for your time, signatures and much needed donations.

Dr. Ryan Hartung

June 19, 2015 7:43 pm  •  By Becky Pallack

Three Oro Valley Town Council members are defending their votes to buy a country club for a community center, saying it’s what town residents wanted.

Joe Hornat, Mary Snider and Lou Waters are the subjects of a recall election in November.

The incumbents filed brief statements of defense, which will appear on the ballot next to the wording from the recall petition.

Oro Valley Citizens for Open Government initiated the recall process after the Town Council voted 4-3 in December to buy El Conquistador Country Club and to increase the sales tax by a half-cent to raise money for renovation projects to turn it into a community center and recreation center.

The other majority vote, Mayor Satish Hiremath, faces a separate recall petition effort.

In his defense statement, Hornat says the $1 million purchase price for the club and its 45 holes of golf was “a bargain.”

“I, alongside Lou Waters and Mary Snider, have fought hard for sound fiscal policy, including five consecutive years of balanced budgets with cash surpluses,” he wrote.

Waters says the three were “instrumental” in Oro Valley’s success, “and now the community has what it’s been asking for since 1998 — a community center — our sense of place. We proudly voted for it.”

Snider says she considered “our community needs as a whole” and “voted to fulfill a long expressed desire by our residents for a community center.”

So far three candidates have organized campaigns to run against the incumbents. They areSteve Didio, a retired Navy officer and businessman; Shirl Lamonna, a county government worker; and Ryan Hartung, a chemist at Sanofi. Hartung is chairman of the recall group and Lamonna organized an earlier petition project to force the real estate deal onto the ballot. That petition campaign failed due to paperwork errors.

There is still time for others to join the race. Candidates must file their nominating petitions by Sept. 4.

Each candidate must specify which council member he or she is running against. Any challenger who wins the Nov. 3 election fills the remainder of the incumbent’s term.

Contact reporter Becky Pallack at bpallack@tucson.com or 573-4346. On Twitter: @BeckyPallack

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“I’m proud to be Austrian born, but made in America,” he said. “I’m proud to be part of the greatest, most generous, most powerful country in the world.” - Arnold

I always find it interesting when people from other countries come to America and see our country for the great place it is while others that have lived here their entire lives are apathetic or even worse, apologetic about our great nation. There is no place like the United States. Sure, we can always improve, but we need more Schwarzeneggers and Elon Musks in our society to remind us and our leaders why this country is so special. 

Red Stick One is a fun novel, which jumps back and forth between the present and the past. The characters and dialogue are great. As a person who's only visited the south in limited fashion, the book provides a very interesting look at some of the daily lives of people living in the alligator and snake infested swamps. Even the language itself is quite interesting. With their deep southern enunciation of every word, the reader has the feeling that they are there with the characters.

The story begins in Florida when Virgil's adopted father Tom Jay is found dead. Virgil, part Indian and a phenomenal tracker, leaves his job to hunt the man who killed the only father figure he'd ever known. The novel then goes back and forth between Virgil hunting his father's killer and flipping to the past where we as the readers get to see how Virgil and Tom Jay first met and how their relationship as father and son progressed.

This book contains great character development, mixed with action and interesting facts about the wild outdoors I found quite interesting.

 Although sometimes for a Midwesterner as myself, the strong southern accents are a little hard to read, this book was a gripping, well-written story. If and when Kenneth Kirkeby writes another novel, I'll be sure to read it!

QUIZZICALLY INTERESTING TITLE - FANTASTIC READ!

Below is my review of Jagannath, followed by a few questions and answers from the author himself!

First I have to say the title drew me in right away. Jagannath, although seemingly a made-up word is actually from the Hindu religion, but I'll let you find out more about this yourself.

When the Reaper first appears from the ocean's depths no one is concerned at the amorphous oddity. Once the viscous slime develops a taste for human flesh, everything changes. Cities are destroyed and humankind is taken to the brink of destruction. Only a few remain.

I began reading Jagannath only a few days ago and was barely able to put it down. When it comes to Thriller writing, Kerry Alan Denny is excellent.  Not only is the story exhilarating, starting with fantastic action at it's very beginning, but his use of the of the English language is unparalleled. I don't believe that "passive phrases" are in Mr. Denny's vocabulary, as every single sentence contains action. So, without further ado, into the book.

There are of course many characters center this story, the Reaper (which Jagannath is somewhat in reference to), Kimi the heroine of the story and Lilly the co-heroine. Although not in the mind of the Reaper early on, we see more about how this nasty pile of slime exists later on and what it lusts for and why.

Again, the main character though is Kimi. Losing her family to the Reaper when she was younger, she joins the Enclave, fighting to rid the planet of Reaper's existence. Through losing friends and family to the disgusting, morphing blob, Kimi puts all of her hope in Lilly, a small girl that for some unknown reason is immune to the Reaper's dissolving ways. From fantastic descriptions of the new technology humans have invented to the superb dialog, Kerry Alan Denny paints a very real post-apocalyptic world in which the reader will feel fully immersed, loosing touch with reality.

In conclusion, I would absolutely recommend Jagannath for anyone who loves a good Sci-Fi Thriller. It's a fun read, one that you won't want to put down.

I reviewed an ARC generously provided by the author for review purposes; no fees were exchanged and this did not have an impact on my opinion of the work.

Ryan Hartung interview questions for Kerry Alan Denney (for posted review of Jagannath)

For Readers:

The title you chose is very interesting. Is there a story behind your choosing of the Hindu god Jagannath?

Yes, thanks for asking. The literal translation for Jagannath is “lord and master of the world and universe.” It’s also the origin of the word “juggernaut” (one of my favorite nouns), which is a relentlessly destructive, crushing, and pitiless force.

I did quite a bit of research when deciding what title to give this novel. I wanted to find a one-word title that would define and encompass the Reaper, the monster in Jagannath. The Reaper is an amorphous creature – basically viscous slime – that absorbs flesh and blood in order to feed. It formerly lived in the ocean depths, feeding off marine life. When it depletes that resource, it rises to land and develops a ravenous appetite for human flesh and blood. The catch is, the Reaper also absorbs our minds when it consumes us, and grows larger as well as smarter the more it feeds on us.

The worst parts are that it has no conscience or morals, and loves tormenting its prey, and because it absorbs our minds, it can transform into any creature we’ve ever even conceived of – including combinations of monsters and demons it plucks out of our darkest nightmares. Soon it starts destroying civilization, and is nearly indestructible, spreading terror as it wreaks destruction on its global rampage.

“Juggernaut” fit my creature the Reaper perfectly, but I wanted a cooler title that wasn’t so common. When I discovered the Hindu god Jagannath was the origin of juggernaut, I thought, “Eureka and voila! That’s it! The perfect title.” Serendipity: It could be no other.

Which character in the book most resembles you and how so?

Tough question. I believe I have a natural tendency to incorporate some of my personality traits into lots of my characters, but understand the need to make them all different and diverse so they don’t all blend into one type of character. And I have enough good and bad traits to create an infinite number of different characters, lol.

Corporal Kimi Jayden has certain of my headstrong and even stubborn qualities, including steadfast determination and stoic perseverance, and Lily has some of my innocent wide-eyed wonder at the world and belief in the goodness in others. But I believe Jason Riley most closely resembles me, because he has a lot of the smartass “defy authority at any cost” traits that I had when I was his age (15). Plus, as a teenage boy, he is a natural master of the crude insult.

For Writers:

You obviously write extremely well, what tips would you give burgeoning writers?

Thank you, sir! My best tip is one given to me by a favorite author many years ago, the famous Mr. Robert R. McCammon, when I asked him for advice on getting my work published: keep writing, keep submitting your material no matter how often you’re rejected, and always keep honing your craft, i.e. learn as much about good writing as you can.

With self-publishing becoming more popular than ever before – and easier to do nowadays with all the Internet resources available – the competition is more fierce than it’s ever been. For that reason alone, your work must excel, and be as original as possible. The best way to make this happen is to constantly develop your writing skills to a higher, more professional level. Be demanding of yourself and your work! Don’t accept mediocre, and don’t make the mistake of believing your first draft is going to get published and go viral. You have to learn how to be an excellent editor as well, and achieve an objective perspective when you’re editing your work.

Basically, I recommend subscribing to what I call my “Triple P Philosophy”: Patience, Persistence, and Perseverance.

Writing, although hard, is not nearly as difficult as the bane of any author: marketing. What have you found to be some of the most successful marketing strategies that worked for you?

Effective marketing is always an ongoing learning process, with success achieved through trial and error. What works well for some authors (or genres) may not work so well for others. Here are a few marketing strategies and tactics that have worked well for me.

1) Instead of posting an excerpt of the first chapter (or few chapters) of my novel on my website, I post a link to the “Look Inside!” free sneak preview on the Amazon product sales page (or Goodreads’ “Open Preview” feature). This link will take prospective readers and buyers to the sneak preview page, which is superimposed directly over the product sales page. If your work is compelling, tight, and entertaining, readers will want and even need to keep reading once they’ve come to the end of the sneak preview, and when they click it off, looky there: Voila! There’s the product sales page with that “Buy now” button right in front of you. This is a great tactic to impel readers to click that “buy” button after they finish reading your sneak preview. Also, share your sneak preview link regularly on all your social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, whatever sites you frequent and on which you’ve developed a following.

2) I do Facebook online Book Release Parties. Invite all your friends, ask them to invite their friends, and share the event in your Facebook Reader and Writer Groups. Offer giveaways during the party: You can get with a swag maker to create key chains, jewelry, etc. with images of your book’s cover on them, or offer contests with giveaways of your previous books. Use e-books! They’re cheaper, don’t have a mailing cost, and are more popular than printed books nowadays anyway. I also have “Caption This” photo contests, which are always wacky, fun, and funny, and I offer a number of Amazon Gift Cards as the prizes for the winners. The gift cards are easy to email to the winners, and also don’t cost postage. Make the party fun! Hire a successful Facebook party host to handle the events for your party if you’re not comfortable hosting it yourself. This will actually give you more time to interact with your readers and party participants anyway, and let them get to know you while your host or hostess is working the contests and other various party posts.

3) Launch a Virtual Book Tour. I was inexperienced at this, so I shopped around for the best deal on a company that handles virtual book tours, picked what I thought was the best deal, and hired them. They were reasonably priced, and I’m about to find out how well that works. My “JAGANNATH 2015 Virtual Book Blog Tour Extravaganza” starts on Monday February 9 and runs through Monday March 9, with one and sometimes two tour stops every weekday. All slots have already been filled by bloggers. Come join me on the tour! We’re having numerous giveaways: Five $10 Amazon Gift Cards, five e-book copies of my paranormal thriller SOULSNATCHER, and one e-book copy each of my colleague and fellow published author Deborah D. Moore’s THE JOURNAL: CRACKED EARTH and the sequel THE JOURNAL: ASH FALL. The tour will also feature bloggers interviewing me as well as numerous of my guest blog posts, including exclusive “interviews” I conducted with several of the characters from JAGANNATH.

4) Write a Press Release and hire a professional company to distribute it. Make sure you compare what they offer versus price. If you don’t know how to write a good, irresistible press release, there are plenty of free resources on the web providing excellent instructions on the right and wrong way. Don’t skimp on writing your press release! Spend the time and effort to make it authoritative and compelling.

The company I hired sent out my Press Release the day before JAGANNATH’s release, and in just five days I received over 30 requests for e-book review copies, many from prominent bloggers and reviewers in my genre(s). In fact, a few of the solicitations were from bloggers whom I’d solicited in advance with offers of Advance Review Copies and had turned me down before. A professional Press Release sent out by a reputable distributor earns you status and a form of accreditation among experienced bloggers and reviewers. Of course, I’m still waiting for David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel to call me for a guest spot on their shows.