May 14- Tempe, AZ – Ron Tapscott, who led opposition to the proposed Tempe’s Coyote arena and was slandered by the mayor and council in a recently released tape of an illegal city council meeting, was charged on Sunday, January 26 with a criminal misdemeanor for hosting the “New Deal Meal” club in Moeur Park.

Since then no further citations were issued and  last month Tapscott  joined a federal lawsuit against the city of Tempe for violating his Constitutional rights.

Monday afternoon in front of a packed courtroom, the city of Tempe asked Judge Kevin Kane to dismiss the charges “in the interest of justice.”

Ron Tapscott was pleased by the turn of events,  “While this is an outcome we agree is in the interest of justice, it sidesteps the underlying problem of how the city uses its employees and our tax money to target and criminalize people rather than address underlying causes of homelessness and food insecurity. Fortunately, in this case interactions with law enforcement were fully documented by interested citizens.”

The New Deal Meal, whose name alludes to the origin of Moeur Park, built as part of the New Deal in 1936, is a private club that brings together the housed, unstably housed, and unhoused on Sunday for a collective time of community and food sharing. 

On the prior Sunday, Jan. 19, Tempe police warned that they intended to issue a misdemeanor citation to Tapscott as an organizer of the private event. They claimed that he was violating the City’s special event ordinance, even though the ordinance does not apply to private events. New Deal Meal is not advertised, members sign in each week and have membership cards.

Tapscott has a long history of dedication to Tempe.

After receiving his undergraduate degree in 1969, he spent 20 years in the factory workforce as an active trade unionist.

 Tapscott returned to school in the 1980’s to earn a Master’s degree in Social Work. He came to Arizona as a psychotherapist. Most of his professional work was with firefighters. After 9/11, he was asked to assist New York City’s firefighters from the trauma they had experienced and flew to New York soon after that national tragedy.

After retiring in 2012, Tapscott helped found Tempe Neighborhoods Together (TNT). One initial project was to develop park master plans citywide and worked  with Councilmember Robin Arredondo-Savage to secure initial funding. In 2018 TNT brought the concept of Arts in the Parks to then Councilmember David Shapira.  Arts in the Parks brought arts to the neighborhoods and is a fully funded program today. 

TNT has been conducting annual food drives since 2021. Tons of food and supplies are donated by residents. The recipients of the Food Drive are the Tempe Community Action Agency (TCAA), the Aris Foundation, Lost Our Homes, (a pet support organization), Women4Women and Care 7.

Tapscott has been urging the City to collaborate with community members to help address underlying issues with homelessness since 2021. He has hosted dozens of meetings with the city manager, council members, and the mayor, inviting representatives of Arizona Hugs, TCAA, the Aris Foundation, the interfaith community and other nonprofit organizations.

Hopefully, the City will now choose to work more collaboratively on the issue, Currently faith leaders and other advocates for the homeless are raising concerns over the dearth of cooling centers going into the hot summer months in Tempe.They are currently working to arrange a meeting with the City to resolve the matter before any lives are lost. 

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