Jan 27 – 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 with a criminal misdemeanor for hosting the “New Deal Meal” club in Moeur Park.

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, 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. 

The City claimed that “historically, events in this location have resulted in unsafe conditions, trash and items left behind in the park, and environmental impacts.” Yet the city government has provided no evidence that applies to the New Deal Meal, where club members clean-up after each gathering and take photographs afterward to document their work. In contrast to the City’s stated justification that “nearby neighborhoods not be “unreasonably impacted by park events,” Moeur park is not near a neighborhood, being half a mile from the closest residence.

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.

When  a man who has volunteered for years to make Tempe a better place for all, is now being punished for the “crime” of sharing food at a private gathering in a City park, one has to wonder why the City has chosen not to work more collaboratively on the issue, especially when faith leaders have been meeting with the City about Moeur Park since September.

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