A website touting support for a proposed $8.5 million bond in El Mirage is not only missing disclaimers about who paid for the site -- it's also misleads residents about who created it.
And MoiaGroup, the Tucson-based web-design firm incorrectly linked to the site is pretty upset. So upset, in fact, that they are offering their services to the community groups opposing the bond, and the increased property tax it brings.
New Times called the MoiaGroup asking for Jes McMasters, the name of the web designer listed on the bottom of the elmiragevoteyes.com page.
One of the co-founders of the design firm tells us they don't know a Jess McMasters or anything about a bond election in El Mirage.
We explained that a click on McMasters' name takes viewers to MoiaGroup's website.
It leaves the unmistakeable impression that MoiaGroup created the page.
But it didn't.
Could this be an innocent mistake? A misdirected link?
Even if it were, there isn't anyone to ask since there is no contact information on the site. And we're pretty sure that state law requires "paid for by" disclaimers to identify who's behind the efforts to get the bond passed on November 8.
Ian Johnson, a co-founder of the group, told New Times
that he was going to update their website to make it clear they have
nothing to do with the elmiragevoteyes.com.
And they did update it with "What the heck is El Mirage?"
"We would like to go on record saying we don't know any Jes McMasters,
that the website has nothing to do with MoiaGroup, and until today we
knew nothing about the issue. I'd also like to go on record as saying
the elmiragevoteyes.com website is awful, and I'm embarrassed that
anyone might have seen it and thought we did it!"
Stayed tuned.
