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Public commenters press council over petitions and decorum at Planning & Zoning
Summary
Five public commenters addressed the council: one alleged the mayor sought more candidate petition signatures than the state allows; others criticized a council member's conduct at a Planning & Zoning meeting and asked for an apology for calling for a resignation.
Public comment at the Prescott Valley Town Council meeting on Nov. 13 focused on election paperwork and conduct at recent advisory meetings.
Steve Caros placed on the public record a printed excerpt he said was from state law and raised concerns about a mayoral Facebook post touting thousands of petition signatures. "This begs the question as to why the mayor appears to be ignoring state law," Caros said, and asked the town attorney and manager what steps would be taken to "restore the rights of those who signed over the state-mandated limit." The statute cited in the transcript was identified by the speaker as "Arizona Revised Statute 16-322 subsection 9" (as cited by the speaker).
Separately, David Larner and Chris Russo criticized Councilman Ken Freund’s conduct at a Nov. 10 Planning & Zoning meeting. Larner said Freund insisted that newly appointed commissioner Joe Colosimo resign after Colosimo recused himself on a matter; Larner called the demand unethical. Russo urged Freund to rescind his call for resignation and to submit an apology letter for the record. "I am, however, calling on this councilman to do the right thing and rescind his call for Joe to step down," Russo said.
Councilman Freund responded during public comment: he said his opening remarks at the other meeting were given as a private citizen and emphasized council members retain First Amendment rights when not acting in official capacity. "I was not speaking as a council member," Freund said.
The council did not take immediate formal disciplinary action during the Nov. 13 meeting; the remarks were delivered during the public-comment period, which the council said is limited to criticism, asking staff to review an item, or requesting an item be placed on a future agenda. The town attorney and manager were asked to note the concerns for possible follow-up.
