“In a chaotic discussion wherein Mayor Gerry Friedel had Sheriff’s deputies clear the council chamber of the audience, Fountain Hills Town Council voted 5-2 to remove open public comment and personal councilmember updates from future agendas.”
Do you remember Councilmember Gerry Friedel running on and vowing TRANSPARENCY while campaigning for mayor? We do!
Under Friedel and the ROT-majority council, the ability for residents to file ethics complaints under the town’s Rules of Procedure was eliminated earlier this year — ironically, just a short time after a resident’s ethics complaint was filed against Mayor Friedel for making misleading and false statements in an effort to take undeserved credit for a 6 percent reduction in the amount Fountain Hills residents will pay for MCSO police services in FY 2026. And now, open public comment for residents has been voted out by this majority, and its attorney, Jennifer Wright.
“I’m concerned that the effort to limit public participation will leave the only recourse to be heard is complaints to the attorney general and lawsuits,” Councilmember Peggy McMahon said. “This is a setup for additional actions.”
“Last night’s town council meeting ended the time-honored tradition of the people’s right to address their councilmembers in person and in council chambers,” stated Councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis. “The council has a fiduciary duty to listen to the citizens and make policy based on their input. After tonight’s vote, there is a distinct sense that the people of Fountain Hills are not being served, but rather, ruled over. Listening to the people is imperative to representative government.”
You cannot have transparency when actions are taken to censor and silence residents!
(Quotes courtesy of the Fountain Hills Times Independent.)
