Fountain Hills council burns bridges rather than build them

Mayor Friedel had a chance to bring our community together at a recent council meeting. The council majority voted to clean their own slates. Any and all ethics violations have been erased from their records. Why didn’t he give that same dispensation to the woke residents that side of the political aisle dislikes? Bridges could have been built. Some commonality could have been found, like the love for our community.

During that same meeting two council members, Toth and Watts, gave out false information. They said residents’ First Amendment right to petition our government for redress of grievances was not being violated because residents can go to the ombudsman office to file ethics complaints. I did just that. Guess what? Either they are greatly uniformed, or they lied. I would think a two-year council member like Toth would know that the ombudsman does not take ethics violation complaints. They deal only in public records violations or open meeting acts.

We also found out recently Councilmember Earle apparently audited our town attorney. Overbilling was the accusation, according to a termination letter from the attorney. So, you mean that Toth, Skillicorn and Friedel all missed these supposed padded charges when they were sitting on the council the last two years? It took Earle to uncover the overbilling in less than four months? Really?

If this is what happened, it's time for Earle to present the evidence. Show us the billing charges or misconduct that Aaron Arnson’s law firm allegedly committed. And take those accusations to the Attorney General for charges. If he broke the law, show us the proof.

As candidates, these individuals have claimed misappropriation or misuse of funds during election time. Yet they never prove it.

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