Remember when sitting Councilman Alan Magazine stated at the April 5, 2022, Town Council meeting that when residents “demand” something from him, he turns and goes 180 degrees in the other direction? At the Monday, Aug. 22, Town Council meeting, as I approached the podium to politely speak for two minutes regarding an agenda item, Alan Magazine turned to the mayor, said he wasn’t going to listen to me and then left the dais.

He returned immediately following my remarks. Ironically, my opinion to postpone the vote regarding a special use permit for the north-end apartment project due to insufficient information was the very same opinion that Alan Magazine held. Councilwoman McMahon was also not stopped from leaving the dais on Feb. 1, 2022, when she walked out of the session twice while two different members of the public spoke on the topic of their unacceptable behavior at a local business regarding petition signature sheets for which Magazine was determined to have committed ethics violations in April 2022.

Why is Mayor Dickey allowing the behavior where sitting councilmembers leave in-session meetings due to their personal prejudices against specific speakers who are members of the community? During the election, I opposed Magazine’s candidate for whom he was the campaign manager. But as a councilman, Magazine represents all the residents of Fountain Hills, of which I am one, and I do not deserve to be walked out on during a Town Council meeting.

The mayor is quick to bang her gavel for any clapping and reprimanding audience members, but why is there never a consequence or directive toward sitting councilmembers who rudely depart mid-session? There seems to be a double standard for enforcing proper decorum during Town Council sessions and it is time their behavior is called out and stopped.