Mayor Dickey is right. After I watched the Council proceedings March 19, 2024, I recalled what Mayor Dickey said in her State of the Town address not even two months ago; “Fountain Hills is at a crossroads.” 

We can continue to tolerate or ignore the actions of Allen Skillicorn, or we can call him out. Yet when I saw a recent letter to the editor headline that said “Skillicorn’s sanctions humiliated our town,” I think the writer got it only half right. It should have said “Skillicorn’s actions humiliated our town.” And it was members of the council, including one who ran with him and was supported by members of the ROT PAC, that finally decided enough is enough. His actions are humiliating.

Why would any town condone an elected person’s actions when he constantly berates and belittles the staff who serve him, and reportedly lies about it?  And I can’t believe that another person claimed him a “hero.” In what way has he been heroic? His social media posts are tasteless. His fallback to hateful speech laced with biblical quotes just doesn’t make sense. It’s out of place at the dais. It’s just wrong.

So, let’s call it what it is. Two councilpersons (and members of the public) all filed complaints about his behavior (seven total complaints). And an arbiter agreed on some of them. The question is, will Skillicorn get the message that he’s only representing himself, and not our community? Probably not.

But I agree with the Mayor, we’re at that crossroads. We need to choose the right way forward. Thank you, Council, for pointing the way. 

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