In an open letter from “Yes To Daybreak,” Fountain Hills residents who oppose Propositions 427 and 428 were labeled as “naysayers” spreading lies. Honest, hardworking people were accused of being “Foes of economic development [who] seemingly will stop at nothing to enforce their narrow view.”

In essence, the “open letter” is saying that residents who disagree should just “shut up.” And if you don’t – if you dare raise an opposing position – you are labeled a “hater.” Not a particularly friendly way to describe more than 1,800 people who signed a petition to have an opportunity to vote their opinion.

I can’t shut up when lie after lie is being disseminated on corner after corner by big blue and white signs and in slick mailers claiming to answer “Frequently Asked [fake] Questions” only the developers think necessary to ask.

For example, their answer to their own question about property values is based on a Harvard study from 2007, as if a study commissioned to look at values in the northeast 13 years ago is even remotely related to Fountain Hills in 2020.

By comparison, in a much more recent and telling decision, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously rejected Daybreak. And Mayor Dickey and Councilman Spelich also voted against the project. Do they hate their own town? Are they spouting venom?

I am voting “no” to propositions 427 and 428. I do not believe this project will provide the promised “millions in revenue.” I am willing to risk being labeled a hater because, simply put, Fountain Hills does not need Daybreak – the developers do. They are looking to carve their “millions in revenue” out of the beautiful entrance to Fountain Hills at Palisades Blvd., leaving us with a disgraceful eyesore.