At the Town Council meeting of Jan. 17, during a robust discussion about the proposed apartment complex in the Target center, Councilmember Allen Skillicorn demanded to know if any of his fellow councilmembers had had ex parte meetings with the developer. He also demanded to know if any of his colleagues sitting right there on the dais with him had taken contributions from the developer. He insisted that the people had a right to know and that there was “no process” around the decision.

Does he seriously believe his colleagues are unethical enough to have secret meetings and sell their votes? If he does, did he really think they'd raise their hands and say, "I know it's a clear-cut violation of the rules, but yeah, I did." Or worse, lie and say they didn't know it was wrong?

There was a lot of process. Over 20 residents addressed the council, both for and against. The attorney for the developer responded to the concerns of the residents. Councilmembers asked questions. Town staff answered questions and presented analyses. The discussion went on for over two hours. How is this not process?

Councilmember Kalivianakis told Skillicorn that he was making slanderous allegations in a public forum. She reminded him that he is the only one who is the subject of an ethics investigation. In yet another preposterous move to derail a decision, Skillicorn insisted that the meeting was "quasi judicial," yet his explanation of why this mattered was confused and confusing.

Skillicorn is playing Chicago-style politics in a small town where it's vital that we get along and work together to help Fountain Hills prosper. We can't play hardball here. Does he understand this? My answer is no.

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