Accused council members may strike back at accusers

by Cyndy Hardy

SEDONA, AZ Nov. 26, 2008 – When elected officials believe they’ve been maliciously accused of wrongdoing, the safest place to talk about pursuing the attackers is right in front of them.

“It’s gone too far in this community as far as going after councilors based on a disagreement over how we voted in an open meeting. I think it will keep going on until something is done about it,” Vice Mayor John Bradshaw said at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Mr. Bradshaw and fellow council members Nancy Scagnelli, Marc Sterling and Dan Surber – are being investigated by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office for allegedly talking shop over dinner at a local restaurant, in violation of a state law that requires public notice when a quorum meets and discusses city business.

“The four of us know we didn’t do it,” Ms. Scagnelli said.

They said the dinner never took place.

It’s their word against whatever ‘evidence’ the state attorney is investigating; and the AG hasn’t shared that, since the investigation is ongoing.

The Flagstaff outing was agendized, even though the city wasn’t required by law to do so. City Attorney Mike Goimarac said he has had no indication that the AG’s office is interested in that issue.

The AG’s office has shown interest in the alleged dinner and in the allegation that the council’s Aug. 13 motion exceeded the agenda. Mr. Goimarac’s opinion is that the motion was legal, however, the AG may rule otherwise.

Mr. Goimarac’s response to the AG’s investigation included a request that the state pursue legal action against the complainants if it finds the allegations were patently false.

While they wait for the outcome, the accused council members want to be ready with their next move. The only way to legally discuss their options was in a public meeting.

“Certainly if that’s the conclusion made by the AG’s office, and there’s no indication that they are going to take any action, perhaps one option would be for the council to instruct staff on how they would want us to react. Or maybe the [city council] as a whole could send a letter to the AG urging some sort of action. I think those are all options we can consider once the investigation is complete,” he said.

Ms. Scagnelli hopes the four accused can pool resources for legal representation. Mr. Bradshaw indicated he would likely go solo, hiring his own counsel.

“But as public officials, the burden is much greater to prove defamation. You have to prove evil, malicious intent to defame, which can be sometimes difficult to do,” Mr. Goimarac said.

“They didn’t like the vote on the lighting so, boom, they throw everything they can at us, and they make this up. My character had never been questioned until that accusation was made,” Mr. Sterling said.

Ms. Scagnelli said people who read local media reports about the investigation continue to comment about how they “got caught.” “Didn’t you read the whole article? It’s not true. But that’s not the part that’s out there,” she said.

The AG’s office hasn’t told the city who filed the complaints, but on Oct. 4 Sedona.biz published a video of Barbara Litrell, president of Keep Sedona Beautiful, telling a group of protesters that she had received confirmation that the AG’s office was investigating their complaint.

Multiple sources at the local newspaper said Ms. Litrell initially told their city reporter that she didn’t have anything to do with the complaints. Ms. Litrell reportedly admitted her part when told about the video.

Ms. Litrell declined comment for this article; and took a pass during the public comment portion of the discussion at Tuesday’s meeting.

Councilman Cliff Hamilton said the council was edging toward stifling “public” speech with what he called retaliation for the investigation. “Is asking for an investigation an accusation?” he asked.

AG investigations start with a signed complaint. Filing a false complaint is no different than filing a false police report since the AG office is a law enforcement agency, according to Mr. Goimarac.

Perhaps suggesting collusion, Mr. Sterling pointedly asked Mr. Hamilton how he knew about the AG complaints three days before the city received notice in a Sept. 29 letter from Assistant Attorney General Casey Cullings.

Mr. Hamilton reportedly spoke of the complaints at a Sept. 26 council retreat, at which members discussed team building with a paid consultant.

“What did you know that we didn’t know that you didn’t share with us?” Mr. Sterling asked.

Mr. Hamilton said he had heard about the complaints and thought it was common knowledge. He was surprised the rest of the council hadn’t heard about the complaints.

“Maybe folks talk to me that don’t talk to you. Or I listen in places that you don’t listen,” Mr. Hamilton said.

Copyright 2008. Cyndy Hardy. This article may not be reproduced, reprinted or redistributed without prior written permission from the author. Contact the author at cyndyhardy@msn.com.
 

Readers' comments

Editor's note:  We generally post all comments received where the individuals identify themselves, even though we respect anonymity because Sedona is, afterall, a small town; and some may feel intimidated from submitting a comment if it is negative or contrary.  We want to promote free speech.  We have received a number of comments, some for the city council members, some against.  It's a sensitive situation that's being investigated by the AG and, therefore, in this case we think it best not to post comments received.
 

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