Let the People Vote on 89A showed their true colors
by Barbara Litrell
Sedona, AZ (May 22, 2011) – I believe Sedonans have just been scammed by the organization called Let the People Vote (LTPV) on 89A! LTPV doesn’t seem to really care about letting the people vote.
I attended the ADOT Board meeting May 20 where Councilor Mike Ward, on behalf of City Council, requested ADOT’s Board to extend the deadline on the 89A Route Transfer deal from June 30 until December 15 so the referendum election on November 8 will have meaning and citizens votes will actually decide the issue. Councilor Ward affirmed the current council’s respect for the citizens’ right to vote.
When I saw former Mayor Colquitt there representing Let the People Vote on 89A I thought maybe, just maybe, Sedona was united on this issue — to let the people vote and decide if we take back the road or not.
Instead she urged ADOT to go ahead and put in the 108 lights as soon as possible and said she was sure in November the results of the election would overturn council’s decision. I couldn’t believe my ears. Was she really NOT asking ADOT to hold off until the election? Was she really telling ADOT to go forward to install the lights and her group would deliver the votes afterwards in a meaningless election in November? I realized that the goal of the referendum petition is not really to let the people decide. Let the People Vote on 89A seems to have already, before the vote, decided that the majority don’t want the route transfer. Where is the democracy the petition carriers talked about when they urged people to sign?
Where is the statement on the petition they carried that says the purpose of the referendum is to overturn the council vote? On my copy of the petition it requests that the motion of the Council on Feb 22 to take over the highway “shall be referred to a vote of the qualified electors of the City of Sedona for their approval or reject…” Ms. Colquitt must be forgetting that some people signed the petition requesting the right to vote on the issue but would vote in favor of the route transfer. It seems that for her and LTPV group, since she was speaking for them, the people’s votes don’t really count. Colquitt admitted that the goal of LTPV is “a public vote to overturn the decision of the Sedona City Council to take ownership of 89A.” While we know that is the LTPV steering committee’s goal, they had, at least until now, couched it in the cloak of actually letting the people decide in a vote. This echoes Councilor Dinunzio’s comment at the May 10 Council meeting that the initiative for the referendum was not to let the people vote, but to stop the route transfer. Councilor Dinunzio, who signed the petition, further stated, They’re probably doing cartwheels that there doesn’t need to be a vote. On the contrary, they should also have asked ADOT to wait until after the vote.
Hey Sedona, we’ve been had. In my opinion, that referendum should be declared null and void and just as it says on the petition that, It is a ‘Class 1 misdeameanor for any person to knowingly sign an initiative or referendum petition with a name other than his own,” maybe it should also be a misdeameanor to misrepresent the purpose of the referendum to the petition signers. By not urging ADOT to hold off any action on 89A until after the referendum, the group known as Let the People Vote on 89A showed their true colors.
Note: the opinions above are my own and do not express those of City Council or City staff.
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4 Comments
Thank You Barbara, and Sedona Biz for bringing this to light. I had had My suspicions about LTPV actually wanting a Vote that would turn out confirming Councils decision to Take Back the Hwy.. And, now here it is, Pud and DiNunzio actually having the gull to say and show that the Referendum was Not about a Vote, but to Stop a contract with ADOT. I can only imagine how the majority of the people who signed the referendum must feel about being Used by LTPV.
It all reminds Me of sitting in a Council meeting almost a year ago, when about 3 out of 4 people spoke, asking for No Lights. The old Council listened, then on the words of Councilman Scagnelli “We know what’s best for Sedona…”, voted For the Lights. No Vote for the People that time, and apparently They don’t care about a Vote this time either. I have never heard of moving on an Action now, saying ‘We’ll deliver the Vote later’? What arrogance!
It also seems to Me that the LTPV have manipulated the Arizona Referendum Laws. And, because of Their jubilance at having stopped the contract with ADOT, have slipped and revealed what Their true intentions were all along. Seems like They may be in Legal trouble to Me. What do You think?
Thanks to Mike Ward, Barbara Litrell, Angela LeFevre and others who attended that Flagstaff ADOT Board meeting to observe/hear the shocking lack of democratic thinking by LTPV. Why didn’t they join in with the Council request to extend the contract date to allow the vote they requested to actually be meaningful? Residents should be shocked by this behavior to retain power without winning an election; it will be remembered next election.
I agree with the thoughts now expressed that the referendum petition was simply a ‘legal gimmick’ exploiting an undefined area of Arizona law – meant only to stop the contract between ADOT and the City.
Remember by inviting us all into your beautiful City’s expensive home market, you did not get stupid people! West Sedona now contains 7000 residents – 70% of the 10,000 residents of this city. We deserve the same consideration and as nice a Main Street as the “commercial-tourist areas of Uptown and SR179”. It may not happen all at once, but with good planning, involvement of residents and businesses in that area, I am sure we can come to mutual agreement.
LTPV is also forgetting that when it comes to route transfers, the statute only states that ADOT must negotiate with the City; the rules for the actual negotiation are not defined – not the amounts of money due nor anything else. ADOT has already negotiated in good faith with the City. Sedona is not a “poor” city as some Arizona communities are, so I am sure no tears would be shed for us by ADOT to simply say after installing the hated lighting, the Andante signal, and paving the road that the road is now the city’s – without any further cash. ADOT’s only obligation is a safe road by their highway standards which is good for 5 years – nothing else. Think about it.
It is time for the business/commercial property interests of this City to understand that many, many residents are truly upset with their lies and undemocratic behavior.
Thank you, Barbara, for having the courage and tenacity to speak your mind and
let us know what is really going on re: the lights. It is shameful — but not unexpected — to witness another example of “double-speak” from so-called, self-appointed “civic leaders.”
To you and all others who take the time and interest to “monitor” government and see that the true story gets out to its citizens, we extend our deepest appreciation. Stay the course! The will of ALL the people can and should prevail…
Dear shocked Sedonans and former 89A lights fighters. Yes, you were scammed. Please read below the article I wrote for Sedona.biz published around Feb. 28. I don’t know if it has been removed from the Website but I predicted what was going to happen before anyone else realized what was happening save for those behind the coup.
This is the story, complete and unabridged. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. There’s only one way to stop those lights and that’s in court.
Here’s the opinion piece:
89A Lights Fight Not Over
By Tommy Acosta
For those celebrating the council’s decision to take S.R. 89A over: don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
Sure, on the surface it all looks like a done deal but until those promised millions are in the City’s bank anything can happen between here and there to tip over the punch bowl.
Those who have battled those lights over the years need to understand that those in the community who want them are not going to give up without a fight.
Remember, ADOT and the pro-lighters have been working hand-in-hand to get those lights up on 89A.
Looking back, every time the pro-night sky people thought they won the pro-lighters would pull a rabbit out of a hat and turn the tables.
It’s obvious ADOT and the pro-lighters had and still have an agenda – and that is to put those lights up at any cost.
The Mayor himself said if ADOT does not come through with the promised cash, the “deal is off” and ADOT will put up the lights.
So, all ADOT has to do is find an excuse not to pay and bingo, the lights are up. Something is not quite right here. ADOT made the pot for us to take 89A a bit too sweet and I feel a toothache coming on.
The City needs to have a “Plan B.” It has to be ready to go to court if ADOT pulls a fast one. Sedona cannot allow those lights and their construction to destroy businesses this tourist season.
Put away those party hats and whistles and put on your safety helmets. Like Yogi said “It ain’t over ‘till it’s over.”