“You Seem to Thrive on Disseminating Misinformation…” Says Mayor Rob Adams
The SaveSedonaNow/Letthepeoplevoteon89a spin machine is at it again, spreading more hatred in our community by way of the fictitious Liz Smith. What continues to be Puzzling and yet consistent is his/her absence from any public appearances. There have been several public events recently where he/she had been invited and again…no show. Interesting also is the Mayor’s change of position on the issue; he now appears on the same SaveSedonaNow/Letthepeoplevoeton89a website and newspaper ads, in support of Liz Smith’s rants. In August 2011 he typified Liz’s writing calling it “propaganda”, saying ““You seem to thrive on disseminating misinformation….I spend way too much time responding to this propaganda, when I could be doing productive things…I have offered to meet with you several times. Apparently you don’t have the courage to do so.”. Now, what he formerly considered propaganda, is now fact. Maybe the Mayor can arrange a meeting?
Sedona, AZ (October 9, 2011) – Civil discourse on community issues, based on facts and identifying those participating in the discussion, should be a hallmark of our political system. Sadly it is not, even in small-town Sedona.
Calling herself “Liz Smith/SaveSedonaNow,” she first appeared in August, 2010 in emails urging a few people to attend a City Council discussion on studying the transfer of west 89A to local control and ownership.
Her first real public contact came early last October as the author of emails to Mayor Rob Adams. Her caustic emails criticized Adams and the City Council for exploring options regarding the possible transfer of 89A in west Sedona to city ownership.
Adams responded in part, “You seem to thrive on disseminating misinformation….I spend way too much time responding to this propaganda, when I could be doing productive things…I have offered to meet with you several times. Apparently you don’t have the courage to do so.”
From the March 31, 2011 savesedonanow newsletter this quote:
Hiding behind her alias, “Liz” shoots back, “How disappointing of you and what a hypocrite you are to attack me …” Adams comes back with, “I believe it is you that has been doing the attacking. I have offered, on several occasions, to personally meet with you to answer questions and give you accurate, current information regarding the Hwy 89A turn back.” In a final email exchange on October 13, Adams concludes, “I will continue to counter your inaccurate information. The citizens of Sedona are intelligent and articulate. They have proven their ability to distinguish facts from fallacy.”
“Liz” reappears in early December when she fires her first email blast to west Sedona businesses with speculations about construction and tax impacts of city ownership of west 89A. Robert Schmierer, a west Sedona business owner, responds in part, “Stop trying to scare people. All your objections are based on Could be, Might cost, May happen scare tactics.”
“Liz Smith” resumes her attack with email volleys in early January. Local resident Mike Schroeder, who was heavily involved with the Hwy. 179 issue, responds with: “I think it is VERY sad that the people who are spouting this type of pressure while only presenting half of the facts forget how we almost got a 4 lane interstate jammed down our throats (in places 6 lanes wide) from ADOT on SR179, and instead we have an award winning road that moves traffic in a scenic environment that is not only calming but is incredibly safe.”
Another blast from “Liz” in late in January urges people to sign an advertisement in the Red Rock News, but strangely, her name does not appear in the ad.
“Liz” adds social media including Facebook, Twitter and Linked-in to her email blasts in early February and continues barrages of misinformation on the issue of city ownership of 89A. Her attacks on City Council members increase in frequency and ferocity throughout the month, both before and after the Council vote approving transfer of 89A on February 22.
Responses from Sedona citizens and Council members questioning the accuracy of statements in “Liz’s” harangues receive only acid email responses or none at all. Despite invitations from a variety of local media for print and video interviews, “Liz” ignores all such offers. While many others with passions about the 89A transfer testify at city presentations, listening sessions and City Council meetings,no one calling herself “Liz Smith” comes forward at any of these events.
From the contents of her email blasts and web site, it is clear that “Liz” is very familiar with City Council procedures and city government. It is also clear from her references to local history that she has been in Sedona for some time. But “Liz” is not listed in the phone book and she is not on any Sedona voter list. She does not get a water bill, sewer bill or electric bill and no one in city government or the City Council has ever received a phone call from her.
And so the question persists, “Who is this Liz Smith?”
Meanwhile, on March 8, 2011, formation of another group called “Let the People Vote on 89A” (LTPV) is announced, headed by former City Council member and long-time Sedona resident Sheri Graham. By contrast, Graham and LTPV make every effort to be visible by opening a storefront office, creating a web site, sending out press releases and beginning their own email blasts seeking support for a referendum on the City Council decision to assume local control of 89A in west Sedona. They also begin adding the social media of Facebook, Twitter and Linked-in to their email blasts.
Vitriolic email blasts from “Liz/Save Sedona Now” urging people to sign petitions for the referendum and initiative, attacking Council members who supported the 89A route transfer, threatening recall and supporting Graham and LTPV continue through March, April, May and into June. But, “Liz Smith” does not sign any of the petitions, assist in getting signatures or appear at any public meeting.
LTPV meanwhile moves forward openly, developing an organization, utilizing email blasts to push their message, hiring signature gatherers for their petitions, completing the signature process and getting measures approved for the ballot by early June.
“Liz” has focused on the 89A transfer since first appearing last August. With that issue quieting down in mid June when the City proposes a November 8th date for a public election, “Liz” suddenly shifts gears. She abandons the 89A issue and begins emails blasting City Council members Ward, Litrell, Hamilton and Rayner in mid June and again in mid July for their support of city efforts to revise the grant process for public funds provided to non-profit organizations. Conspicuously absent is any mention of Council member Mark Dinunzio, who was a member of the city task force with Litrell and Hamilton that developed the new proposal regarding non-profit funding and who voted to approve it in the City Council meeting on May 25.
This new attack employs the same malicious tone, innuendos and misinformation slant seen over the previous eight months regarding 89A issues.
So, for the past ten months, “Liz Smith” has been a regular email voice in the conversation about 89A and now about the city’s new process for funding non-profits. However, given all her email-blasts intended to influence public policy and city officials, why has “Liz” refused all offers of face to face meetings, interviews and phone calls? Why has she not put her name on any of the petitions she so strongly endorsed? Why did she not help gather signatures, appear at any meeting or public event, send a letter to the editor or even register to vote?
From the July 15, 2011 savesedonanow newsletter:
The answer is obvious. “Liz Smith” is a fake. “Liz” is a false identity, a pseudonym created to hide behind and publish whatever kind of false, misleading and spiteful attacks that suited “her” purpose. She could say whatever she wanted and attack anyone or any group she chose without being held accountable for the truth. She could release the deep anger inside her without risk of anyone striking back. And, perhaps she could return herself or her friends back to power in the city, a control that voters overwhelmingly rejected in the last election.
So, just who is “Liz Smith?”
First consider the following electronic connections:
*Electronic tracking reveals that Liz Smith/Save Sedona Now and Sheri Graham/Let the People Vote on 89A send their email blasts from the same database.
*Each Sheri Graham/LTPV email blast has a link to a special page for forwarding it to others. That link leads to the same page used by “Liz”/Save Sedona Now for that same purpose. It even displays the “Save Sedona Now” heading at the top.
*Both “Liz” and Sheri Graham/Let the People Vote on 89A use the same web site provider: Domains by Proxy, Inc. in Scottsdale. This service operates for the singular purpose of helping clients do business anonymously.
Use of search engines for Let the People Vote on 89A also brings up email blasts for Save Sedona Now, confirming an electronic tie between the two.
*Both “Liz”/Save Sedona Now and Sheri Graham/Let the People Vote on 89A offer the same social media options, present them in the same sequence and place them in the same location in all their email blasts.
The list of electronic connections between “Liz”/Save Sedona Now and Sheri Graham/Let the People Vote on 89A goes on, but there are also other types of links as well.
“Liz’s” rants about Councilors Rayner, Litrell, Ward and Hamilton’s support for revising city funding of non-profit organizations in two recent email blasts but makes no mention of Council member Mark Dinunzio. He was a full member of the city task force that developed the non-profit funding recommendations (Ward and Rayner were not) and who voted for Council implementation of the new standards. Dinunzio also is a supporter and close associate of the Sheri Graham/Let the People Vote group.
The real purpose of Sheri Graham/Let the People Vote on 89A emerged in May when comments by people associated with the group indicated their real intent was blocking city ownership of 89A.
The referendum was a means to an end and a public vote was not their real objective. Similar to “Liz’s” email salvos, this disingenuous strategy was exemplified in comments by Councilor Mark Dinunzio at the May 10 Sedona City Council meeting and by former mayor Pud Colquitt speaking at the May 20 State Transportation Board meeting in Flagstaff.
Dinunzio indicated to the Council that he believed the purpose of the referendum was not to decide the issue by a public vote. It was only a means of halting the route transfer. He further commented that the LTPV group was, “probably doing cartwheels that there doesn’t need to be a vote,” since ADOT had said they would let the transfer agreement expire on June 30.
Colquitt, speaking for Sheri Graham/Let the People Vote, expressed a similar view.
She implied to the State Transportation Board that a public vote really didn’t matter and urged ADOT to move ahead with putting in the streetlights now. Colquitt said the public vote to decide the issue could take place after streetlight installation was already under way.
So, just who is “Liz Smith?” You decide!
The creation of “Liz Smith” as a cover to spread animosity, innuendo and false information is totally disingenuous to the principles of civic discourse and the sanctity of public elections. Those who respect our right of open public debate and meaningful public elections should strongly reject her tactics and those who use and condone them.
Good bye “Liz Smith”
Readers: please feel free to comment below…
September 5, 2011 from Sheri Graham:
This is an advertisement
14 Comments
This is a powerful editorial that speaks for itself and should serve as a wake up call for all. When we have something that we want to say to the public we must have the courage to put our name to it. When someone refuses to identify him(her)self we should not give any weight to his(her) statement. To consider it to be fact only encourages irresponsible and hurtful behavior.
I can vouch for Liz. She is a wonderful person who only has the interest of the most responsible in this community in mind. Ms. Smith has the courage of a lion if not the heart of the tin man. She simply does not want to be attacked and shown to be the fraud that you claim her to be.
Let’s let Liz speak her truth on behalf of all those disenfranchised former city council members who got thrown out of office out of no fault of their own, except that they were completely out of touch with reality and corrupt. Other than that they too were nice people.
Let Liz speak on behalf of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce which keeps gobbling up City $$$$ like it is going out of style. Good for them. It’s survival of the fittest and they are the fittest. To hell with the Arts and the Schools and the most vulnerable. Let the Chamber run the show. They know how to spend money better than anyone in town.
Liz speaks on behalf of those who must remain anonymous because they are too important to disclose their names. Let anonymity rule. That way we can create our own facts and promote them to people who have no intelligence to figure it out themselves.
Boch is back.
I’m totally disgusted with this kind of thing going on in
Sedona. We all deserve better than false information being spewed out by
a false identity
who is hiding behind another group. Wonder what Let The People Vote is
hiding and sending out that they know is false? At this point, I wouldn’t
believe a word any of them say.
Gene Lemmon
If Liz Smith will not come forth and acknowledge her existence. If she is a fictional character, then residents need to ask themselves if they should believe the alleged “facts” about the SR 89A issue as interpreted by “Save Sedona Now” and “Let the People Vote 89A.”
Boch You old devil, good to know You’re still with Us, sort of.
I have to say that the stated Facts here sound pretty convincing to Me. But being fairly new to Sedona Politics, I decided to do a bit of research of My own. And Yes, I came up with many of the same things, including the fact that Save Sedona Now, Liz Smith’s emails, Let the People Vote & Sheri Graham’s emails all come from the same address: Domains by Proxy, Inc., 15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260. There were also some other interesting Sedona Names & Websites that came up while searching, one of whom lives right here on Manzanita Lane. But, since You’re asking the question “Who is Liz Smith”? My bet is on Sheri.
Thank goodness We now have an honest and truthful Mayor, Vice-Mayor, and Four City Council Members, Who were voted in by the majority of the Sedona Voters.
Domains by Proxy, Inc., 15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
This is the same address for anyone who wishes to keep their domain ownership private (It’s a default address). I’m always disappointed by purported logic that goes down in flames for lack of proper research.
But, it was a fun read.
Carl Jackson
Obviously and for good reason, Sheri Graham knows that she has lost all credibility in our city. Such a juvenile stunt only shows more reason to not give her and her followers a second thought. First Ms. Graham and the ex-mayor start the group “Let the People Vote” but they quickly showed that they really didn’t want the people to vote and NOW THIS???
I strongly agree with Bettye’ last paragraph.
Liz represents all those people who can’t speak out because of fear. Just because you don’t like her message don’t attack the messenger. In America we don’t have to open ourselves up to personal attacks just because others don’t agree with us. Real or not, Liz represents all of us who can’t speak because we fear repercussions.
I agree with Liz and support her positions. Real or not as a person, her views are real and do represent us and we thank her for her courage.
We’re in a weird world where hiding behind a pseudonym is construed as “courage”. Whatever it is, it is not courage. Liz Smith, whoever that is, has chosen to inflame a controversial situation and to do it anonymously. Most people would call that cowardice. It is all too common in Sedona for every policy disagreement to devolve rather quickly into personal invective. But Liz Smith has taken nasty local politics to a new level of low. It would be refreshing if Sedona residents could disagree on issues without calling their opponents thieves, liars, scum, and stupid. But we may have to wait for that to happen.
Good sleuthing, Sedona Biz. It seems some people in Sedona have drunk the firery brew call “tea” and dipped into the intoxicating world of political activism. All of this has been so foolish…. a tale told by an idiot,full of sound and fury, signifying nothing Except that it is so infuriating. And here we are, looking at a very costly referendum and all of that. Some conservatism.
Reading the letter from ‘Liz is right’ did give me a bit of a laugh, tho. And since we are all traveling under the cloak of anonymity I’ll simply call myself “Tea stained in Sedona”.
You claim you can’t speak up or use your real name for fear of
repercussions? There should be repercussions for spreading phony information
under a phony alias. Or don’t you understand that people object to being deceived and mislead?
Gene
I’m wondering if you can say where and what is deceiving and misleading and fear filled? What I see with LTPV people is so outrageous and misleading and just plain lies, do you think “real” (intelligent, balanced people) see the truth? I like to think people are smarter than falling for their fear tactics.
For the record and since I have likewise been linked as a candidate for the identity of the “real Liz Smith” I can assure you I am not.
Further, the most I know about Save Sedona Now is from a full page ad in the Red Rock News prior to the City Council voting on this issue last February. Had I known about the ad I would have requested for my own name to be included in the list of those opposing the 89A route exchange.
Please let it be known that I was an avid supporter of Litrell, Rayner, and Mike Ward during the most recent election. Cliff Hamilton was already two years into his term at that time.
I was opposed to the proposed ADOT lighting. At no time to my recollection was the matter of Sedona owning that State Highway an option to avoid the lighting prior to the election. These city council members pledged legal action against ADOT based on their own studies relating to safety.
When the sudden push for the State Route ownership ensued after these council members were seated, I thought, oh well, OK, let us explore options.
Then we came to the decision for the professional poll about which I had my own questions and through a Q & A with council members felt reassured that the experts would ascertain a true pulse of the acceptance for the transaction. That they did by, I believe, a two to one opposition to the idea.
Not so fast! Foul, calls the city council members who didn’t receive the outcome for which they had hoped. Timing was bad, questions were not crafted properly, and most insulting of all “the people weren’t educated.” Really?
That being said, we all know where we are at this point in time. However, I mostly take exception to the now accusation of “all those people who signed the LTPV Referendum petition were scammers” insofar that their true agenda was that they simply wanted the ADOT lighting.
I wish dear members of that Sedona City Council for whom I financially contributed I believe a collective total of $250 you would kindly refund that money to me for the sole purpose that you have not only betrayed the promise you made to me as a loyal constituent but now you insult my reason for having signed the Referendum. Acknowledging that there are, perhaps, people who did so because they want the lights, that issue had nothing to do with my opposition to the citizens of Sedona owning this State Route.
For the proponents to state that 89A once transferred will no longer be a State Route is, to be kind, untruthful. The status will not change because ADOT is not proposing an alternate bypass.
Now I have discovered these same folks are lobbying through “God” in a different online network. Who, pray tell, is this “God” of theirs who would insult the intelligence of those who once supported our candidates and have now been let down.
A council member recently commented about the decision for the Yavapai County redistricting as having been made behind close doors prior to the public meeting whereby the vote was taken. Well, that is exactly how I have felt all along . . . you people hit the road running, amok I might add, to get this route transfer approved without batting an eye at future repercussions.
It seems quite safe to predict that none of you will even be in the position of making decisions about the road design when the time comes. I just hope you are all around to help foot the bill.
Shame on all of you. Not for airing and expressing your desires but being deceitful. Voting on an issue with knowledge of full disclosure is one thing. However, your twists, turns, and now judging those of us who simply wanted a legitimate vote on this issue are being called scammers.
I suggest you all take a look at yourselves in the mirror.
My comments reflect my own opinions and I speak for no one but myself.
Eddie S. Maddock
Wow! I’m away from Sedona politics for a while and the proverbial *&%# hits the fan while I am gone.
Well, being a bona-fide investigative reporter I have sniffed out the truth about this reclusive Liz Smaith.
Liz Smith is actually Sandford Bach in drag. I mean, who else could it be?
LOL
Seriousely though, this fight over lights on 89A, and that’s what it is really all about, never mind this owning 89A nonsense… is moot.
How many times do I have to stand on my head and shout “ADOT don’t got the money!”
Everybody thinks ADOT has the $2 million in the bank but it’s an illusion. The fed money for the lights was supposed to come from the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
SAFETEA-LU, which expired in 2009 and extended eight times since, allocates about $41 billion per year on transportation projects.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the shortfall in transportation revenue will reach $14 billion in FY 2012.
That means the Feds have only $27 billion to throw around. There will be priorities. Lights for 89A will not be one. Our bridges and highways are crumbling across America. That’s where the gravy and crumbs will go.
Why do you think ADOT hasn’t put the bid out for the lights yet? Simple! They don’t have the cash to lay out and they are not sure that if they did front the lights they would be able to voucher the Feds for their expenses.
That’s right…voucher. The money is not a grant that you get upfront. ADOT has to finance the project with state funds and then get reimbursed.
The delay implementing the lights has nothing to do with ADOT’s prudence in waiting for the people to decide on 89A’s ownership. It’s about the green.
So now we have the pro and anti-light factions fighting like two dogs over a buried bone that’s not there.
And whether people vote to own 89A or not, what makes everyone so sure ADOT will even come to the negotiation table, let alone offer us the same sweet deal they offered before?
Gonna miss Smith and Bach when this whole thing blows over.