Last week, Councilperson Allen Skillicorn distributed an email in which he said, “I understand that I do not always take popular stances, but I never lie or misrepresent myself or conduct myself in an unethical manner.”
In that same email, Skillicorn said:
- “No one seriously believes I have violated our community’s standards of ethics. Their issue with me is not my conduct but rather my opposition to their radical agenda.”
- “The weaponization of our community’s ethics complaint process undermines our values. Having a disagreement is not unethical. What is unethical is the abuse of power. The Mayor and her allies are using technicalities in the law to punish their opponents and it is wrong.”
- “The Town Council is expected to vote on possible sanctions against me on March 19th. I hope you can make it to this meeting. The crowd for the last meeting was split between supporters and antagonists. If we had a large contingency of supporters, it might cause some of the members of the Town Council to think long and hard about what they are doing.”
“Please come to the Town Council meeting on Tuesday, March 19th. We need to let the Town Council know that political disagreements do not excuse the Mayor’s abuse of power.”
Residents who follow you would say that you lie often, Mr. Skillicorn. Residents would also say that you do, in fact, act unethically…and often.
According to the Fountain Hills Times Independent, “An independent attorney investigating ethics complaints for the Town of Fountain Hills has found that Councilman Allen Skillicorn is in violation of the Code of Ethics for the Town Council related to two incidents that occurred since September 2023.”
The independent investigating attorney also said, “I do not believe that such actions ‘affirm the dignity and worth of the services rendered by the town government and maintain a deep sense of social responsibility as a trusted public servant’.”
This same investigator said that she did not believe “legal sufficiency exists regarding a violation of the Town’s Code of Ethics by Councilman Skillicorn due to the protections afforded by the First Amendment” pertaining to your social media accounts. While that may exonerate you insofar as the investigation specific to the Town’s formal Code of Ethics, it certainly does not mean that your social media invectives do not constitute unethical behavior, stoking of community division, and bringing shame to Fountain Hills.
This is not about the mayor, despite your attempted conflation and ruse. It was not the mayor who “approached a town employee in an aggressive manner, making him fearful of his safety, attempting to access the interior of his truck, and making comments such as ‘you guys are really skating on thin ice,’ when that Town employee is simply doing the job he is paid to do on behalf of residents and community.” The audacity of you to portray innocence is a slap in the face to this Code Enforcement officer.
This is not about the Town Council, whose opinions you are now trying to sway with chaos after you previously implied that council colleagues had inappropriate contact or discussions with a developer related to a community zoning case (ethics violation #2).
You are sadly without remorse, Mr. Skillicorn. According to various media outlets you said that people are trying to “embarrass” you and that this is a “political smear.” Right from the “never admit guilt” playbook. You as a self-described “chaos agent” are attempting to live up to your social media moniker by bringing even more shame to Fountain Hills while doubling down on the disrespect and humiliation you meted out to town employee, council colleagues, and residents.
Now we will wait to see whether the antics you are employing are successful, or whether courage and justice prevail on March 19. Saying “sorry” seems like something you have never said in your political career, but now would be a good time to start for the sake of #FountainHills.
The only communication I’ve ever had with this man was regarding prayer in public meetings I think it’s wrong I think there should be separation of church and state and it’s forcing me not to go to public meetings because I don’t feel I should be forced to go to a religious prayer meeting -he was very nasty in his response to me and he’s been nothing but nasty causing division in this beautiful community I’ve been here 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like it -someone needs to stop him talk to him make him realize that we don’t want this type of division and stupidity in this town. We want to have a welcoming town for all races all religions all people.
Hello Sharon,
Thank you for your comments. We agree that it is most unsettling when our government leaders ignore our concerns. Can you clarify a few things?
To whom are you referring?
We at Flourish Fountain Hills agree; may we use your feedback publicly by sharing it anonymously?
Have you considered submitting this to the Fountain Hills Times Independent as a letter to the editor? There may be many others who feel as you do and would find strength and courage through your letter to speak out.
Thank you,
The Flourish Fountain Hills team