Letters: Surprise mayor should resign, attorney must go after incident

During the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 20, Mayor Skip Hall and City Attorney Robert Wingo acted in ways that brought dishonor to themselves and to our city.

Mayor Hall made it perfectly clear that he (1) does not understand or follow the city’s published operating procedures for running meetings, (2) does not honor the free speech of the citizens of Surprise, and (3) is willing to weaponize the police department against one of our own citizens.

Mr. Wingo was present at the meeting and — though he certainly must have known better — allowed these breaches of the law to unfold. To maintain the integrity of our city, Mayor Hall should resign, and the city council should terminate Mr. Wingo’s employment.

Rebekah Massie, an engaged citizen who has sacrificed a lot to open council members’ and residents’ eyes to major areas of concern within the city, requested to speak during the Call to the Public section of the meeting. She rose to address the council regarding a proposed 4.4% salary increase for city attorney Robert Wingo.

Violating the rules of professional conduct that should govern city council meetings, Mayor Hall interrupted Ms. Massie, told her that she must stop speaking, and threatened to have her escorted out if she wouldn’t yield the floor. He then accused her of “lodg[ing] charges or complaints against [an] employee of the city or members of the body,” displaying his incorrect understanding of that statute and inaccurate assessment of what Ms. Massie was actually doing.

Ms. Massie was not lodging charges or complaints against Mr. Wingo. She was offering her opinion that his salary should not be increased, based on facts that she cited regarding salary comparison data and outstanding Freedom of Information Act requests. She used publicly available facts to support her argument that his salary should not be increased, but she was neither offering her opinion on those facts nor lodging charges or complaints. To state such facts and to urge the council to not increase an employee’s salary is fully within her rights as a citizen.

I am appalled that Mayor Hall would think it appropriate — or even permissible — to use police force to shield himself from hearing speech that he does not like. And I’m appalled that Mr. Wingo, a lawyer whose studies certainly must have included the correct application of the U.S. and Arizona constitutions, did not intervene when it was clear that a police officer was about to carry out the mayor’s unjust demands.

What is he paid for, if not to advise the city when they are about to make huge legal missteps? Shutting down free speech is not allowable by any government agency or by any elected or appointed official. Preventing such behavior from our government is exactly why we have the First Amendment.

Ms. Massie — and every resident of the city of Surprise — has an unalienable right to express themselves. She should not have been denied her opportunity to speak.

She should have been able to finish her three minutes of allotted time without fear of retribution. In cutting her off and then forcibly removing her from the meeting, Mayor Hall violated her rights as a citizen of our city, state, and country.

I also condemn in the strongest terms the mayor’s decision to enlist a police officer to forcibly remove Ms. Massie from the city council chambers. He had no legal standing to do so, and the fact that he took that hasty and illegal action in front of her young child makes it even more shameful.

As a citizen, I regret that I was not there to defend Ms. Massie’s right to speak. But as a mother myself, I deeply regret that I was not there to protect and comfort her young child while city officials were disregarding Ms. Massie’s rights and any sense of human decency. Had I not seen the video myself, I would hardly be able to believe that such an event actually happened in the United States of America, much less in my own city.

Mr. Hall and Mr. Wingo’s behavior last night is reprehensible. They are unfit to be the mayor and attorney of our city. Their disdain for the people of Surprise that they are supposed to be serving and representing is obvious.

If they have any shred of integrity, they must publicly and candidly acknowledge the gravity and the wrongness of their actions. Mr. Hall should immediately resign the office of mayor. And the city council should terminate Mr. Wingo’s employment.

Further, I call on every member of the City Council — current and incoming — to recognize the severity of the crossroads that we are at. For too long now, the citizen-council culture in the city has been one of opposition and antagonism.

This ought not be! We are on the same team! Citizen engagement helps the city council represent us better. Their discussions and spending priorities and votes should reflect that partnership.

The divide that defines current city-citizen relations is unhealthy and unhelpful. Taking action to seek out and welcome citizen input, to make city processes and decisions more transparent, and to respect dissent, dialogue, and discussion as productive and helpful can go a long way in closing the divide between citizens and the city council and will make Surprise a better place to live.

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.