Two residents elected in August to Gilbert Town Council sharply criticized Mayor Brigette Peterson and the rest of the council for failing to apologize to residents ejected from the Sept. 20 council meeting.
Council members-elect Jim Torgeson and Chuck Bongiovanni spoke during the “communications from citizens” portion of the Nov. 1 meeting.
Peterson had ordered Brandon Ryff, Ryan Handelsman and Joanne Terry removed from the Sept. 20 meeting as they stood at the back holding “Stop Lying” signs during the public comment period. Vice Mayor Aimee Yentes had asked the audience at the start of public comment not to wave or use signs.
The three have filed a notice of claim against the town alleging the town violated their First Amendment rights with the ejection. They had asked for $1 from the town and an apology from and “remedial” First Amendment training for the mayor.
A fourth resident, Terri Naddy, a frequent critic of the town regarding an imminent widening of Ocotillo Road, previously filed a code of ethics complaint with the town of Gilbert and completed an intake questionnaire with the Civil Right Division of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office stemming from the ejections at the Sept. 20 meeting.
However, an outside counsel’s investigation of the ethics complaint concluded “the actions of the mayor were required by the Town Code, the Ethics Policy and State law” though it recommended the town consider modifying some of its policies.
Torgeson and Bongiovanni, however, sided with the complainants in their comments before council Nov. 1.
“All the man wanted to avoid this is an apology,” Torgeson said. “Some people in this room are just too proud to offer that because they can’t admit when they are wrong, and we are in a lawsuit over it. We will lose, and we will look stupid again as we did in Reed v. Gilbert.”
Reed v. Town of Gilbert was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that sign codes must be content neutral.
Bongiovanni said perception is reality when it comes to their being enough there to file an ethics complaint or lawsuit.
“I disagree with the defendants in this lawsuit,” he said. “I think they should have sued for a dollar and two cents — one dollar for penalty and two cents because you didn’t respect them enough to listen to their two cents in the first place.”
Most all of the rest of public comment was in opposition to “The Ranch,” a mostly light-industrial development proposed for an area west of Power Road between Elliot and Warner Roads, which is adjacent to the Elliot Groves residential development of Morrison Ranch.
Morrison Ranch residents have been steadfast and vocal in opposing the project because it is out of character for the area and too intense of a usage against a residential neighborhood.
The Gilbert Planning Commission recommended approval for the major General Plan amendment and the land rezoning the project would require by 4-3 votes Oct. 20.
Final approval, however, lies in the hands of council, which is scheduled to take up the case at its Nov. 15 meeting.
In other items:
Council unanimously approved rezoning about 39 acres of land for Gabriella Pointe, a multifamily development at the southeast corner of Warner and Martingale roads. Under the plan, the town is allowing higher buildings — up to four stories — but set back further from the road with more open space.
Council unanimously approved the town signing onto a memorandum of understanding among Colorado River basin municipal and public works providers for expanding water conservation and efficiency programs.
Tom Blodgett Senior News Editor | Gilbert @sp_blodgett
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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