Gilbert council chooses mediation over no-confidence vote in mayor

By Tom Blodgett
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Twitter: @sp_blodgett

The Gilbert Town Council directed top staff members at an Aug. 1 special meeting to find a mediator and set a meeting for members to work out their grievances with one another. 

The move sidestepped a possible vote of no confidence in Mayor Brigette Peterson after new council members Chuck Bongiovanni, Bobbi Buchli and Jim Torgeson requested the meeting to discuss and potentially take such a vote. However, council members admitted there is no legal basis for such an action to be taken. 

The meeting called for on July 31 comes on the heels of six ethics complaints filed against various council members since July 10. Peterson filed one against Torgeson, and Bongiovanni filed one against Peterson. 

Vice Mayor Kathy Tilque, given the reins of the meeting from Peterson, said at the outset, when she was establishing ground rules for what she called a groundbreaking action, that she intended to ask for Town Manager Patrick Banger and Town Attorney Christopher Payne to find a mediator to bring in to help council work through its issues. 

Buchli later said in her comments she would like a meeting to be organized. Council members Scott Anderson and Yung Koprowski, noting the late notice of the meeting and that the agenda had given them nothing to go on for a vote of no confidence, also said a mediator and meeting would be good idea. 

Bongiovanni, who opened the discussion with a call for a vote of no confidence, agreed that would be a way to address the issues he had with Peterson’s leadership. 

“I look at something that if we move forward, any kind of forward action is good action,” he said. 

But Bongiovanni declined to elaborate on reasons for a vote of confidence, saying he spared the details out of respect for the mayor and council and because he did not want to break either state regulations or the code of ethics by doing so. He said council members all knew what he was talking about because they had seen her actions and behavior. 

“It's very difficult to verbalize this without subsequent ramifications,” he said. “And I respect the town and the citizens enough to not create those ramifications. And if we have to wait for the onset of all these ethics complaints, this will be right back on the dais. And my hope, and I know the hope of the other council members, was to not make that happen.” 

Peterson was not allowed to partake in the discussion but given a chance to respond to criticism after it was over. She declined to do so, other than to say that though Bongiovanni said council members all know what he was talking about, she did not. 

In opening the discussion, Bongiovanni said he did not want to throw around salacious accusations and did not doubt Peterson loves the town. 

“We're not looking for drama,” he said. “We're looking to get back to focus on what's important to the town of Gilbert. Some may think and have put in the press that this evening is a waste of time, but building a platform for unity and trust within our council and our community is never a waste of time.” 

He challenged council members not to avoid taking action against Peterson out of fear. He said they should ask whether the mayor has at this moment the humility, patience, skill and will to restore unity and trust on the council. If not, they should vote no confidence. 

But no vote was ever taken. Payne told council members it was enough to indicate direction on getting a mediator and arranging meeting and that would not require a motion. 

Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on Twitter.  We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. 

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert
@sp_blodgett

tblodgett@iniusa.org

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).