A big crowd was expected to come out for the Sept. 5 city council meeting and speak in favor of Dunn resigning after Lori Bango, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party’s 28th Legislative District, sent out a mass email requesting attendance.
The email called for “all hands on deck,” asking residents to come to the meeting with hand-made signs supporting Dunn’s resignation.
That didn’t happen.
Only four people spoke publicly on the subject — three in support of Dunn and one asking for her resignation.
Pine District resident Eva Osuna said because Dunn has not broken the law, it appears this is an ethics issue.
The city does have an ethics policy, which states the city can call a committee to address an issue like this.
However, that did not happen.
A removal of Dunn from office cannot be done by a council vote, but only by an election, recall, or for her to voluntarily step down.
Osuna said Dunn has agreed to hold a Pine District advisory meeting, inviting all residents in the district to attend.
At the Sept. 5 meeting, Osuna asked that Pine District residents be respected and be left to deal with this issue with their representative.
“Pine District residents deserve a face-to-face meeting since we elected her," Osuna said. "Peoria council did not elect her, Pine residents did. We elected her to office and we are the only ones who can remover her."
“I want to make it known that Pine District does not need help from anyone who does not live in Pine in dealing with this issue," Osuna continued. "There is a positive working relationship between the residents and the vice mayor, and we are very capable of addressing this issue. We are engaged residents in the Pine District and we do not need help from any other council district to deal with this situation. I have confidence that Pine District will act in its own best interest.”
In a letter dated Aug. 28, Peoria City Council and the mayor asked Dunn to resign from the board because of her involvement with a family friend who is a registered sex offender, convicted of crimes 40 years ago.
Natalie Gilstrap, a retired peoria employee, said she is embarassed for the city.
"I don't know all the facts. All I have seen has been releaseed through the media," she said. "But from what I can tell, Vice Mayor Dunn has not broken any law. She is not required to do any reporting."
Vicki James, a Pine District resident added the situation does not make Peoria look good.
"I cannot blelive that this council and our mayor is trying to pull something like this. There were no laws broken. It didn't go to the ethics committee. It is a problem with the Pine residents, and no disrespect to the other districts, but guess what? It's none of your business," she said. "If this is the way you want to show Peoria to the rest of Valley, it's ridiculous."
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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