Verde Independent ducks coverage

The Cottonwood Journal was the first newspaper in the Verde Valley to report on the Arizona Attorney General’s investigation into Yavapai Community College’s plan to mail individual postcards masquerading as newsletters  that laud the College and the current Governing Board members.  Many consider the material to be a subtle political effort by the College to help Ray Sigafoos and Connie Harris in their bid to keep their seats on the Board.

The article, authored by Corey Oldenhuis of Larson newspapers, detailed the sequence of events surrounding the dispute between Paul Chevalier and Wayne Maddaugh, candidates in Districts 1 and 3, and President Penelope Penelope Wills. The article appears in the Wednesday, October 17, 2018 edition of the Cottonwood Journal. It will shortly be posted online.

The article reports that President Wills was sent three emails by Governing Board member Deb McCasland regarding the postcards but received no reply.  Paul Chevalier’s lawyer said he believed the College was “stonewalling us.” They then began legal action.

However, legal action was halted when Chevalier’s lawyer received correspondence from Wills announcing the College would not send out the postcards.  At the same time, the Arizona Attorney General’s office launched an investigation because of concern the College was violating a state law prohibiting it from using its resources to influence the outcome of an election.

Please read the full article once it is posted on the Cottonwood Journal website.

Tells Board by phone that she sees no problem

If it were up to Governing Board member Pat McCarver, she would send out the cleverly designed individual postcards masquerading as a newsletter before the November election.  At the October 2018 Board meeting, she claimed there was nothing about voting or the election in them.  Therefore, they could be sent out.

You may hear the relevant portion of her view made at the October 9 Governing Board meeting below.

You may also view a mock up of one of the cards prepared by the College below that shows the political nature of the material.

Headline and copy used in story given to the Prescott Courier and Verde Independent contain same words and same misleading information

Those critics who were suspicious that Yavapai College was attempting to influence the outcome of the District One Governing Board election for Ray Sigafoos when it issued a press release to the Prescott Courier about a Governing Board decision to apply excess revenue to reduce bond payments obtained more evidence supporting them on Sunday, October 14, 2018.  They pointed to a story appearing in the Verde Independent on that date apparently provided by the College.

The story in the Independent generated suspicion because it contained the identical headline and identical copy as the one issued to the Prescott Courier a couple days earlier.  The story quoted only Ray Sigafoos, who is in a heated political campaign with Wayne Meddaugh for the Governing Board seat in that district. Sigafoos is trying to shake the fact that he has voted for tax rate increases whenever the College asked for them for more than a decade.  The story provides, critics say, some cover for Sigafoos in the highly political issue of tax rate increases in the Prescott area.

The story is also inaccurate in that it says the $4.8 million is a “bond payoff.”  Actually, the $4.8 million reduced the outstanding bond obligation, it did not pay of the bond entirely.

The $4.8 million is the result of a failed project undertaken by the College and Northern Arizona University at the Prescott Valley government complex.  The College has never indicated why the project failed.  The money is a refund of sorts related to the cost of classrooms, parking lot, etc.  at the complex that was constructed and  paid for by the College around 2007-08.

You may view the story released by the College in the Verde Independent by clicking here.

Story released to Prescott Courier contained quotes from Sigafoos regarding reducing taxes, an issue that Sigafoos is trying to run from because he has voted for all of the tax increases asked by the College while he was a Board member

A story from Yavapai Community College given to the Prescott Courier has raised questions about whether the College administration was once again trying to influence the outcome of the District Governing Board election.  The reason for the suspicion is twofold:  First, normally the College puts out a complete report about a Governing Board meeting that is written by staff and contains no quotations from any Board members.  It normally does not provide information in a story about one issue discussed during a meeting. 

However, the College apparently took the unusual step this time of providing information applauding a decision to use $4 million dollars it received from the failed Prescott Valley/NAU project and the sale of its classrooms at the Prescott Valley City complex to help reduce outstanding bond obligations.

Second, the College not only applauded the Governing Board decision but prominently used quotations only from Ray Sigafoos in it. Sigafoos is being challenged by Wayne Meddaugh for the District One seat on the Board.  Critics immediately saw the possible political implication, which is the College linking Sigafoos by name to a reduction in taxes.  The story comes on the heels of the College back-peddling from its decision to send out alleged politically tainted postcards disguised as a newsletter promoting Sigafoos. 

Sigafoos’ has been under attack in his District because of the fact he has approved a tax rate increase every year it has come before the Board in the last decade. This story, along with a photo, will not doubt help him in his political effort.

It should be noted that Deb McCasland has argued for more than a year that the College should use excess revenue it receives to reduce it outstanding bond obligations.  However, there was no mention of McCasland or any other Board member in the story.

Here is the story that ran in the Courier as it was presented to the Blog (without photo).

Yavapai College Board approves bond payoff, says move saves taxpayers millions
The Yavapai College District Governing Board approved the payoff of general obligation bonds owed by the college, which is says will result in a significant amount of savings for Yavapai County taxpayers.
The board voted unanimously in approval of the bond payoff at its meeting Tuesday, Oct. 9, at the school’s Verde Valley campus.
The payoff is possible because of a finalized sale of YC’s Prescott Valley condominium to the town of Prescott Valley. In anticipation of the sale, the college
also has expanded its Center at Panther Path.
“Over the past few years, the college board agreed to consolidate our Prescott Valley facilities at our Panther Path center, adjacent to the high school,” said District Governing Board Chairman Ray Sigafoos. “We believe a larger consolidated facility at this location will create more opportunities for high school students as well as the rest of the community.”
Those sale proceeds can now be used to pay down general obligation bonds debt.
“This will allow the college to reduce property taxes beginning next year, to pay off the general obligation bonds two years early, and to save taxpayers $4.8 million, which is a significant amount of money,“ Sigafoos said.
Information provided by Yavapai College

Sigafoos denies he knew much about the newsletter and said he resents the implication he would authorize political material paid for by taxpayers

Chris Kuknyo, president of the Prescott Citizens Tax Committee, challenged the College and Ray Sigafoos in particular at the October Board meeting, over the College’s aborted effort to mail alleged politically tainted postcards in November to support Board members running for election. He commented that the Board “put us through a  lot of work just to do what is right.”  He argued that “any common man on the street could see what you were planning on sending out was not a newsletter.  It was a District specific incumbent promotion paid for by the taxpayers right before an election.”

Looking at the Board directly, he said:  “Ray, did you not see that?” referring to the promotional material. “Connie, you didn’t say wow, this looks like a promotion for me?”   

He also outlined his efforts to stop the mailing including asking for Deb McCasland’s help, whose request to the College went unanswered.  Then he contacted the County Superintendent of Public Education who Kuknyo said “cringed” but could not help.  He also said that the County Attorney would only speak to a Board member and that County Superior Court judges appeared “scared to take this on.” He concluded his remarks stating that it should not take an intervention by the Attorney General of the state of Arizona to get the College worried about sending out the newsletter (alleged politically tainted postcard).

Ray Sigafoos responded during the Call to the Public indicating he knew little about the alleged politically tainted postcard and resented the implication that he would use taxpayer money to support his campaign.

You may view Mr. Kuknyo’s  speech to the Board below.  You may also view an edited clip of the response from Ray Sigafoos below. His entire response is posted on the District Governing Board website. 

Says he received College concession the day he began legal proceedings; notes Attorney General may be continuing to investigate College use of what appears to many as political material for Governing Board members; asks Board to reconsider wasting thousands of taxpayer dollars

Paul Chevalier

Paul Chevalier explained to the Governing Board at its meeting on the Verde Campus October 8 the reasons he began legal action in Yavapai County Superior Court against the College to prevent it from mailing out what some consider politically tainted campaign material prior to the November election.  On the day he began action in Superior Court, the College agreed in a letter to his lawyer to hold up on the mailing until after the election.

Chevalier also asked the Board to reconsider the whole idea of wasting thousands of taxpayer dollars on the mailing at its next Governing Board meeting.

You may view Mr. Chevalier’s explanation to the Board in the video below.

Wills claims postcards were “informational only” but does not want to be “perceived to influence an election”

Politically tainted postcards created by the  Yavapai Community College marketing department for individual Governing Board members, which the Blog is told are at the printer’s and were being prepared to send out prior to the November election, have been put on hold. This is  according to a letter sent by Yavapai Community College President Penelope Wills dated October 2, 2018.

The Chavalier campaign did not receive actual notice of the decision until late afternoon October 4. Board member candidate Connie Harris gave no indication that such a decision had been made at a debate held at 1 p.m. Thursday, October 4 on the Verde Campus, where the issue of the use of the postcard was raised by Mr. Chevalier. 

The decision by Wills to withhold the mailing until after the election was in response to a request from attorney Joseph Montedonico, representing the Chevalier campaign. He wrote to Wills and the Governing Board September 23, 2018 demanding that they cease and desist from sending out the postcards prior to the election.  

In his letter to Wills, attorney Montedonico questioned the legal and ethical basis for mailing the postcard just prior to the November election.  He suggested, among other things, that the mailing may violate Arizona law regarding the use of public funds to influence the outcome of an election.  

When Governing Board member Deb McCasland learned about the postcard, its content and mailing date, she asked that the Board schedule a special meeting to discuss the legality of the mailing in the context of the upcoming election.  McCasland indicated that she was concerned about the  mailing because it may appear to some voters to be a political postcard supporting the two current members of the Governing Board who are up for election. She sought a full discussion about the issue. She received no response to her request.

On Thursday the Chevalier campaign, after receiving no reply for several days from Wills or the Chair of the Governing Board to attorney Montedonico’s letter, began preparing to bring legal action against the College and the Governing Board in Yavapai Superior Court.  (As noted above, the campaign did not learn of the College decision until late Thursday afternoon.)  However, in view of Wills decision to withhold the mailing until after the election, the legal action now appears moot.

Wills wrote in her letter to Montedonico “that these mailings were only communication with our constituents and in no way implied any election influence. Out of respect to all of our constituents, we would never want to appear, or be perceived to, influence an election. We believe the best plan of action is not to mail the newsletters at this time.”

Over the past several days, the Chevalier and Wayne Meddaugh campaigns reached out to numerous legislators and others for assistance in stopping the politically tainted postcard from being mailed prior to the election. It is not known whether some of the many persons they contacted may have played an influential role in the final decision made by Wills.

It is noted that Wills says nothing in her letter to attorney Montedonico about consulting the Governing Board. The postcards are supposed to be under the control of the Governing Board members.