SEARCH BEGINS FOR “APPROPRIATE” THIRD DISTRICT RUBBER STAMP CANDIDATE TO REPLACE PAUL CHEVALIER

It appears clear from January 2023 Board Workshop that a preferred outcome for many on the Governing Board and the Prescott based Community College executives would be a District  representative who quietly brushes under the table the inequitable treatment afforded  Sedona and Verde Valley when it comes to major development, programming, and expenditures

Editor Robert Oliphant

OPINION. With the resignation of Paul Chevalier, the effort is under way to find a replacement for him.  It is clear to most observers of Governing Board meetings over the past four years that there is a  preferred outcome among the Board and Prescott based executives when it comes to the next Third District representative. First, there’s a strong preference for a Representative  who will appropriately rubber stamp anything proposed by the Prescott-based Community College executives that comes before the District Governing Board for approval. 

Second, there’s a similar strong preference for a Representative who will not raise embarrassing questions during Governing Board meetings about the domination of Prescott in the operation of the Community College.   Third, there is a preference for a Representative who will not speak critically to the press, local political leaders,  or the public the Representative represents,  about the direction the Community College is taking in Sedona and the Verde Valley.

If you need proof about these preferences, spend some time reviewing the Workshop held by the District Governing Board on January 31.  It’s easily available.  You can view it by clicking  DGB Workshop (panopto.com).

Once appointed, should the new Representative appear to be stepping out of line, the Board has tools ready to bring the Representative back in-line. One of those tools is peer pressure. Something the Board has used to try and quelch Paul Chevalier’s advocacy for the last four years. If that doesn’t work, the Prescott-area dominated Governing Board will resort to applying and enforcing new Governing Board policies. They  have been specifically tailored to protect Prescott Community College interests from significant critical public disclosure relating to operations or inequitable treatment of areas outside Prescott. 

These tools are poised and ready because the District Board members and College executives fear having another strong advocate in the mold of Mr. Chevalier appointed. The fear is  a result of Mr. Chevalier’s persistent championing of Sedona and the Verde Valley during Board meetings.  It is also a result of his courageous revelations to the public during his tenure about the extraordinary inequitable treatment the east side of the County has received at the hands of the majority west side Governing Board and Prescott based College executives.   

It is clear that the College Administration and the west county Board members want to put an end to being constantly reminded of the enormous inequity in treatment and operation between the two sides of Mingus Mountain.

Chevalier exposed the inequity in such matters as the use of taxpayer money along with an almost total absence of  programming in many  areas on the east side of the County including aviation, athletics, music and the performing arts. He questioned the nonexistence of residence halls, athletic facilities, and  major cultural events on the east side of the County while all these  were exploding  on the west side of the County. It made him extremely  unpopular with the Board and the College executives.

Recall that the Prescott based Community College executives even refused on occasion to provide Mr. Chevalier with detailed information about plans for future Community College development in the Verde Valley and Sedona — forcing him to resort to Arizona’s Open Meeting law to obtain the information.  Also recall that he often asked that matters brought to the Board’s attention by the public during the call to the public be discussed by the Board. He was consistently rebuffed in those efforts. 

At times Mr. Chevalier was sternly lectured about never talking about operations, never speaking out critically of a Governing Board decision, never talking to students or faculty, and never talking with the press. He was admonished during one meeting, for example, for a truthful public comment he made about the lack of Community College involvement with  Camp Verde. 

If history is any teacher of what is ahead, the final appointment for the remaining two years of Mr. Chevalier’s seat will be made by County Education Superintendent Tim Carter. He just did this for the District five seat.  Recall that Mr. Carter, with a small committee, back in 2016  selected a third District representative who had not even lived in the area for one year to replace long-time resident Al Filardo on the Board. The appointment was made despite the fact that a candidate from Sedona, who was intimately  knowledgeable about the Community College and had lived in the area for several years, was rejected.  That 2016 appointment was a “safe” milk-toast appointment. Once in office, there was no rocking of the boat being captained by Prescott interests during the next two years.  (Chevalier ran a spirted campaign for the seat that ousted that person in 2018.)

So, goodbye to courage and serious openness when it comes to Yavapai Community College.  And goodbye to seriously enhancing the educational needs of the Verde Valley and Sedona. The College PR department will talk a good game over the next two years, the word “transparency” will be repeatedly heard, while College executives and the west county majority on the Board simultaneously ensure that Prescott interests are protected from public exposure to any criticism.

 Sedona and the Verde Valley will fade into the background and experience another period of little major development or programming. The most the 70,000 residents on the east side of Mingus Mountain can expect is receipt of leftover scraps from the Governing Board banquet table while  the main meal with all the trimmings remains ready to be devoured by Prescott interests.

Let us hope with the next District Three appointment that I can be proven totally wrong!