Fountain Hills has generally flown under the radar recently; the quiet, wealthy enclave doesn’t make waves (except when a famous former sheriff decides that he wants to run for mayor), but a recent development is showing some serious cracks in the facade in the town.
Town councilmember Allen Skillicorn has found himself in some hot water, being officially censured by the rest of the council. And the story leads to more questions than answers.
Skillicorn is a recent transplant to the area, having moved to Fountain Hills in December 2020 and was previously a member of the Illinois state legislature, where he found himself in hot water for listing himself as present for votes where he was not in the area at the time. After losing his re-election big in 2020, he nearly immediately crossed the state and restarted a political career in Fountain Hills.
The recent issues came as a result of him following a law enforcement officer for taking his street sign, which reportedly was in violation of codes. However, in an extremely unusual tactic, Skillicorn had had tracking capabilities onto his sign, alluding to the fact that many had been taken already and he was sick of it. Berating a law enforcement officer is never recommended, but one has to wonder what brought him to that place in the first place.
Additional context is provided in that Skillicorn had asked some pointed questions about other councilmembers and their communications with a developer in advance of a vote. While it seems as though he violated typical decorum, it is certainly possible that he had touched upon cozy relationships and was asking hard questions that many didn’t want answered.
If those are all the case, then it is possible that he made too many waves and flew too close to the sun, to the point where levers of power were pulled against him. While his statements lend themselves to someone who is either unskilled in politics or is doing his best to gain attention, and as such diminish credibility, it wouldn’t be insane to think that forces were out to take him down.
That said, the final vote on censure is telling: four in favor, one against and one abstaining. While he may have rightful intentions, he is clearly poor at coalition building, a necessary skill in order to govern.
Again, there are more questions than answers. But Fountain Hill now arises from a deafening quiet and oasis of calm, and now finds itself embroiled in chaos, and we have to imagine that Joe Arpaio is plotting and planning on how to use this to become mayor.