At her first meeting as an elected official, Yavapai County District 3 Supervisor Donna Michaels told so many falsehoods in six minutes it’s hard to get them all to fit in one editorial. As the Board of Supervisors ended the Verde Connect saga on Jan. 6, voters discovered Michaels is either willing to tell a flurry of lies for no reason or is so inept that anyone with an email address can apparently get her to parrot their falsehoods because she won’t check.
Michaels refused to comment other than sending a link to her campaign website, so we must assume she will continue to lie in public meetings and won’t talk to the press when confronted with those lies.
Michaels did make somewhat accurate claims about the cost of the project, but then went off the rails, making up and repeating falsehoods apparently promulgated by one Verde Valley social media page.
Michaels cited a nonexistent “poll” showing 84% of people in the Verde Valley “were opposed to this project,” which is shocking considering most residents probably have no opinion whatsoever. Michaels made absolutely no indication of where she pulled this magic number. Yavapai County conducted no such poll, nor did any private polling firms as near as anyone can tell.
It appears she just pulled this number from thin air, then falsely claimed the numbers as true. Her website provides no further details; it just repeats her talking point. Thus, it is impossible to tell if her numbers are wholly made up by Michaels or fabricated by a third party.
Laziness in a government official is inexcusable. Using that same laziness to make policy is terrifying to every voter.
Had Michaels’ falsehood stopped there, it could be chocked up to a bad use of statistics. Yet her lies only got more grandiose and absurd. She next said, “I would only conclude that every single municipality in the Verde Valley voted unanimously to oppose this.”
Wowsers! All five? Sedona, Camp Verde, Cottonwood, Jerome and Clarkdale? Unanimously? My word, that “sounds” overwhelming.
But Michaels’ claim is so laughably false — and easy to check as false — that it’s obscene it came from an elected official.
The Camp Verde and Jerome town councils voted against Verde Connect. That’s it. Cottonwood and Clarkdale put items on the agenda but never voted for nor against. Sedona City Council never discussed it. Of the 31 elected municipal leaders in the Verde Valley, 12 opposed it. If 38.7% is unanimous, do not let her anywhere near our tax dollars.
Michaels then said, “Every single municipality in the county … voted unanimously.” Of the 11 incorporated towns and cities in Yavapai County, two voted on Verde Connect, nine less than 11; 81.8% of towns did not vote.
Michaels includes, “Every single unincorporated areas’ association … voted unanimously.”
Firstly, unincorporated associations are nonprofits, not governments, so any votes, while nice, are not legally binding. But Michaels is also lying. The Beaver Creek Community Association sent a letter opposing Verde Connect. No one else. “One” is far from “every.”
Then Michaels said, “Every single fire district [and] every single medical district in the Verde” voted against. That’s 100% false.
There are two fire districts. Neither the Sedona nor Verde Valley fire districts ever voted on Verde Connect. The only “medical district” is the Copper Canyon Fire & Medical Authority. Its board split 2-2 but its chief, Terry Keller, spoke in favor due to improved response time.
The CCFMA is building a new fire station in anticipation of Verde Connect, which is a very stupid thing to do if your board is unanimously against it.
Michaels then added “most important is that this is not, nor was it ever, in the Camp Verde Community Plan,” which is absurd for several reasons. First, the route chosen doesn’t go through Camp Verde — it’s not in the Sedona, Cottonwood nor Prescott community plans either — and second, the Camp Verde plan was approved by Camp Verde voters in August 2016.
The Verde Connect grant was announced and awarded in December 2018. Thus, it would not be in a document approved two years earlier because time is linear.
This was Michaels’ first meeting. Imagine the falsehoods she’ll be telling by June.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
