Harris selects Prescott resident Cyndy Nyman as Treasurer for the election fundraising committee; Nyman is Second Vice Chair of the Yavapai Community College Foundation; sits on Foundation Board with College President Wills, and heads its fundraising arm; slips past state conflict of interest law

The Prescott/Foundation/College influence has begun to trickle  into the Verde Valley Governing Board election. The influence comes in the guise of Ms. Cyndy Nyman. Ms. Nyman, a Prescott resident, has taken the position of treasurer for Connie Harris, who is challenging Paul Chevalier for the open seat on the Community College Governing Board here in the Verde Valley.  (Recall Harris was appointed to the seat despite revealing to the County Education Superintendent she had not lived in the Verde Valley for even a single year.) 

Nyman is the Second Vice Chair of the Yavapai Community College Foundation.  She sits on the Foundation Board with current Community College President Penelope Wills.  She also co-chairs the Foundation fundraising committee.

State law prevents a College employee from holding such a political position as that now occupied by Nyman.  However, because Nyman is a volunteer and the College Foundation a 501(c)(3) organization, she is able to just slip past state law conflict of interest provisions.   Even so, the Blog believes taking a campaign office as a part of a political campaign involving the College while hold a College Foundation officer position presents at least a serious appearance of a conflict of interest.  She should resign from the Foundation. 

District #3 County Supervisor, Chairwoman, Yavapai-Apache Nation, present and former Board members and former Sedona mayors throw their support to him

Paul Chavlier

Paul Chevalier’s  campaign for the Yavapai Community College Governing Board District #3 seat has picketed up steam with the receipt of numerous strong endorsements from Verde Valley leaders and education advocates.  According to the campaign, among those now endorsing Mr. Chavlier are: 

Randy Garrison, Yavapai County Supervisor, District #3.

Jane Russell-Winiecki, Chairwoman Yavapai-Apache Nation.

Deb McCasland, present District #2 College Board member.

Three former  Community College Board members from District #3: Al Filardo, Bob Oliphant and Donna Michaels. 

Two former Sedona mayors, Rob Adams and Dick Ellis. 

In addition, 16 other Verde Valley leaders and education advocates have endorsed Chavlier.

Chavalier states that he is dedicated to (1) lower property taxes flowing to the College, (2) lower community college tuition for County residents, (3) equitable distribution of education resources, (4) accessible educational opportunities for ALL Verde Valley residents, and (5) improved job skills training in the Valley that will lead to well paid jobs.

College sends invitations to certain local unnamed politicians; meeting open to public to observe

Yavapai Community College has announced the Community Forums that were cancelled in April will be held on August 16 and 17.   The August 16 meeting will be held on the Prescott Campus, room  32-119 at  1:00 p.m.  The August 17 meeting will be held on the Verde Valley Campus in room G-106, beginning at  10:00 a.m.

The College has invited a number of local politicians to attend the meeting but has not disclosed its invitation list.  It will control the agenda and the information supplied to the politicos prior and during the meeting. 

The question of whether citizens may attend these forums was a hot button issue back in April.  When they were originally announced, it appeared that they were private affairs and the public could not attend and observe.  However, when the issue was raised during an April 2018 meeting, President Penelope Wills and Governing Board Chair Ray Sigafoos said they were open to the public.  Representative Deb McCasland said that she was told by President Penelope Wills that the forums were not open to the public.  Wills replied that McCasland was wrong.  According to Wills, her office had said that the public could observe but not participate.  McCasland challenged that statement saying she was specifically told that there was no room for the public at the meetings.

Representative Connie Harris seemed to  indicate relief during the March 2018 Governing Board meeting that the forum participants would be speaking in a “safe” and “anonymous” setting.  Observers at that meeting inferred that given this language the two forums were in fact private.

It is clear, however, that the August meetings are open to the public.  They have been put on the Governing Board meeting agenda web site.

Great faculty profiles; was it “Pay to Play” type of publication?

The magazine, Prescott Woman, featured Dr. Penelope Wills, her administrative assistant, and nine members of the Community College faculty in its August/September education edition.  Wills was featured on the cover of the magazine and her photo appears in four places in the article itself.  A significant portion of the article focused on lauding Wills on her retirement.  Photos of the Prescott Campus and great portraits of all the women featured in the article graced the edition.   Nine outstanding faculty were profiled.

As you might guess from the magazine’s name and cover, the focus of the article was on the West side of the County, Wills’ retirement and Prescott.  As commented by one member of the faculty who was interviewed in the article:  “Aside from our beautiful [Prescott] campus,” she said, “Prescott has a unique blend of small town values mixed with a well-educated retirement population and four local colleges.  With close proximity to the National Forest and easy access to Phoenix, we have something for everyone.”

One Blog reader who claims to be a retired publishing industry executive commented that “This has to be an example what we in the publishing industry call, `Pay to Play Publishing’”.   On checking the article, the Blog found three specific advertisements by the College.  However, it was unable to confirm the total amount paid by the College to the publisher. Another reader commented that given this was the education issue, other colleges and universities in Prescott were pretty much ignored. Thus adding to the suspicion that the Yavapai article was a “Pay to Play” type of publication.

You may read the online version of the magazine by clicking here.

Will oppose unnecessary tax rate increases; listen to constituents; won’t be a rubber stamp; and will demand transparency

Wayne Meddaugh

Wayne Meddaugh has filed for the position of District #1 Yavapai Community College District Governing Board seat.  Mr. Meddaugh says he will oppose future unnecessary tax rate increases, listen to his constituents, will not be a rubber stamp for the administration and will demand transparency for the $84 million dollar public supported community college. 

Mr. Meddaugh was born in Michigan, attended a parochial school, public high school, community college, and graduated from Wayne State University. Following graduation from College, in 1969, he accepted the position as a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service. While with the Secret Service, his unit was assigned to protect five sitting Presidents, candidates for the presidency, and other elected officials. Among other assignments, he supervised the security for Ronald Reagan at the 1980 Republican Convention in Detroit, Michigan.

When not assigned to protection, he investigated financial crimes involving the U.S. Treasury. He was also a member of the Organized Crime Task Force and received numerous awards for investigations against organized crime. After retiring from the Secret Service, he took on  a number of different security positions including working with the Office of Inspector General supervising financial crime investigations. He later worked with the Air Marshals’ Service as a supervisor to assist in its buildup following 9/11. 

After retiring in Prescott in  2004, he volunteered at the college’s performance hall, and became a College legacy donor. He states that he deeply believes in the community college system, especially because it offers so much more than just the opportunity to provide the initial academic background that will allow you to transfer to a four year institution.

Published candidate interviews appeared in the Verde Independent July 24

The four legislative candidates running for office in Legislative District 6 that encompasses most of the Verde Valley were interviewed by the Verde Independent on July 24, 2018.  They were asked to express their opinions about the most important issues facing the Verde Valley and what they sponsor to deal with these concerns.

Only candidate Bob Thorpe did not mention education in the Verde Valley as an issue in response to the question.

Candidate Felicia French said the following in part:

“Education is an issue everywhere I go and it continues to be a primary concern for me.”

“As someone who has taught at a community college, I understand the absolute value of providing a varied, affordable and quality education for all of our students – no student and no community should be left wanting when it comes to education.”

“We need to make sure institutions of higher learning, such as the Verde Valley campus of Yavapai College, receive proper funding so they can offer the courses that benefit those students in the community.”

“Whether those courses are teaching practical trades like welding or offering degrees in liberal arts that are essential to expanding our understanding of each other, we need to make sure these courses are available to everyone in the Verde Valley for an affordable price because a quality education makes a stronger, happier and more affluent community possible.” 

You may read her entire interview in the Verde independent by clicking here.

Candidate Stuart McDaniel said the following in part:

 “Of course, issues such as quality education, jobs and infrastructure are high on the list of issues I hear about when interacting with people in the Verde Valley and the entire district.”

“Arizona currently spends 55.6 percent of its budget on education.”

“I do believe in further investing in technical education through our Joint Technical Education Districts and partnering with our High Schools and Community Colleges to ensure those that who are interested can learn a trade in the type of jobs are needed for our economy to continue to thrive.”

You may read his entire interview in the Verde independent by clicking here.

Candidate Walt Blackman said the following in part (that indirectly reflects on the needs of the Community College on the east side of the County):

“I believe it is the regional instability in the area. The legislature should conduct a partnership program with Verde Valley and invest studies with community leaders in finding a way to stabilize the Regional issues.”

You may read his entire interview in the Verde independent by clicking here.”

Candidate Bob Thorpe said nothing regarding education in the Verde Valley.

You may read his entire interview in the Verde independent by clicking here. 

Former mayor a strong supporter of Yavapai Community College

The Blog has learned that former Sedona Mayor Rob Adams has indicated he will endorse Paul Chevalier for the District #3 Yavapai Community College seat to be filled in November.  Mr. Chevalier announced about four weeks ago he was running for the seat and has been receiving wide-spread support from community leaders throughout the Verde Valley and Sedona. The indication of endorsement was warmly welcomed by Chevalier.

Rob Adams

Adams, a strong proponent of the College, worked extremely hard and effectively to save the Sedona Center from being closed and sold by the College in 2015-16.  He was also instrumental in triggering an investigation that revealed the Sedona Taxing District is paying more than $6 million dollars annually to the College in property tax support (and receiving little in return for the investment).

Mr. Adams served three years on the Sedona City Council and six years as that community’s mayor. He decided not to run for office in 2016.  He has a long list of diverse community accomplishments as a public servant.  For example, he was instrumental in encouraging the establishment of a year-round culinary institute in Sedona through partnerships with Yavapai College, business organizations, and other interested parties.  The culinary institute is a part of the 2013 Sedona Community Plan.  In 2005, he was a founding board member of MATForce to combat crystal methamphetamine use and manufacture in Yavapai County. As mayor, in 2010 he co-founded the Greater Sedona Substance Abuse Committee (GSSAC) to bring MatForce programming into Sedona.  Since leaving that office Adams has made decreasing substance abuse a personal mission.

Updates seem to be getting shorter and shorter; no Facility Management update since February 2018

If you’ve watched the Yavapai Community College Governing Board meetings for a period of time, you are aware that the Facilities Management team has traditionally done an excellent job of keeping the public informed of the progress on various construction projects within the District.  The team provided the information as a part of President Wills report to the Governing Board at each meeting.

The Facilities Management Team report contained updates on all significant construction projects and photos of many of those projects.  However, since February of this year, Willes no longer has included this report in her monthly update.

The result, of course, is to keep information about the development of various projects from the eyes of the citizens of the County.  Hopefully, a new president will be actually transparent and reinstate reports such as the Facilities Management Team report along with many others.  The Blog believes it is time that the citizens of the County be allowed to see how their millions of dollars in tax revenue is being used.

——————————————————————–

Sigafoos appoints McCarver as Search Committee Chair whose apparent biases against the East County are a matter of record

The  West County Voting-Bloc has immediately moved to take control of the selection of the next Community College president.  It took the first step when West-County Board Chair Ray Sigafoos appointed West-County Board representative Pat McCarver as the Search Committee Chair following Tuesday’s Governing Board meeting.  McCarver  chaired the committee that selected Penelope Wills who began in August 2011.  The appointment places enormous selection control in the hands of the West County Voting-Bloc, which is exactly what the west side of Yavapai County intends.

Recall that McCarver has not been a friend to the 70,000 residents living on the East side of the County. She has said, among other things, that when it comes to the Community College, the West and East sides of the County will never be equal. She has voted consistently to approve anything coming from the Administration and has never joined the East County representatives in their opposition to a host of matters coming before the Governing Board. She also ganged up with her West-County colleagues to dismantle the Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee in an almost secret meeting held in September 2016.  It is a biased appointment.

The Community College will shortly have a website where it hopes to share information and provide updates regarding the search process.

Issued Thursday, May 3

The following statement announcing her resignation was issued by Yavapai Community College President Penelope Wills to the faculty today (Thursday).

———————————————————————