It has been more than a month since a leader at taser manufacturer Axon made the call heard ‘round the city.
By now, many residents know about the regrettable phone call from Axon to Merrill Lynch to callout one of their employees, Christian Serena, for remarks he made about Axon while serving as a citizen-volunteer on the city’s Planning Commission.
What happened to Commissioner Serena could happen to anyone who dares to stand up to a powerful political entity and stick up for residents. So citizens will now think twice before submitting their name for an appointment by the City Council to serve on one of the city’s boards or commissions.
Recapping for readers who haven’t been able to follow the incident closely:
During the Planning Commission’s meeting on the evening of January 24th, Axon’s land use attorney Charles Huellmantel requested that commissioners approve the rezoning of 74 acres in North Scottsdale to allow the company to build 2,000 apartments and a 425-room hotel. Under intense questioning from commissioners, it was discovered the zoning case was poorly prepared and incomplete. As a result, commissioners granted Axon more time to prepare the case and resubmit it at a future date.
Since the company had already taken months to prepare their case, Commissioner Serena was the only member of the commission to oppose giving Axon more time to resubmit their case.
The next morning Serena’s boss at Merrill Lynch told Serena his company had received a call from someone who said they were part of Axon’s leadership team and wanted to discuss Serena’s vote the previous evening. But not with Serena. Shortly thereafter, Serena reported the incident to City Attorney Sherry Scott. She responded that she found the event “concerning and upsetting,” and she intended to investigate Serena’s accusation.
One of Scottsdale’s many points of pride is the number of residents who donate their time to serve on one of the city’s many boards and commissions. Because volunteers are one of the city’s chief resources, it’s crucial that they are respected for the role they play and the responsibilities they take on, both big and small.
That means the city must ensure that volunteers don’t fear being harassed in any form.
After more than one month since the incident occurred, representatives of Axon still refuse to admit or deny to the city that a member of the company’s leadership team made the intimidating call to Commissioner Serena’s employer. That’s raising suspicions not only about Axon’s motives, but the city’s willingness to protect its volunteers from being bullied.
As long as Axon is allowed to stonewall the city, it increases the likelihood that residents’ eagerness to volunteer for boards and commissions will erode.
… and that’s on the city.