Misinformation takes many forms. Often it’s creating false context around a grain of truth, a false narrative that derives from a superficial knowledge of a subject or intentional misdirection. Sometimes it’s reframing an issue, drawing attention to cherry-picked aspects while hiding others, never giving a true representation of an issue. The most dangerous form of misinformation creates anger, pits people against each other, tribe against tribe, us-versus-them. A common theme throughout history is Citizens versus City Hall. Right or wrong, politicians and city officials are easy targets, easy to dehumanize.

At the June 18 City Council Candidate Debates arranged by the Page-Lake Powell Chamber of Commerce, candidate Tom Preller said, “A PR person, a social media manager, that is very much steps in the right direction. If you get a good feed coming out of the city of all the government ongoings, allow comments, allow input and questions to be asked, and allow that PR person to respond with factual information and sources cited, that's the only way you can do anything about misinformation is to correct it and back it up.”

“There's so much misinformation out there, no matter what you do,” said candidate Craig Simmons. “I guess the only way the city can combat misinformation is by putting the right information out. Without the right information out there, anywhere on social media or anywhere else, then all people think about is the hearsay. And of course, the hearsay always travels a lot faster than the right stuff.”

“Putting out correct information is the best way to combat misinformation,” said candidate Amanda Hammond. “I think the city is already taking good steps in that direction by hiring a social media manager as well as [a] public relations manager. I think that they can go farther; overhauling the website needs to be done.”

Speaking on the city’s website, Vice Mayor John Kocjan said, “We need to put it in a smaller, concise form because that's what people are going to read, not have to read through all the minutiae that's out there.”

The Chronicle spoke with Councilor Richard Leightner. As longtime Page resident, he’s seen both sides of us-versus-them play out in local politics.

“At that last councilor debate, I heard so much stuff come out that wasn't anywhere near true,” said Leightner. “If you're going to run for council, why don't you get informed about everything and not just go with hearsay or what's on Facebook or whatever.”

One of the most common threads in Page misinformation is not knowing what the city council can and can’t control. Cities must abide by county, state and federal laws. For example, the 2016 Arizona Senate Bill 1350, enacted by former Governor Ducey, made it illegal for cities, towns, or counties to prohibit short-term rentals.

City operations are handled by the city manager. Councilors are not experts in everything they must make decisions on. They depend on the advice of experts, the pros and cons, then vote. The city manager sees that council’s decisions are carried out. According to Mayor Bill Diak, past councils ignored expert recommendations and the city suffered for it. He said occasionally somebody comes along who thinks they know everything. They lead people astray.

“There's a couple times in the history of the city where council basically did not listen to their city manager and their city staff, finance department, their economic development departments,” said Diak. “Both times we've ended up in deep, deep financial trouble. And that's what I inherited when I first came into office in 2010.”

Speaking of the city’s current financial state, Diak said, “We are one of very few cities in the state of Arizona and probably other states that is totally debt free and has money in the bank to do projects.”

Before the Chronicle interview, Leightner said he spoke with the city manager and city department heads to verify his understanding of a variety of topics to dispel misinformation spreading through Page.

The US 89 Roundabout

Another misconception is that the city council can build a roundabout on US 89; that’s in Arizona Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) domain.

“It really irks me when somebody says, ‘Well, the city council did this or the city council didn't do this,’” said Leightner. “And especially on the roundabouts, there was talk that city council was holding up the roundabouts. And the plain and simple fact is those are a function of the State of Arizona, not the council, not the city. So we can make an application, like for the roundabout down here on the north exit, but we can't say when to do it or if it can be done. We just make the request. It was approved for this fiscal year, but we don't have any control over when. But we have heard that they're going to start breaking ground on that this fall. So we will have a second roundabout in Page.”

The Swimming Pool

People spreading misinformation often exaggerate or minimize depending on which best supports an agenda or increases outrage. For example, a person claiming a 6-page court document is “very, very brief” if they are on the losing end and seeking to minimize the process leading to the decision, or someone claiming a swimming pool will cost citizens $116 million when estimates are from under to $15 million.

“They were talking about exorbitant amounts of money for the swimming pool,” said Leightner. “I have no idea where they got that. We bonded and we approved with public review to go out and get a bond. And even if the bond’s $15 million, it doesn't mean that we have to spend $15 million. We want to put in a nice, usable, shareable with the schools swimming pool that does the job for what's needed.

“And the location of it, my goodness, we're going to put it down by the sports complex. That's where it should be. That's where the splash pad is gonna go. So that's gonna be the big recreation area. It's already started that way. And then they were talking about, ‘Well, gee, how's our kids gonna get down there? You know, that's dangerous and stuff.’ Well, my first answer to that is how do they get down to the ballgames that they go to three or four times a week? But apparently they haven't looked at the budget we just approved. We're going to pick up a shuttle service and we're going to run a shuttle to Horseshoe Bend. The stops will be designated and we're pretty sure, certain that they can put a stop in for the sports complex. So there's not going to be the big issues that they're making up.”

Horseshoe Bend Funds

Money taken in at Horseshoe Bend can only be used for Horseshoe Bend. It’s an enterprise account like Page Utility Enterprises. Think of it as a separate entity, a separate business. The city can bill Horseshoe Bend for services provided, like accounting, police or maintenance staff.  But the funds can’t be used for projects not related to Horseshoe Bend.

“They are definitely restricted,” said Leightner. “We can't take a million out of Horseshoe Bend funds and go do infrastructure over by the Marriott or up by the airport. Because that has nothing to do with Horseshoe Bend. So those are totally different budgeted items.”

Housing

Under the current City Council, City Manager Darren Coldwell and staff, 122 new homes were added in Page since January 2023. “That's 122 keys, brand-new doors that have been opened in the city of Page,” said Coldwell. “So I think there is a misconception that nothing is happening on housing out there. There is stuff happening.”

Currently, the city is working with Coconino Community College (CCC) on new housing. Apartments for students and workforce below CCC are in the works with a developer. “It could be in three phases if they go all the way with what they're talking about,” said Leightner. “And it'll be a pretty nice, pretty large development. Really, really nice. So we're working on housing. And I can tell you that all the present council members are dedicated to housing. We’ve got to get that done.”

Talks are also in progress with Habitat for Humanity for a cluster of small homes. Reaching out to Habitat for Humanity was suggested by Page Unified School Board President Sandra Kidman at the April 24 council meeting. Councilor Brian Carey and Leightner began talking with Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Eric Wolverton shortly after and gave a public council meeting presentation June 12.

Uptown Revitalization

Uptown revitalization and Lake Powell Boulevard are at the center of the most divisive and costly misinformation circulating in Page. A small group of citizens circulated a mixture of facts and misinformation through the community. They circulated petitions with misleading and false claims in an effort to block changes to Lake Powell Boulevard and to recall city councilors. Page Action Committee (PAC) leaders repeatedly claim 6,000 people signed their “survey” petition. What they leave out is that multiple people circulated the petitions within a 50-mile radius of Page. No attempts were made to verify if signers were Page residents. The signatures weren’t verified. When they did ask if signers were registered voters on a second petition for a ballot initiative, less than 800 signed and 18% of them were rejected in a random sampling.

Misinformation about the cost of Phase One of the “Streetscape” project is often two to three times the actual cost. “There’s a rumor that the current project is $36 million,” said Coldwell. “It is closer to $11 million and we have nearly $5 million already saved and are very confident that we will receive a federal grant for an additional $5 million.” The city began setting aside funds for the project three years ago. A letter dated June, 11 from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) notified Planning and Zoning Director Zachary Montgomery that the city’s grant application was reviewed and selected for further consideration.

“I have also heard we are going to get rid of the Town House and Community Center,” said Coldwell “That is untrue! We are actually putting nearly $200k into improvements for the Community Center this year.”

While reasonable arguments against some of the proposed Lake Powell Boulevard changes were made, they were tainted by misinformation and the combative behavior of a few PAC supporters in council meetings and social media.

Possibly the most harmful and misleading action taken by PAC members was the recall petition used against Councilors David Auge and Mike Farrow. The Chronicle interviewed PAC chair Debra Roundtree Sept. 16, 2023 when talk of a recall began. “To me, until they take a stand and there's a vote, I don't feel like we should start removing people from office yet,” said Roundtree.” Otherwise we're just making assumptions as who will or who won't vote for it.”

Auge and Farrow voted against proceeding with Phase One of the Streetscape project. They learned the same night of the vote that they were the only councilors on the recall ballot. Auge and Farrow are the only ones not running for reelection because their terms don’t end until November 2026, so it could put PAC members in a position to take over the city.

Not one of the petition’s three sentences citizens were misled to sign were true.

Sentence 1: “For refusal to acknowledge constituent's over 1,550-signature opinion petition presented on September 27, 2023, to a regularly scheduled city council meeting where they were included on a public agenda concerning lane reductions to Lake Powell Boulevard thereby affecting citizens' daily lives and businesses.”

The statement is false. Roundtree was acknowledged at the Sept. 27, 2023 City Council meeting. Council allowed her to give a 27 minute presentation on why Lake Powell Boulevard should not be changed. The city also assisted Roundtree, projecting her stock slides to accompany her presentation. Farrow said the city clerk recorded it, therefore acknowledged it. The meeting including Roundtree’s presentation is available on the City of Page YouTube channel.

Sentence 2:  “For refusal of allowing all his constituents the democratic process to vote on a matter potentially costing the citizenry 15-30 million dollars and making drastic changes to the major Main Street-Lake Powell Boulevard and choosing to represent therefore a fraction of his constituents by refusal to allow discussion or consideration allowing citizens to vote on proposed lane reductions to Lake Powell Boulevard during City Council meeting on October 25, 2023.”

The statement is false. The PAC ballot measure to stop Lake Powell Boulevard development was not blocked by the city council; the petition did not meet Arizona constitutional requirements. It was never a council decision. Coconino County Superior Court confirmed the Page City Clerk’s determination and ruled against PAC. PAC filed an appeal and the Appellate Court ruled against PAC.

Sentence 3: “For refusal of allowing his constituents the democratic process by accepting their initiated ballot measure that had enough signatures and allowing his constituents to go to the ballot box in July 2024 to voice their opinion about Lake Powell Boulevard being reduced to 3 lanes.”

Sentence 3 is redundant. It repeats false accusations stated in sentence 2.