10 Jan 23rd-Jan 29th, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | arena ballot measure. “Ron is your crazy uncle forwarding a chain letter,” Woods said during the meeting. “I mean, at some point, people begin to tune you out because it just becomes … he just won’t stop ranting about it. It’s like, oh my God, we know you don’t like it, just vote no in May and leave us alone.” Woods did not respond to New Times’ inquiry. Tapscott could not be reached. In the tape, Strategy 48 consultant Troy Corder referred to Tempe residents who were opposing the project as “folks who just like to yell at each other” and “cave people,” which he explained was a belit- tling acronym. “We haven’t seen where (arena opposi- tion has) gotten to the normal folk,” Corder said. “Right now what we’re seeing is there’s just the typical, who I call the cave people — citizens against virtually everything.” “Yes, exactly,” said Tempe Vice Mayor Jennifer Adams. Woods then called Tapscott “our self- appointed emperor of cave” and noted that his posts were not receiving much engage- ment before dropping the “crazy uncle” comparison. Then Woods called on fellow councilmember Randy Keating. “Councilmember Keating, who I now owe royalties for using the ‘crazy uncle’ line, so I’ll have your checks in the mail,” Woods said. “Yeah,” Keating retorted to raucous laughter from Woods, “you can just Venmo me, man.” For Gregg Leslie, the executive director of the First Amendment Clinic at Arizona State University, Tempe’s misuse of execu- tive session is emblematic of a larger problem. “Public officials nationwide have routinely ignored or misused the rules for executive sessions, so that they can discuss something they want to keep secret,” he said. But a general desire for secrecy isn’t enough justification for going into execu- tive session, Leslie added. “It should be used when something must be kept confi- dential,” he said — like to discuss legal advice, “not when you want to talk to a consultant who’s been paid to track your opponents.” “The exemption is meant to be narrow and protect a true, legal interest in confi- dentiality,” Leslie said. “It should never be a tool to promote secrecy to get away with something that is definitely the public’s business.” A lot of money to be wrong Despite having paid Strategy 48 to keep its finger on the pulse, the recording also revealed that some Tempe officials dramatically underestimated the current of opposition to the arena plan. Woods noted he was concerned that some people who supported the project decided to be silent on social media to avoid arguments. Keating also seemed to believe that the plan enjoyed broad public support. “I can say 100% of the people I’ve talked to are in support of the project — and it’s not like I’m in my own echo chamber, either,” Keating said. (He was.) “The echo chamber tends to portray like it has more gravity than it normally does.” Keating did not respond to a request for comment. During an executive session meeting two months earlier, the council agreed to pay $10,000 a month to Strategy 48 to surveil and analyze social media activity related to the arena project. The council did not sign a formal contract with the consulting company nor discuss the agree- ment publicly, which the attorney general’s office determined was legal. The council is not required to publicly approve any contracts less than $100,000. However, discussing the results of Strategy 48’s social media monitoring in secret did violate the law. Tempe’s council- members were required to “receive training on the Open Meeting Law,” according to the attorney general’s letter. That training, which was approved by the attorney general’s office, wound up being a 20-minute presentation from Anderson to the council on Nov. 19. Strategy 48’s contract was for six months, but the agreement ended early in January 2023. According to the attorney general, Tempe paid the company a total of $32,258 to surveil its citizens online. The open meetings violation cost Tempe nearly as much. According to invoices from the law firm Ballard Spahr, which represented Tempe in dealings with the attorney general, Tempe paid more than $28,700 in legal fees. The invoices were released by the city attorney in response to a records request. In total, the council’s decision to secretly monitor social media wound up costing taxpayers $61,000. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office ruled that Tempe Mayor Corey Woods and the city council violated open meetings laws by conducting three closed-door meetings with a firm paid to monitor negative social media posts about a proposed hockey arena development. (Courtesy of U.S. Department of Labor/Flickr/CC BY 2.0) Behind Closed Doors from p 9
