Guest View: Diane Peters – OVCN’s False Bravado

Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene claims that legal precedent is on their side and that they would win a lawsuit against the Town of Oro Valley should the town reject their rezoning request (to build a lighted outdoor athletic field and an amphitheater in a rural and historic neighborhood). However, their actions over the past few years are not the actions of persons who are convinced that they will win in court. If anything, they have repeatedly revealed by their actions that they are fearful of losing a lawsuit.

The evidence:
• If they are so sure that they would win in court, they would not have dragged this on for 3 years, requesting one delay after another. I believe that they have pulled their application 5 times.

• They would not have requested yet another delay (the March 1, 2023 town council hearing) while they scrambled to find new ways to get the rezoning approved. Why delay the council vote? Why rework the plans? Why begin the submittal process all over again, starting with Planning and Zoning?

• Then there was this revelation from the March 9, 2023 Oro Valley Podcast:

“The church is looking at an alternative location. I did find that tidbit of information.”
~ Don Cox, former Commissioner and former Chair of Planning and Zoning

Why keep changing their strategy?
I'll tell you why. It's because their lawsuit threat is just a lot of bluster meant to coerce the town into submission. They are clearly trying to avoid having to make good on their threat. I think they were surprised when Planning and Zoning recommended DENIAL despite the threat of a lawsuit and they’re now fearful that the Town Council will do the same. But if they know with 100% certainty that they will win in court, then there is nothing to fear...right?

Has OVCN even considered the ramifications if they DO file a lawsuit?
• They will, in essence, be suing themselves/the members of their own congregation. I suspect that the majority of their congregation lives in Oro Valley. Those congregants are OV taxpayers, so it will be their tax dollars that would be used to pay the town's legal expenses.

• Unless OVCN has some wealthy benefactor who has offered to pay their legal fees, it will be the congregants' church donations that will be used to pay for the lawsuit.  Do they want their church donations to be used in this manner? To hire lawyers to file a lawsuit? Without a wealthy benefactor footing the bill, the congregants will be paying the legal fees for BOTH PARTIES -- the town and the church.

• Additionally, if they DO sue the town (us taxpayers) it will no longer be just the immediate neighbors who will be up in arms over this rezoning. OVCN will have succeeded in turning the entire town (us taxpayers) against them. They will become the town pariah. Is that the kind of PR that the church wants?

• As someone noted on social media, "Let ‘em file suit. An audit of their books and membership might be quite revealing."

I don't think they've really thought this through. Or perhaps they have and that’s why they’re doing everything possible to avoid following through with a lawsuit.

Debatable Legal Counsel
According to the “Oro Valley Grapevine,” the town council has been informed by the town attorney that they must approve the OVCN rezone in order to avoid being sued.

I am imploring the Town Council to consider all of the above evidence and all of the fallout that OVCN will experience before assuming that they will file a lawsuit and that they will win. At this point, it's no longer a church anyway. It's become an amusement park.

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Diane Peters has lived in Oro Valley since 2003. She’s been involved in OV politics and development issues since 2006, including organizing a citizens group in 2014 that spent 9 months negotiating a controversial 200-acre development project. In her past life, she worked in medical research at various University Hospitals in New England. Her interests include reading, writing, nature photography, travel, art galleries, museums, and politics.

The Solomon Chronicles. Part 5. A pattern of incivility and disrespect (Cont’d.)

With the Town Council election on the horizon, LOVE will be presenting a series of articles entitled, “The Solomon Chronicles,” highlighting the abysmal record of Councilmember Steve Solomon who is running for re-election. This weekly series will highlight his 4-year record of incivility and his interdependent relationship with local developers. This series was written by a LOVE contributor and contains a synopsis of previous LOVE articles plus new information.

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This topic was divided into two parts. The first half was published last Wednesday. If you missed it, you can find it directly below this article. As you continue reading, keep in mind that these are some of the assertions that Steve Solomon made when he ran for Town Council in 2016.

• I am running for Town Council to bring civility, professionalism, collaboration, and positive forward momentum back to our community and Town Government. [Explorer Newspaper, June 8, 2016]

• Practicing civility and finding common ground are what I do best. [Facebook page, Solomon for Oro Valley Town Council, July 29, 2016]

Face-to-face threats
2018. During a public event in 2018, first-hand accounts indicate that Solomon yelled verbally abusive comments at two women and threatened to sue them for slander after they stated their opinion that Council votes were likely being influenced by wealthy special interest donations. He asserted that their comments equated to accusing HIM of the felony act of bribery because he had accepted donations from wealthy special interests. Of note is that no one accused him or any other council member of doing anything illegal…just unethical.

Additionally, these two women are not the only Oro Valley residents who have made this observation. Numerous residents have made the same comments in Letters to the Editor and also when speaking at Town Council meetings. Yet, not once has any Town Council member, except Steve Solomon, felt the need to retaliate by verbally accosting any of these residents or threatening them with lawsuits.

Email threat #1
2017. After Solomon voted to amend the Steam Pump Village PAD to permit an indoor storage facility, a resident emailed Solomon questioning his vote. She questioned why he voted to approve a storage facility in an area that was planned as a future dining/shopping area and walkable gathering space. (She was referring to the Oro Valley Main Streets destination dining and shopping area that was on the table at the time).

She stated that, “The only conclusion I can draw is that it had something to do with the $13,000 in campaign contributions from Diamond Ventures.”

(She was referring to the total donations that Diamond Ventures contributed to the campaigns of the Hiremath Majority-7 council, all of whom voted to amend the PAD to allow the storage facility over the protests of Oro Valley residents. $1,900 of that amount was donated to Solomon’s campaign specifically.)

Solomon then went off the rails, claiming that she had accused him of “criminal activity, of accepting a bribe.” He continued, “This is a slanderous unsupported claim. It is a well-established legal principle that such a criminal accusation against a private person or public official is not protected speech and the accuser is subject to legal action.” He stated that the situation “may result in legal action” against her.

She responded by telling him that citizens "expect to be allowed to question our elected officials without fear of retaliation and the threat of a lawsuit. After all, citizens do have the right to discuss public affairs with their elected officials.” She also informed him that he clearly did not know the legal definition of slander.

Solomon immediately backed down from his lawsuit threat.

Email threat #2
2018. Solomon accused yet another citizen of slander and threatened him with a defamation lawsuit in Pima County Superior Court that would “include a large monetary damage amount” unless he met Solomon’s demand of “a written retraction and apology,” and publicly reading that apology at the next town council meeting, and submitting a settlement “payment of $50,000” by September 7, 2018.

The resident ignored the threat and, once again, Solomon backed down.

A boy named Sue
Councilmember Solomon has threatened to sue FOUR Oro Valley residents for slander and/or defamation over a 2-year period. And these are just the ones that we know of. This earned him the nickname of “A boy named Sue.”

Solomon blows his top during a council meeting
2019. During the December 4, 2019 council meeting, Solomon attempted to take over the meeting, first interrupting Councilmember Jones-Ivey and yelling at her, then yelling over Mayor Winfield as he tried to speak. This outburst led to the mayor threatening to have him removed from council chambers. You can view the video of this incident HERE.

“Practicing civility and finding common ground are what I do best.”

UP NEXT: Although this was originally the end of our 2-part article on the topic of incivility and disrespect, Solomon’s ego is the gift that keeps on giving. So be sure to read LOVE Friday to see a video excerpt of Solomon’s disrespectful outbursts at the Sun City Candidate Forum held on June 30, 2020.

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The final installment of The Solomon Chronicles, “Promises and Lies” will be published next Wednesday