Fountain Hills City Councilman Allen Skillicorn calls for civility

Fountain Hills, AZ – Fountain Hills City Councilman Allen Skillicorn is calling on his political opponents to tone down the rhetoric, which has escalated to not so subtle death threats.

Dianne Price and Walter Heimbuch have taken to social media and letters to Fountain Hills Times to use gun and threatening language in reference to Skillicorn. In a February 15th, 2023 letter to editor in the Fountain Hills Times, Dianne Price referenced Councilman Allen Skillicorn and the terms “trigger finger” and “scattershot”. In the same letter Price repeated term “Aim” and “Fire” at the end of each paragraph. The letter is still posted online at the moment of this release. https://www.fhtimes.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/waste-of-time/article_9ad0bf16-ac8c-11ed-bc44-93120bcab3f2.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share&fbclid=IwAR1uG_-QPvVlnaPfPP0A_plKd-kVzqhaF4a-Xf4uHCsap5bTv7X8y15VSAk Another individual Walter Heimbuch, referenced sending “SkilliSatan back to hell.”

“I only bring these incidents up because it will not take much for this kind of rhetoric to get out of hand,” Skillicorn said. “I have a thick skin and can take criticism, but in this day and age when people are turning to violence to target people with whom they disagree, it is important to be civil and respectful in our disagreements. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing on political issues but there is no place for violence in the public square.”

Skillicorn said he has filed a police report about the violent statements made against him.

“I have personal friends who were on the Congressional Republican baseball team who lived through being fired upon by a far-left activist,” Skillicorn said. “I take the threat of violence seriously. People should be able to serve and express their opinions without the fear of being targeted for violence. We can and should have robust debates, but I urge my political opponents to keep the debate civil.”