‘I will make sure we recall you.’ Arlington term limit advocate denied committee spot

The Arlington City Council filled all but one seat on two task forces Tuesday after council members raised issue with one nominee’s past behavior.

Members filled a combined 33 open slots for the 10-person Unity Council and 24-member Term Limits Advisory Committee.. The council declined Zachary Maxwell’s appointment to the term limits committee 5-3 after members debated his ability to approach a committee with “decorum.”

Maxwell publishes the Arlington Voice and was a driving force behind the term limit referendum. In his statement to the council via phone, he shamed council members for having this discussion and assured he would lead an effort to recall all members but Marvin Sutton, District 3 councilman. Sutton nominated Maxwell for his seat.

“What you are about to do is exactly why I will make sure we recall you,” Maxwell said. “You will lose on this issue, and you will be embarrassed by it.”

Sheri Capehart, District 2 councilwoman, asked that Maxwell’s nomination be reconsidered and cited previous private and public interactions with him.

“I don’t think that I could knowingly subject that committee to his oftentimes lack of decorum and anger,” she said.

On the Arlington Voice’s Facebook page, Maxwell condemned the council’s vote, refuted Capehart’s claims and asked people to join his push to add recall measures to a future ballot.

Sutton, who helped gather petitions to put forward term limit proposals, said although Maxwell may have some built-up anger over fighting over issues such as term limits, he has important input that the committee may value.

“I think we’re doing a disservice if we aren’t recognizing his input,” Sutton said.

Sutton, Mayor Jeff Williams and Dr. Victoria Farrar-Myers voted to appoint Maxwell. Williams said after the vote he was disappointed in Maxwell’s statement.

“We want citizens to want to give their input and to not be intimidated or to worry for their safety,” he said.

In a phone call to the council meeting, Unity Council appointee Pamela Roach called Maxwell’s call “embarrassing” and “shocking.”

“I’m just speaking as a citizen right now,” she said. “That was unacceptable.”

The Term Limits Advisory Committee was voted into existence June 30 at the behest of council members who said voters were given only one option at the polls in late 2018—to reject term limits or implement strict ones. Term limits passed with 63% of the vote.

The resolution states the committee cannot throw out term limits completely. Instead, the committee is tasked with exploring alternatives to the three two-year terms allowed for the council and mayor and offering possible alternatives.

The Term Limits Advisory Committee list approved tonight are Wes Maness, Jeannie Deakyne, Gwenda Hicks, Syed Hassan, David Schwarte, Steve Zimmer, Nikkie Hunter, Derek Carter, Sinikka Dickerson, Chad Bates, Charlie Parker, Jim Maibach, Patty Noe, Rob Cronin, Jessica Black, Ron Spiller, Cindy Foote, Barbara Prellwitz, Amanda Arizola, Andy Prior, Billy Wilson, Bryan Acosta and Yen Nguyen.

Unity Council appointees are Akram Abbadi, Murjam Altawil, Ines Roach, Jason Shelton, Charletta Sharp, Grace McDermott, Pamela Roach, Dan Fernandez, Kennedy Jones and Reecia Stoglin.

Arlington officials created the Unity Council during their June 23 meeting. The full council will be composed of Tuesday’s 10 appointees, as well as 15 Community Relations Commission appointees that the council will choose later in the month.

The Unity Council is tasked with drafting and presenting to officials a plan in February to address and dismantle disparities across local agencies. City Council members say the committee will meet starting in August and report to the council regularly.

Under the wording the city council approved, the group should “mirror” the census tract for the city, which the census estimates is 29% Hispanic or Latino, 22% Black or African-American and roughly 7% Asian.

Members hope the plan will result in candid conversations and equity for people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age or socioeconomic status.

“Everything’s on the table,” Odom-Wesley said in a June 26 phone interview.

This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 9:33 PM.