Heated public comments at Prescott Valley meeting call for P&Z commissioner removal, criticize PACs and immigration policy

Prescott Valley — During the public-comment period at the Feb. 12 Prescott Valley Town Council meeting several residents made forceful accusations about local political actors and expressed strongly partisan views on immigration and social media moderation.

Steve Caros of Pronghorn Ranch told the council he was rebutting comments made by Planning & Zoning Commissioner Joe Colosimo on Jan. 22. Caros said the commissioner had characterized politically active citizens as people who "arrived from failing states" and accused the commissioner of saying "we need to run them out of town." Caros asked the council to "do the right thing and remove this unprofessional inappropriate member," saying those statements were "unbecoming a commissioner."

Chris Russo delivered an extended, partisan statement in support of ICE and its enforcement actions. "ICE is deporting the worst of the worst, child rapists, drug traffickers, people traffickers, thieves, murderers, and the like," Russo said, and urged the council to support deportations.

Other speakers raised local political concerns: Dave Larner accused outside PACs and local groups of seeking to "take over the town" and publicly endorsed several candidates for the upcoming election. James Colosimo said political action committees were "weaponizing the Nextdoor app," moderating content and removing opposing views, and urged residents to seek other local news sources.

Councilman Freund responded during council time, referencing Arizona statutory limits on using town forums to affect elections and urging speakers to avoid campaigning from town platforms. Freund also defended council members who had been targeted and described receiving harassing emails after the previous meeting.

The statements at the dais contained serious accusations about local officials and organizations and included partisan advocacy. None of the allegations were resolved during the meeting; the council recorded the comments and moved on to its business items.

The meeting record shows no formal complaints filed during the session and no immediate council action to remove or discipline any commissioner.