Four council members facing recall on May 19, Levi Johnson, Patrick Boyle, Darren Hayes, and Anicleto (Nick) Maldonado, have gone completely radio silent. No public statements, no defense of their records, no acknowledgment of the community outrage that sparked this recall over their handling of ADI and the secrecy that surrounded it.
They're hiding under the covers, pretending we don't see them ducking the very voters they swore to represent. This isn't strategy; it's a two-year-old's tactic in a game of hide-and-seek, cute for a toddler, but downright unacceptable for city leaders entrusted with our water, air, farmland, and future.
Take Vice Mayor Levi Johnson as a prime example. He isn't running a visible campaign at all, no Meet-and-Greets, no door-knocking, no engagement on the issues that matter most to Benson families. He's gone quiet, even as he reportedly has his eye on the November 2026 mayoral primary. How's that going to look if voters recall him on May 19? A defeated, recalled councilman limping into a mayor's race, not the image of a winner, and certainly not the look of someone with strong community support.
Yet he sat back and did nothing as a large corporation pushed the council to keep residents in the dark about ADI plans, essentially treating transparency as "OUR secret" while risks mounted: massive water demands in our drought-prone area, aluminum nanoparticles and fine pollutants potentially settling on our fields and seeping into soil and groundwater near the San Pedro River, and the erosion of generations of sustainable farming that has kept small towns like ours resilient through tough times.
The real issue was never about ignoring public input, there were never any proper public meetings or hearings on the critical approvals. P&Z bundled the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) with a height variance that should have gone through the Board of Adjustment, then to the City Council, not P&Z alone. This procedural shortcut cut residents out of the loop entirely, bypassing the full public scrutiny and separate review required by law. Now, when called out, they point fingers at P&Z ("we didn't do it, it was them") like cowards hiding under the lawyer's desk. Their fallback? "The Lawyer Said It Was Legal", the classic dodge of getting off on a technicality and then insisting they did nothing wrong. The law in question here is Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) § 9-462.06, which governs the powers and procedures for a municipal Board of Adjustment in cities and towns like Benson.
The legislative body, by ordinance, shall establish a board of adjustment, this kind of deflection, blame-shifting, and avoidance of real accountability is exactly why they remain silent: owning the mess would mean admitting they prioritized shortcuts and industry over the people they serve, all while the Arizona Attorney General investigates potential open meeting law violations tied to the P&Z process. And that's the heart of the problem, accountability.
These officials are no better than a person who uses lawyers and technicalities to shout "Look, we did nothing wrong!" even though their actions (or inactions) harmed the community. Just like a criminal skating on a loophole and refusing to admit guilt, they hide behind "legal" excuses instead of facing the consequences of decisions that put our resources and way of life at risk. This is what so many of us say is wrong with this generation: people aren't held accountable anymore. Leaders dodge responsibility, communities suffer, trust erodes, and bad decisions go unchecked because no one owns their mistakes. We see it everywhere, from national scandals to local ones like this, and it's why small towns like Benson are fighting back. We've always survived crises, world wars, depressions, dust bowls, because of tight-knit community strength and leaders who show up, take responsibility, and do right by the people, not ones who vanish, deflect, or claim innocence on technicalities.
None of the four have owned up to what happened, no reflection, no hindsight admission that their decisions (or lack thereof) put our community in potential danger by prioritizing industry over people. They ignored, or actively circumvented, the voice we deserve. Benson has always pulled through crises, world wars, depressions, dust bowls, because of tight-knit community strength and leaders who show up, not ghosts who vanish when accountability knocks. We deserve adults in office who engage openly, fight for us from day one, and put farmland protection, clean resources, and real self-reliance first, not ones playing childish games while big projects threaten our way of life.
The Special Recall Election on May 19, 2026 isn't just about one issue; it's about demanding better. Silence isn't leadership, it's surrender.
Benson voters, let's make our voices heard loud and clear: no more hiding, no more inaction, no more technicality excuses. Time for real representation that listens, protects, and leads.
