For over an hour on Tuesday, Gilbert residents demanded justice for free speech violations committed by their town’s Office of Digital Government (ODG).
Most public comment during Tuesday’s town council meeting consisted of community members’ resounding call to end ODG and reappropriate the funds, citing the AZ Free News investigative report on the department. As we reported last week, records revealed that ODG monitored the online speech of employees and elected officials to ensure conformity with a progressive political agenda.
Several residents also related the report on ODG to their discontent with ongoing investigations into the “Gilbert Goons,” a violent group of teens and young adults behind reported and confirmed assaults on youths in Gilbert and the surrounding areas.
One 16-year resident, Carol Cherry, said that Gilbert was “hardly recognizable” and lacking common sense amid plaguing issues like the Gilbert Goons and ODG. Cherry called for the replacement of ODG with a more clearly defined and transparent communications department, arguing that paying a department to “spy” on employee speech shouldn’t be a government priority.
“Our children are being threatened by vicious beatings and even death by the infamous Gilbert Goons, and now we find out that we have another group of goons threatening segments of our community: that would be the Office of Digital Government,” said Cherry. “These dozen or so ‘thought police’ order supervisors to confront any employee who dares speak against the progressive narrative, even if that speech is on a personal social media account.”
Gilbert pays a department over $1 million a year to control town employees and elected officials' online speech to ensure conformity with a progressive political agenda. My latest covered by @azfamily ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/bBs07t09aE
Mayoral candidate Shane Krauser described the town government’s permissiveness of ODG as irresponsible. He took issue with the decision-making power and authority of unelected officials, referencing Town Manager Patrick Banger specifically. Krauser also criticized the amount of communication on the Gilbert Goons as too little.
“What we’re looking for here is just competent leadership, and maybe more than that, we’re looking for the individuals who were actually elected to run the government,” said Krauser. “These things are irresponsible from the town government’s perspective, and they’re fundamentally illegal, if they are true.”
Krauser added that $1.1 million was far too great an amount to pay ODG, especially considering the operations and apparent mission of the department. ODG employee salaries amounted to over $1.1 million prior to the departure of two employees within the last fiscal year. The head of ODG, Dana Berchman, made over $200,800.
“Dana Berchman has her own political philosophy that is being advanced through a platform that’s funded by the taxpayers of Gilbert,” said Krauser. “It’s a fundamental violation of the Constitution, it’s a fundamental violation of the rule of law.”
Concerning the cost of ODG, Gilbert’s former mayor, Steve Berman, suggested that the town disband the department and use the funds to pay the salaries of 15 new police officers capable of cracking down on teen violence like that of the Gilbert Goons.
Berman said it was well within the council’s authority to dissolve ODG, should at least four councilmembers direct the town manager to do so.
“What gives this department the right to spy on anybody’s Facebook account and then report their results to the town manager?” asked Berman. “I would like to see you disband the department, and take the money that’s being paid now, and we can fund the salaries of 15 new police officers for Gilbert. I think people would rather spend the money on more cops than on a secret police that’s spying on the employees.”
Scott Runde, chair of the Gilbert Town Council Watch Group for legislative district 14, similarly expressed a desire to end ODG and redirect the funds to something else, like a water treatment plant.
Councilman Jim Torgeson proposed the council add an agenda item to review the mission, purpose, and future existence of ODG. It didn’t appear that any other councilmembers backed the proposal.
Mayor Brigette Peterson asked Town Manager Patrick Banger — who started ODG under inspiration from former Democratic New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — to look into the ODG.
Police Chief Michael Soelberg addressed concerns from the residents concerning the Gilbert Goons and teen violence in the town and surrounding communities. Soelberg promised that more arrests would be forthcoming. He emphasized that, in spite of all that had happened, Gilbert remains a safe community.
“Gilbert is one of the safest cities in the country,” said Soelberg.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Big Brother is alive and well in one Arizona town, where an entire department of city employees is paid to monitor the online speech of employees and elected officials — as well as control all government communications online — to enforce conformity with a progressive political agenda.
Though it may sound like a fictional invention of Orwellian fashion, there’s a real place in Arizona where that occurs. It’s an arrangement unlike any other in the state and, by all indicators, the first of its kind in the nation. It’s the Office of Digital Government (ODG) in the town of Gilbert.
At the helm is Dana Berchman, chief digital officer. For over a decade, Berchman has overseen an average of 10-12 employees who ensure that the 30 official government accounts—along with personal online postings of government-affiliated individuals—fall in line with a liberal political outlook: Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ ideologies, and the like.
For their work, ODG employees are amply compensated. Their annual salaries range from over $82,000 to nearly $138,000; only two of the employees make slightly under that range, earning well over $60,000. Berchman receives the highest salary by far: over $200,800 annually.
There were also two employees that left ODG within the 2023 fiscal year: their salaries amounted to about $188,300. Including those positions, all ODG salaries amount to over $1.15 million.
Public records revealed that under Berchman, ODG contacts various departmental leadership about employees’ online speech if it runs counter to progressive ideals or appears to be critical of their department. Leadership is then expected to confront employees about their speech.
Over the last few years of marked social political upheaval due to George Floyd’s death, the 2020 election, and the COVID-19 pandemic, ODG permitted public displays of support for issues like Black Lives Matter (BLM), vaccines, and mask-wearing, but sought out discipline for those whose speech was or appeared to be the least bit critical of those stances — or ODG.
Following George Floyd’s death, ODG led a unified response across all Gilbert departments to show solidarity with BLM: “blackout” posts, a video statement from the mayor, and pictures of first responders bending the knee to BLM protesters.
One former employee that we spoke with on the condition of anonymity said that they left their job in part due to ODG’s control over the other departments.
“When I worked there, they were pushing the chiefs of police and fire to be more liberal. Then there’s those emails about how excited they were about getting the chief to kneel to BLM,” said the former employee.
That former employee added that anything a department wanted to put out on social media had to receive ODG’s complete approval.
“It was difficult to get anything accomplished,” said the former employee. “Everything was so tightly managed. People on the ground there were upset because they couldn’t do anything.”
That could explain the delay in communications on the arguably biggest development to hit Gilbert in decades, one that has now made national headlines: the Gilbert Goons.
Independent investigative efforts by reporters indicated that similar teen-involved assaults in the East Valley go back as early as December 2022; Gilbert police initially claimed that they only discovered a pattern and the term “Gilbert Goons” last month, but later noted that victims referenced their assailants’ association with the violent group.
Other issues have sparked more immediate attention from Gilbert leadership. Public records revealed that departmental leadership would entertain ODG’s complaints about certain employees’ online speech to which they objected, such as a show of support for first responders.
In an August 2020 email obtained through public records, Berchman notified Gilbert Fire Department (GFD) leadership that one of their fire trucks drove by and turned on sirens to support Back the Blue protesters.
The implication was that GFD leadership would instruct its employees to not engage in similar behavior in the future, as they have regarding the displays of thin blue line flags symbolizing support for police. Gilbert fire and police leadership instructed personnel to not fly those flags due to their controversial message related to George Floyd’s death and the BLM riots.
Several days after Berchman’s complaint, Police Chief Michael Soelberg and then-Fire Chief Jim Jobusch issued a joint email and video to their employees directing them to not “choose sides” publicly concerning Black Lives Matter or Blue Lives Matter protests.
“Given the intensity of the debate and strong personal feelings some have about these gatherings, [we] thought it would be prudent to put out a consistent message to the members of both of our departments,” read a joint email notifying personnel of the video.
“We need to be aware not to choose sides and to not leave the perception that we’re choosing sides during large gatherings,” said Jobusch in the video.
Records also revealed that ODG would spend business hours documenting the nitty gritty of Gilbert employees’ social media activity, even down to when they “liked” posts critical of ODG. In another 2020 incident, ODG issued a post to the town’s Twitter (now X) page celebrating itself for winning an award. In an internal messaging group between team members, ODG discussed one employee who “liked” another local’s comment criticizing ODG as a “bloated team of Insta posters” funded by taxpayers.
“Yeah [this individual] has had a few bad tweets and likes the past 24 hours,” one ODG employee wrote in a group message.
Gilbert Digital is humbled to receive @GovernmentSM's 2020 Social Media Team of the Year Award! 🎉
2020 has been a challenging year, but your likes, shares and feedback (yes all of the feedback 😉) has made it all worth it. Thank you, #GilbertAZ!
The same day of the Jan. 6 breach at the Capitol, Berchman sent an internal group message tasking her employees with hunting down and tracking the personal social media posts of one town employee critical of them. In that same conversation, Berchman alluded that she maintained a dossier of other town employees’ social media posts.
“Do you all have a folder or compilation of all of [this employee’s] tweets? Or posts?” asked Berchman. “I just looked in my social media files and I had most of these [posts other ODG members sent]. It makes me sick to look at these [posts] especially TODAY.”
Yet, Berchman’s personal social media often delves into the political. Her posts over the years openly declared her support of Democratic candidates and progressive issues such as abortion, gun control, and same-sex marriage.
“A bunch of old white guys? Not interested,” wrote Berchman, in response to former President Trump’s potential cabinet selections.
“Today I feel hope, joy, and relief. To those who thought it couldn’t be that bad — it was worse than I ever imagined,” said Berchman on President Joe Biden’s inauguration day. “Watching the past four years and particularly the last one and explaining to my children the things they’ve seen and heard. Never again.”
Today I feel hope, joy & relief. To those who thought it couldn’t be that bad – it was worse than I ever imagined. Watching the past four years & particularly the last one & explaining to my children the things they’ve seen & heard. Never again. ❤️#InaugurationDay
“Every single word of this – especially ‘coming to grips with the reality that millions voted for a man so obviously willing to burn our democracy down for his own ego,’” said Berchman.
Every single word of this – especially “coming to grips with the reality that millions voted for a man so obviously willing to burn our democracy down for his own ego.” https://t.co/avvIOULMH8
Berchman reposted controversial tweets from then-presidential candidate Joe Biden urging people to vote out then-President Donald Trump, then a post from Biden announcing a mask mandate. Berchman also shared a post blaming parents for school shutdowns over COVID-19 case spikes.
Berchman was behind the new town logo that stoked controversy last year, with many left dissatisfied with the end product of a two-year process. Both Mayor Brigette Peterson and council noted they were kept out of the process for developing the logo, with Peterson receiving resistance from town manager Patrick Banger: a common pattern for ODG.
Public records revealed that those town employees who criticized the logo were the subject of ODG documentation and internal messaging.
This appeared to be a frequent exercise for Berchman and her ODG members, though relatively new for the department.
ODG didn’t exist until 2012, when Banger came up with the idea for the department: the first of its kind in the nation. Banger credited former Democratic New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his media empire for coming up with the idea. The year before, Bloomberg hired the nation’s first chief digital officer, Rachel Haot, and together they crafted the nation’s first digital roadmap.
“One of the things that I’d been doing for quite some time is following what Mayor Bloomberg was doing in New York,” said Banger in an early episode of the town’s now-defunct podcast, Government Gone Digital.
Haot’s oversight of online governmental communications resembled the centralized approach that ODG has undertaken. Haot identified her team as the authority on what was published online across city departments, in one interview using Hurricane Sandy as an example.
“24/7 we were working to ensure that all of those channels were working in lockstep,” said Haot. “Say the public housing agency had a new update they needed to get out to their constituents — we had a streamlined process to make sure the information was accurate and could get out there as soon as possible.”
Bloomberg is the liberal billionaire behind the nonprofit Bloomberg Philanthropies. What Works Cities (WWC) is a project of the nonprofit; Gilbert joined them in 2017. WWC’s Results for America awarded ODG in 2020 for public communications that facilitated community trust during COVID-19. Then-WWC Executive Director Simone Brody remarked that ODG exemplified the ideal approach for government communications.
“This recognition honors her life by celebrating cities like Gilbert that exemplify how governments and residents can collaborate to build a better future for us all.”
The following year, 2021, Brody became the senior advisor of Biden’s American Rescue Plan Implementation Team. The primary focus of the team was to ensure the trillions in federal relief funds were issued equitably, not equally.
Banger hired Berchman, a Gilbert native, in 2012. Like his inspiration, Berchman launched her career in New York, where she interned for Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign before working for MTV and then MSNBC.
By 2017, ODG had gained significant control over which departments could have social media platforms and what they could share. In the town’s podcast, Berchman explained that ODG had centralized oversight but would give “social media ambassadors” the ability to post and share.
“We don’t just give every [department] a Facebook account because they want one. Who’s going to run it? What are you going to put there? Are you going to have someone monitor it 24/7?” said Berchman.
It wasn’t until 2019 that ODG revoked that limited autonomy and fully took over communications for every department. Berchman discussed the plan in the town’s podcast, in an episode that described the approach as “building the city of the future.”
“We are going to have a truly centralized communications team, we’re going to have people embedded in the other departments: parks and recreation, police, and fire, which is what’s really unique about this, I think, and economic development,” said Berchman. “It is important for us to be streamlined, all on message together, all on brand.”
We are so excited to open our Police Department PIO position. The PIO will be a key member of the Police Department and Town of Gilbert. To learn more about these positions check out @GovGoneDigital podcast (Episode 67) on iTunes. @GilbertPolice@GilbertYourTownhttps://t.co/w5LXz0acaZ
Public records indicate that 2019 was also the year that ODG began ramping up oversight of employee’s personal social media content.
Kelsey Perry — then ODG’s community engagement coordinator, now a public information officer — sent an internal message that August flagging the personal Instagram story of a town employee that “could be deemed culturally insensitive.” The video was passed on from ODG leadership to that employee’s superiors.
In a recent interview, Berchman alluded to her limiting input to those who agree with her perspective, calling those who have grievances “pitchfork people” that didn’t qualify as the average Gilbert resident.
“Let other people come in, invite them in and let them tell you what they think about what you’re doing,” said Berchman. “Not people that show up at council meetings or, I say, the pitchfork people that have a grievance, but the average person who’s busy living their lives.”
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Parents have expressed concerns after Gilbert Public Schools (GPS) teachers performed a same-sex “wedding” in front of all their kindergarteners.
Val Vista Lakes Elementary School reportedly posted images of the event on their Facebook page, and GPS liked them. It appears the photos have since been deleted.
Teachers Makayla Krinsky, Suzanne Lunt, and Tina Selles, along with Principal Patrick Miller, were pictured participating in the event. The “wedding” is a popular lesson plan among educators to teach kindergarteners about how the letter “u” always follows the letter “q” in English spelling. Traditionally, the lesson plan focuses on the union of a bride and groom; however, the GPS teachers opted to have two women play the roles.
Miller walked Lunt, wearing a white dress and veil with the letter “Q,” down an “aisle” of white paper. Krinsky served as an “officiant” wearing the letter “O,” with Selles wearing a black top and pants with the letter “U” awaiting Lunt. In the background, the traditional “Bridal Chorus” song played on a screen.
Lunt was a Republican candidate for Arizona House District 14 last year; she lost in the primary. She received endorsements from Jenn Daniels, former Gilbert Mayor; Greg Tilque, president of Gilbert Sister Cities; Julie Spillsbury, Mesa City council member; Joan Kruger, Larry Morrison, and Linda Abbott, former Gilbert Town council members; Reed Carr, former Gilbert School Board president; Bob Worsely, former state senator; Save Our Schools Arizona; Stand for Children Arizona; and the Arizona Nurses Association.
Krinsky, Lunt, and Selles all graduated from ASU.
As shared by Not in Our Schools, a parent posted their concerns in a private Facebook page for GPS parents and community members.
“How would you go about addressing it with both the sNot chool and school board. I can accept the fact that sometimes the letters “Q” and “U” go together or are ‘married’ in some words,” said the parent. “However, I feel like this is completely unnecessary. Honestly believe that marriage should not be spoken about in school at all, let alone should they be pushing the valve off same sex marriage.”
In a separate post, Arizona Women of Action (AWOA) issued a similar concern that a mock same-sex wedding could be problematic for young, impressionable minds.
“This @GPS_District “mock same sex wedding” may have been benign in design, but parents must address these kinds of unacceptable issues at each turn,” said AWOA. “They are confusing and damaging to our children. The more their minds are stressed with these experiences, the more problems will accrue.”
AWOA encouraged community members to contact the school board, as well as the Arizona Department of Education Empower Hotline about the classroom event.
This @GPS_District "mock same sex wedding" may have been benign in design, but parents must address these kinds of unacceptable issues at each turn. They are confusing and damaging to our children. The more their minds are stressed with these experiences, the more problems will… pic.twitter.com/g1bJ4c5Avm
Gilbert residents may face a massive water rate hike of up to 130 percent next year.
The town council discussed three proposed options for water rate increases during its two-day fall retreat last week: cash funded, bond funded, or cash/bond gradual funded. The additional funds would address issues and needs instigated by the Colorado River shortage: a sharp increase in raw water supply cost, infrastructure needs to access groundwater, and additional conservation staffing and programs.
The cash-funded option would require an immediate rate increase of 130 percent: the average monthly residential water bill would increase from $34 to $78 next April. Under this option, there wouldn’t be any new increases planned for the following two years, no new debt, an ongoing capacity of $6 million for one-time Capital Improvement Project (CIP) in the operating fund, and an ongoing Repair & Replacement (R&R) fund capacity of $73 million in the 2029 fiscal year.
The bond-funded option would require an immediate rate increase of 95 percent, increasing the average monthly residential water bill from $34 to $66 next April. Under this option, there would be no increases planned for the following two years, but there would be $205 million of new debt with $110 million of anticipated interest paid over 20 years. The one-time CIP in the operating fund would have an ongoing capacity of $2 million, and the ongoing R&R fund capacity would be $37 million in the 2029 fiscal year. The town noted that this option would have the lowest overall rate increase by total percent.
The cash/bond gradual-funded option would require an immediate rate increase of 50 percent, followed by 25 percent in one year and another 25 percent in two years. This would result in the average monthly residential water bill to increase from $34 to $51 next April, then $64 in 2025 and $80 in 2026. Under this option, there would be a phased increase and $80 million in new debt, with $43 million in anticipated interest paid over 20 years. Additionally, the one-time CIP in the operating fund would be $5 million and the ongoing R&R fund capacity would be $66 million in the 2029 fiscal year.
The Public Works Advisory Board (PWAB) recommended the town council adopt the third option: the cash/bond gradual funded. PWAB further recommended that the town council dedicate staff to research additional financial assistance relief to offset the predicted burden of their preferred rate increase.
The town council expressed a preference for the cash- and cash/bond gradual-funded options.
The town estimated that it will cost around $2.8 billion to undertake pipe replacement when due between the years 2090 and 2110. They estimated that would come down to an average 50-year cost of $76 million annually.
In addition to water rates, town residents also face a 44 percent proposed rate increase for solid waste and recycling services.
Eric Braun, assistant public works director, said that the town had recently taken on the practice of only increasing two of four utility rates at a time because they felt it would mitigate the financial impact on residents. Braun admitted that the plan to not increase rates under the cash-funded option was promissory only and liable to change.
Per a history of rate increases, the town last increased water rates in 2022 by 29.6 percent. Solid waste and recycling increased by 28.6 percent.
Last year, the town increased wastewater and environmental compliance rates by 32.4 percent and 59 percent, respectively.
Rates for all four utilities had no increase from 2019 through 2021.
The town council is scheduled to approve a notice of intent to increase water rates and fees at its Nov. 28 meeting, with a recommended public hearing date of Feb. 6, 2024.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
K-12 schools in Arizona are currently flush with cash. Between billions in increased state spending from the legislature, COVID cash from the feds, and declining student populations, district school spending is at an all time high. But next week, voters across Arizona will decide the fate of 23 bond requests from schools that total a historic $3.5 billion.
This level of borrowing being sought by local school districts is both unwise and unnecessary, especially given the large amounts of money that have been pumped into the system. State funding has increased so quickly in the last 36 months that the legislature decided to override the constitutional spending limit the last two fiscal years. This is funding over and above the formulaic cap in the constitution that exists to protect taxpayers from runaway and unaccountable spending.
And contrary to what you probably hear from teachers’ unions and their sycophant friends in the media, lawmakers continue to increase school spending with every state budget. With all this new spending, district schools receive more money per student than ever before, and it’s not even close.
Not included in the state spending cap, however, are federal funds. And when schools were shut down during COVID, the federal government poured trillions of dollars into them. Many of the school districts asking their taxpayers to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars in bonds next week are still sitting on a pile of unspent COVID cash…
