Silencing Chandler’s board volunteers serves insiders — not voters

OPINION  — Chandler Council member O.D. Harris recently suggested that any appointed Chandler commissioner or board member who works to influence an election should reconsider the role.

He added that he would bring such a member to the council agenda for immediate removal.

The sentiment carries surface-level appeal. Public board and commission meetings should focus on the work assigned to them, not double as a forum for swaying elections.

Few members engage in such conduct anyway.
Yet Harris does not distinguish between politicking from an appointed seat and sharing firsthand observations as an informed resident, collapsing two separate activities into one accusation and offering no standard a volunteer could follow.

That distinction matters most in municipal elections, which Chandler conducts on a nonpartisan basis. Without party labels, a wide, ideologically mixed electorate decides with few reliable signals about who candidates are.

Council candidates can, and do, present themselves as moderate and free of controversial positions, even when their records suggest otherwise.

Appointed members occupy a rare vantage point. They frequently see candidates appear before public boards and commissions.

When a member reports what occurred in a public setting, voters get direct evidence rather than boilerplate campaign messaging.

Removal should follow a clear standard. It is appropriate when a member’s conduct obstructs the body’s mandate and prevents it from functioning. It should not be a response to protected speech that an elected official finds inconvenient to their own political interests.

Council and mayoral elections determine who appoints and re-appoints every board member in Chandler. Residents who serve in these unpaid roles keep the same rights as their neighbors.

A standard that silences them protects incumbents and insiders. It does not serve Chandler voters, who deserve more information about their candidates, not less.

Arman Sidhu is a lifelong Chandler resident and has served as a board member for the Chandler Public Library since 2019. The opinions provided above are solely his own.

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