Phoenix council favors silence over Satanists- for now
The Phoenix City Council meeting on Wednesday began with a "moment of silent prayer" rather than an invocation, marking the end of an approximate 65-year tradition of the governing body.
It's been two weeks since the council voted to end spoken prayer at its meetings, and the issue continues to reverberate at City Hall, with multiple efforts being made to reverse the decision and lingering tensions between some council members.
Despite the controversy, the moment of silence triggered little fanfare or protests on Wednesday. Council members and residents in the audience briefly closed their eyes and bowed their heads without speaking.
A firestorm over public prayer at Phoenix council meetings erupted last month after followers of the Satanic Temple were scheduled to give the invocation. Rather than let the Satanists pray, the council voted 5-4 to stop holding a spoken prayer and avoid the threat of a lawsuit.
While some council members advocated excluding the Satanic group and keeping the invocation, Phoenix's city attorney argued the city must allow the Satanists to pray or end its invocation practice altogether.
“I think this issue got out of proportion," said Councilwoman Thelda Williams, who introduced the vote calling for a moment of silent prayer. “The motion was a minute of silent prayer and reflection. It did not say, 'No Prayer'."
But political fallout over the prayer issue could be far from over. Some council members, religious leaders and residents have said the city's decision was akin to banning prayer.
Challenges to prayer vote loom
Two residents submitted a petition Wednesday calling for the council to reverse its decision. The petition, which the council is required to act on within 15 days, requests they restore the invocation with a requirement that the city invite clergy members from established religious congregations within Phoenix.
The city also faces threats of challenges at the ballot box, including possible recall elections targeting Mayor Greg Stanton or council members.
"This issue is just not going to go away because some politicians want it to go away," Councilman Sal DiCiccio, who opposed the prayer decision, said in a prepared statement. "The mayor and city council will have multiple opportunities to fix the bad decision they made by banning a 65-year tradition of prayer."
Bob Graham, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, has also vowed the GOP will fight the issue at the ballot box. He said the party is preparing to gather signatures for a voter initiative that would restore a spoken prayer at council meetings.
"If a show of humility to God, rich in the American tradition, is to be ended because of a few satanic bullies, how are we going to fix some of our community's and nation’s most pressing problems?" Graham said in a news release sent out after the vote. "Maybe it is time we send a message to the Phoenix City Council that they are out of touch with the people of Phoenix."
Graham said the party also plans to gather signatures to recall Mayor Greg Stanton and council members who supported the decision. Council members Williams, Kate Gallego, Laura Pastor and Daniel Valenzuela voted for the change.
Councilmen DiCiccio, Bill Gates, Jim Waring and Michael Nowakowski opposed the prayer change and had introduced a proposal intended to block the Satanists but keep prayer at meetings.
As of Wednesday evening, the Arizona Republican Party had not pulled papers to collect signatures for either a ballot initiative or recall elections, but a party spokesman said this week that they still intend to do both.
According to the City Clerk's Office, getting an initiative on the ballot requires 20,510 valid signatures from registered Phoenix voters. The signature requirement for a recall election varies based on how many ballots were cast in the last election, from 32,776 signatures to recall Stanton, to 2,572 signatures to recall Valenzuela.
Gallego has already started raising money to fight a potential recall threat.
"The city council took a difficult vote to avoid a costly lawsuit, and now the Republican party is exploiting fear to target both Democrats and Republicans," she wrote in an email to supporters. "I’d rather continue to work on expanding transportation options, creating jobs and serving my community."
DiCiccio, Waring and Nowakowski have also asked the council to consider referring the issue to city voters with a special election in May.
Council relations tense
The prayer issue has also strained relationships on the council, particularly between DiCiccio and a few members who said his criticism had effectively questioned their faith.
Pastor, who described herself as a “Catholic girl,” began to tear up during the council’s Feb. 3 debate about the prayer practice, saying, “When my colleagues attack us and our faith, that’s very personal.”
Before the vote, DiCiccio sent out a news release stating he was concerned that the council was secretly moving to ban prayer and would give the Satanists a big win. He also referred to “politically correct politicians pushing Satanic Prayer” in a Facebook post.
Stanton alluded to DiCiccio’s comments at the meeting, calling it “the most despicable thing that I have ever witnessed in my service to the city.”
Williams, who is one of the council’s most crucial swing votes, also expressed her resentment over the comments. A few days after the vote, she said there will be “continued resentment against one” councilman over the issue.
During an interview with 12 News, DiCiccio said he had not questioned his colleague’s faith and stands behind his comments.
“What you’ve got here is you got politicians making it personal toward themselves,” DiCiccio told 12 News. “What I questioned was the decision.”
Stu de Haan, a Satanic Temple member who submitted the prayer request, said his goal wasn’t to end prayer, but he’s satisfied with the outcome. The temple is now scheduled to lead the invocation at a Scottsdale City Council meeting.
“We legitimately wanted to give the invocation,” de Haan said. “All they had to do was let us talk.”