A.J. political gadfly runs afoul with law

After four failed mayoral campaigns, and countless initiative drives, Elliott Fisher crashed back into the public eye last week. Apache Junction police nabbed the 42-year-old gadfly on July 21 after an altercation with a woman house-sitting for him and a car crash in which he collided with a motorcycle.

Fisher, a nurse and longtime political activist, was arrested on suspicion of making harassing phone calls, trespassing and for an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court.

Fisher’s legal entanglement began when he went to visit Krysta Agerone, an Apache Junction woman, to confront her about money she owed him and to tell her to clean up the home where she was staying, which belongs to Fisher’s sister.

Agerone told police that Fisher harassed her over the phone, came to the residence and then forced his way in while swearing and screaming at her.

When Fisher saw that Agerone had called police, he took off in a 1980 Chevrolet pickup, according to police reports. About 30 minutes later, witnesses said they saw Fisher turn left into a motorcycle driven by Troy Dickerson, also of Apache Junction.

Two witnesses told police that Fisher struck Dickerson’s Harley-Davidson, and one of them noted that Dickerson “flew about 6 feet in the air, landing on his hand and head.” Dickerson was taken to the hospital for leg pain, but was later released.

The warrant for Fisher’s arrest was issued because he missed a court date in April over allegations that he had rented rooms without a business license. He claimed many people rent rooms without a license and accused the city of picking on him.

Fisher admitted the dispute with Agerone and that he was involved in the vehicle crash, but said the criminal charges are part of a larger conspiracy against him. He said the city is retaliating against him because of his outspoken criticism of government.

“I’m a political problem for them, and there’s an election coming,” he said. “They’re trying to get me out of the way.”

Fisher has campaigned for various city and county government offices. He lost a bid for mayor in 2004 to Doug Coleman. Later that year, he received only 4 percent of the vote when he ran for Pinal County supervisor.

Nonetheless, he’s been a regular at City Council meetings for years.

“Apache Junction and I have a long history,” he said.

Part of the problem, Fisher claims, is that one of the witnesses to his pickupmotorcycle collision was City Councilman Joseph Severs. Fisher said he thinks Severs is part of the conspiracy against him.

But Severs, who said he was riding a motorcycle behind Dickerson when the collision occurred, said he wished he hadn’t witnessed the crash — and now he’d probably get sued over it.

“I find it really strange that anything that happens to him is a conspiracy,” Severs said. “I just witnessed an accident. Being part of a conspiracy is absolutely absurd.”

Fears of a lawsuit might be well-founded. The Apache Junction City Attorney’s Office estimated last year that the spate of lawsuits Fisher has filed over the years has cost Apache Junction nearly $70,000.

Fisher says filing lawsuits is the only way he can fight back.

“They know all about me,” he said. “They’re playing dumb and selectively enforcing the law.”