Congratulations to every Fountain Hills staff member who helped apply for the $100,000 grant that was awarded to Fountain Hills. I’m sorry your hard work was thrown away by several council members.
Not only was the action taken by Councilmembers Toth, Friedel and Skillicorn a slap in the face to the staff, it seems to have been based solely on the fact that EV is viewed as “woke.”
The $100,000 grant was to do a study on the need for EV charging stations in Fountain Hills. The study could have found viable locations for the charging stations. By planning ahead and being proactive, this could have developed into revenue for our town. Revenue for roads. Remember? Expect more of this if the council has a likeminded majority. Their shortsightedness and need to follow a specific agenda will hurt our community’s future.
Let me put all the cards on the table about our future council. Our local elections have been historically nonpartisan. Those days are over. They have become cutthroat. Just take a look on Fountain Hills social media groups. Or the vindictive signs along Shea. The voters deserve to know who aligns with whom.
Our town council has three extreme Republicans ready to go; Toth, Skillicorn, and newly elected Gayle Earle, whose term starts in December. Three seats are still open.
For Mayor, Gerry Friedel Republican candidate and Ginny Dickey Democrat.
For council, Rick Watts and Mathew Coorigan are Republicans, Peggy McMahon and Clayton Corey are Democrats.
The residents deserve a council that works for us, not a national agenda that does nothing but hurt our community. Having an extreme majority will end in more resignations and loss of talented staff. We all deserve better.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
