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Republican Club welcomed Ugenti-Rita, Kavanagh

Posted 1/26/21

In their first meeting of the new year, Fountain Hills Republican Club members heard from State Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita and State Rep. John Kavanagh.

The Times covered the meeting …

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Republican Club welcomed Ugenti-Rita, Kavanagh

Posted

In their first meeting of the new year, Fountain Hills Republican Club members heard from State Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita and State Rep. John Kavanagh.

The Times covered the meeting virtually.

Ugenti-Rita told attendees that “there is a lot of policy that needs to happen” during the 55th session of the State Legislature, which convened Jan. 11.

Ugenti-Rita cited Gov. Doug Ducey’s emergency COVID-19 declaration as “very restrictive. We’re still closed down.”

She said the governor’s declaration does not allow for input from the legislature and suggests a resolution be passed to terminate the resolution.

“We need to right this ship right now,” she said.

Ugenti-Rita said the declaration makes it difficult for the members of legislature to represent their constituents.

She also expressed her concern for the state’s fiscal health, saying that while the economy appears to be doing better than it should, people need to be careful with the sentiment.

“There has been so much money injected into the economy,” she said.

She added that this year’s budget is “spendy” and she believes less is more when it comes to funding programs.

Kavanagh addressed more local concerns with a “liberal town council,” comprising four of seven members leaning left.

“The council is supposed to be non-partisan, but it isn’t,” Kavanagh said. “We live in a conservative state in a liberal town.”

Kavanagh said the local Republican Club needs to become more active, helping alleviate shutdowns such as the Community Center and the February art show. The art show has been rescheduled for April.

On a broader note, Kavanagh said election bills are “pouring in” to the legislature, an effect of the challenged 2020 presidential election results.

He also said there are several other bills being worked on to defend police and the rights of citizens. He is also proposing a bill to prevent possession of high-intensity lasers.

He remarked that there is no systemic racism, but “cops should use less force than more.”

Another bill proposed is one that would prevent someone from suing a school or a business of giving them COVID-19.

Kavanagh said it is not possible to claim that a specific place was where the virus was acquired.

Kavanagh and Ugenti-Rita took questions from the audience before serving as auctioneers for the annual White Elephant Auction, which is a fundraiser the club holds to raise money for its scholarship fund.

In addition to the auction, Republicans heard from Chris Enos, who talked to the club about the Victory Committee, which helps the club screen and come up with candidates for all positions, locally and beyond.

“Our goal is to have our voices filtered through one vocal cord to get the message out,” Enos said. “We need to communicate as a group, as a team.”