About 200 supporters at the Fountain Hills Democratic Club meeting on Thursday, Oct. 13, cheered as Adrian Fontes, candidate for Arizona Secretary of State, entered the Community Center.

Fontes’ appearance received national media coverage with crews from CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” Bloomberg News, The Guardian and Arizona Republic in attendance.

Fontes, a US Marine, attorney, and former Maricopa County elections administrator, is uniquely qualified to become Secretary of State, according to Democratic Club officials.

Fontes said at a time when extremists are undermining the right to vote, fueling conspiracy theories and ending the public’s faith in the election process, having a Secretary of State with elections experience matters.

Fontes calls the Nov. 8 election the most important of our lifetimes, stating, “We are in danger of losing our democracy.”

According to Fontes, his opponent, an election denier and Big Lie pusher, is running for office with the goal of lessening citizens’ voting rights, thereby threatening the democracy.

Why is Fontes running? “Because it’s my duty,” he said.

After reorganizing the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office and making it easier to vote safely during a global pandemic, he plans to continue to improve Arizona’s voting process. He said he will expand voting by mail (which his opponent wants to discontinue) to allow citizens to make their voices heard more easily and strengthen democracy.

He ended with a military story from a favorite World War II veteran, the crux of which was the saying, “If it is to be, it is up to me.”

The evening’s second speaker, Jevin Hodge, is running neck and neck to unseat David Schweikert in Congressional District 1. Hodge worked his way up from a single-parent family living on food stamps to a university graduate and successful businessman. Hodge said he believes in the American Dream because he has lived it. Hodge has previously served as vice chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party.

Hodge calls democracy “A contact, not a spectator sport; you’ve got to get involved.” He urged members of the audience to involve themselves in political campaigns, saying, “Work it! Sacrifice your time, your talent, to ensure democracy is still here for your children.”

Hodge also named the upcoming election the most important of our lifetime, stating, “The Republic is at stake,” and said his opponent, disregarding all evidence to the opposite, actually voted against election certification of the 2020 election.

The audience also applauded a local School Board Candidate who supports the bond and override, as well as School Superintendent Cain Jagodzinski and former Superintendent Patrick Sweeney, who explained what the school district needs the tax money for.

Although there is some community pushback against the measures, the vote will put back into place the taxes residents have paid to support local schools in the past. So, supporting the bond/override means no new taxes, according to Sweeney. Fountain Hills owns and operates its own highly-rated school district. To guarantee its continuance, he said the district needs voter support.