Mike Scharnow would make a great addition to the town council.

Mike’s passion for this town and making it a better place to live has been demonstrated the past three decades through his tireless work at the newspaper and in a myriad of other community and faith causes – church elder, Noon Kiwanis president, Sister Cities Committee, coaching youth sports and more.

I’ve grown closer to Mike and seen his leadership skills in action through work with the Fountain Hills Coalition. As a board member of the Coalition, Mike has provided direction and policy decisions for this drug-prevention group for the last eight years.

As program manager for the coalition, I’ve worked closely with Mike and the other board members as we implement prevention programs and strategies to reduce drug and alcohol usage among our young people in Fountain Hills. And it is working!

A key component of our coalition is collaboration – working with more than a dozen sectors in the community to bring together local leaders who are passionate about our kids. Mike cares enough about our youths that he remains active in the Coalition despite his busy work schedule and other outside volunteer activities.

Collaboration and bringing various groups together need to be a key component of our future town council as well, since we will have several new faces on the council to help guide our growth, economic development, budget challenges and more.

Mike is the perfect guy to be a part of this leadership effort. He has no hidden agendas and has covered local issues for decades as an award-winning journalist. Who could be more qualified?

I like Mike, and will be voting for him for town council and hope you do, too!