Congratulations to the newly elected Town Council members and mayor. And thanks to those who entered the contest for these important positions but did not achieve the position. Also, a special thanks to all those who studied the issues/candidates and then voted not only in these two purely local elections, but also for other candidates in the Aug. 2 primary election. Without informed voters, our democratic republic cannot survive.

Now we must look ahead to the Nov. 8 General Election, where we have many choices at the county and state level, as well as another purely local choice in FHUSD Governing Board. As a part of a club objective to educate voters, this Saturday, Aug. 20, the Fountain Hills Republican Club will be hosting four candidates who will appear on the November ballot. First to appear will be three candidates for the FHUSD Governing Board, Madicyn Reid, Judy Rutkowski and Libby Settle. They will be followed by Blake Masters, candidate for U.S. Senate. Everyone is invited to attend this meeting and learn a little more about the candidates.

Hopefully some larger organization such as the Chamber of Commerce or the FHCCA can host a forum for all the FHUSD candidates in a longer time period, where more issues can be explored so that we all can get a better understanding of the candidates. I take for granted that our local Fountain Hills Times newspaper will once again provide their valuable service and provide questions and answers from all the FHUSD candidates as they did the Town Council and mayor candidates earlier this year and in past years for various local elections.