The Fountain Hills Town Council decided unanimously years ago to provide all mail-in voting for local issues. That effort was undermined by the Legislature…forcing us to hold elections in the fall, disenfranchising thousands of Independent residents in the primary, and politicizing municipal elections.

At least in the general, every registered Fountain Hills voter should have received a ballot in the mail. If you didn’t get yours, call 602-506-1511 (Maricopa County) for assistance, or see http://recorder.maricopa.gov/web/faqs.aspx.

If you did get a ballot, but haven’t mailed it in, your ballot must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, 11/4, to be counted. If you have any doubt, bring it to Fountain Hills Town Hall.

To see if your ballot has been counted, go to https://voter.azsos.gov/VoterView/AbsenteeBallotSearch.do. (You need your driver’s license or voter ID#). When I checked, my ballot was “received and counted.”

I voted for candidates who support equal pay for equal work, increasing the minimum wage and intend to invest in public education, like Fred DuVal for Governor. Additionally, DuVal and Paula Pennypacker (for Senate) overwhelmingly respect women’s privacy, knowing we have the wherewithal to make our own decisions.

Rather than live in fear and binding ideology, I prefer optimism and positive, goal-oriented action. Making the news should be a good thing for Arizona…attracting families, businesses and visitors… instead of as an outlet for national ridicule.

With leaders like Fred DuVal as Governor and Paula Pennypacker in the Senate, we can be a welcoming, vibrant, exciting state with a bright future.