Fountain Hills voters have an important decision in July: Who should lead our town for the next two years as our mayor? With three candidates running, how do we decide?

One candidate, Joe Arpaio, defied a court order when he was the chief law enforcement officer for Maricopa County, which has so far cost taxpayers over $250 million because of his actions. That alone should automatically eliminate him from anyone’s choice.

Another candidate, Gerry Friedel, has changed from a potential leader to become just a follower of actions initiated by others. He joined onto a moratorium of 5G, after ignoring the town attorney’s advice that a moratorium is potentially illegal, but he supported it anyway. He joined others to promote a resolution that would direct the town attorney to not defend the town (and him) in the Target referendum lawsuit. Even worse, he voted in the minority to do it then tried, unsuccessfully, to justify it.

Friedel questioned the town Public Works director on a proposed improvement to the La Montana/Palisades intersection by asking for a study, which was exactly the basis of the proposal…a study. It appears he didn’t do his homework. In 2022, Friedel voted for the sign ordinance, then voted to repeal it in 2023 (against legal advice), then had to vote to reinstate it. Who influenced that?

Although Friedel touts his “nice-to-have vs. need-to-have” tagline, he voted for every capital and operations budget since he’s been on council. Never leading, he seems to just follow the lead of others and is usually unprepared with the facts.

The third candidate, Ginny Dickey, has been a proven leader who is always prepared with facts, listens to input from all sides, and then leads with the best decisions for our future. Vote for Ginny!

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.