First, I would like to wish everyone the happiest of days on this 242nd anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. Happy birthday, America. Happy Independence Day, everyone.

Enjoy today in peace and give special thanks to all who make our democracy work; from elected officials to judges, to civil servants, to our armed forces and first responders, to teachers and other educators and to all others who participate in the process of maintaining our freedoms.

Please pray for our students that they may learn about democracy and freedom, for our teachers that they may teach about it and for our legislators that they may make laws that preserve it.

Second, regarding the mayoral debate last week. It was not boring. I was happy to see so many people present to see it in person and hope that every other voter watches it online. I was very pleased with the excellent answers and enthusiasm of Cecil Yates, who let his passion for the town shine through in his answers.

I wish I had seen the same passion and enthusiasm from Ginny Dickey, who seemed to have prepared written responses and read from them in a passionless manner and, sometimes, hardly addressed the question actually asked.

It is evident that both Cecil and Ginny love the town, but I think Cecil is better prepared to lead the council and town staff, to listen to the residents and to create the teams that are so necessary to keep Fountain Hills the wonderful town that it is. My vote is for Cecil and I recommend that you vote for him also.