Fountain Hills Town Council
Fountain Hills, Arizona. (LD3 (fka LD23), Maricopa County)

Fountain Hills is my hometown. I was born and raised here, and unfortunately have seen a not-so-uncommon pattern of the Town Council not listening to the concerns of those they are elected to represent. After 2020, it became increasingly clear to me that more "normal" citizens needed to step up in all levels of government. I got tired of complaining about it, or waiting for an "adult" to swoop in and fix things, and decided to do it myself.

1. Sign Ordinance - After the peak of the 2020 lockdowns, our town council passed a "sign ordinance" preventing businesses from advertising. As we know, the COVID lockdowns hit local businesses very hard, so this ordinance added insult to injury to business owners just trying to keep the lights on. It's very important to me to revisit this and fix it as possible for the sake of our business community.
2. Fiscal Responsibility - We have a significant amount of wasteful spending in Fountain Hills, despite having a balanced budget, the council's priorities do not match those of the residents. Residents want pot holes filled, sidewalks fixed, and neighborhoods to be kept safe. The current council majority and town staff pushes for $400,000 studies on the possibility of a two-lane roundabout that would cost upwards of $8 million to build (for context, that is just over 1/4 of our entire annual budget), or $375,000 shade structures. While several of these ideas would be lovely, they cannot override the core purposes of government, like fixing roads.
3. Transparency - While this issue is slightly more vague, I hold it in very high importance. Growing up in Fountain Hills, there seems to be multiple times that the residents vote something down, and then it ends up happening anyway. Or, the residents and volunteer commissions make it clear that they want a particular project/ordinance/etc, and the town government shoots it down, giving little to no explanation as to why. And the explanations, most of the time, just don't add up. In a recent residents' survey, the lowest score for our current town gov was on transparency. For those of us that have lived here a while, that is not a surprising figure. This goes back to my "more normal people need to run for office" argument. It's important to be honest with the people who elected you, and that's something that is severely lacking at most levels of government.

Fountain Hills, Arizona has a median age of 59. I'm (to my knowledge) the youngest person to run for office in Fountain Hills at 23 years old. I'm also the only candidate to have been born and raised in Fountain Hills (incorporated 1989).

Filing Deadline - April 4th
August 2nd - "Primary' (it's a non-partisan race. Therefore, this is technically election night)
November 8th - Election Night, if there is a run-off.

Non-Partisan local election, so election day works a bit differently. On the August 2nd primary, we'll be on both the Republican and Democrat ballots. There are 3 seats open for Town Council and 4 candidates running, so if 3 candidates get 50% of the voter pool +1 vote, the seats will be filled and there will be no run-off. If only 1 or 2 candidates get that percentage of the vote, we move onto November to fill the remaining seats.

I am a Republican. Despite this being a non-partisan election, I am very open about my leanings, as I believe it's important for people to know where I stand. For this election, we have a "slate" of 3 Conservative candidates

1. Age - While there are a lot of residents who are very excited to see a change to the status quo, a lot of work in my campaign goes to fighting to be taken seriously despite my age.
2. Staying Afloat - Running for office isn't easy, and for those of us that weren't prepped for a life in politics but instead broke in on our own, it's a crazy world to navigate. Learning to weed through all of the new challenges that pop up, figuring out who to listen to, what battles are worth picking, etc. is truly a whole new animal.

We have a huge amount of residents helping the slate of 3 candidates, and I'm also out doorknocking as often as possible. I need 5,000 votes to win - and with hard work and the help of the various clubs in town, I absolutely believe I'll win.

Me

While there's not really any official roles (this is a very grassroots campaign), this is the Toth for Town Council Team:
My dad (security / moral support)
Allyson Gottlieb ("communications" advisor / volunteer)
Dempsey Haskins (doorknocking volunteer)
Kim Duckworth (Volunteer / awesome resident)
Carol (Kim's neighbor)
Julie Heaney (my aunt)
Sandi and Al Meehan (a lovely couple in town hosting meet and greets)
And many other wonderful residents that help in various ways!

Stephanie & Summer - We've been friends since Kindergarten, and while they live in different states now, one in Hawaii and one in Florida, we've remained very close
Anna - Anna is at ASU and about to graduate in Chemical Engineering. She's the only person in my old sorority I've kept contact with
Sharyn - Sharyn is/was my boss and mentor since the summer of 2020. She is a truly incredible woman. A cancer survivor, entrepreneur, and sports business professional that has helped me in countless ways.
Courtney - Courtney just moved to DC and we met through a mutual friend, Megan. We bonded over politics, but really just became very good friends!
Kelli- Kelli is a superstar. She planned get togethers for an AZ branch of the Turning Point Group Cuteservatives, and in 2020 a bunch of us became really close friends. From movie nights to happy hours to girls' weekends, all of our meet ups were planned by Kelli. And through Kelli, the AZ group all became very close friends. Kelli and her husband are expecting their first child, Riviera, on the 4th of July.
Cristi- Cristi recently moved to AZ from New Orleans, and owns Cristi Cali Jewelry. We met through one of Kelli's events, a get away to Pine, Arizona. Although she hadn't met any of us yet, Cristi drove all the way up just to spend the weekend with us! She is such a beautiful soul and I'm very grateful to have gotten to know her over the last year.

ROT - Reclaim Our Town is a citizen-led PAC that just formed a week ago! They are working on specific issues and endorse the slate of 3 that I'm on.
Fountain Hills Republican Club - helping us get the word out
??? - We don't have a name for it, but there's a branch off from the Fountain Hills Republican Club with a few residents that is helping us to strategize as well
Republican Women of the Hills - Mainly a social women's club in town, they are helping us with various speaking engagements.
America First PAC - Jim Lamon, a candidate for Arizona Senate, is helping my campaign as well as other grassroots candidates in AZ by helping us with voter data and campaign finance
North Valley Young Republicans/Maricopa County Young Republicans - the YR's are a huge help to my campaign through volunteering, speaker opportunities, and getting the word out on social media.

Cindy Couture - Democrat

Agreed on 04-27-2022