Whimsical Woodland: Autocrat Mayor Undermines Staff
In Show of Self-Serving Favoritism, Friedel Rejects Rules to Make His Own. First, let’s recognize a mostly gorgeous exhibition of seasonal spirit and festive celebration with the Community Center holiday tree and wreath display! The theme this year was Whimsical...
Jennifer Wright Officially Joins Team ‘Hide the Ball’
Gerry Friedel and his four teammates have accomplished little during the first year of the ROT administration. Our streets are still in bad shape, and no plan has even been suggested as to how, given our current revenue, we could possibly pay to fix them. There has...
Do You Remember Mayoral Candidate Friedel Running on ‘Transparency’? We Do!
“In a chaotic discussion wherein Mayor Gerry Friedel had Sheriff’s deputies clear the council chamber of the audience, Fountain Hills Town Council voted 5-2 to remove open public comment and personal councilmember updates from future agendas.” Do you remember...
A Town Attorney Appointment Undermining Public Trust
It has been three months since the Fountain Hills Town Council belatedly approved the Professional Services Agreement appointing Timothy La Sota, PLC, a firm that twice sued the Town, to serve as Town Attorney. Although Jennifer Wright’s name does not appear in the...
Fountain Hills Officials Punished a Paper for Coverage They Don’t Like
Right-Wing Town Officials Decided to Remove a Media Table for the Local Paper in Retaliation Over Negative Coverage We have seen this 2025 edition of the Fountain Hills Town Council -- not each member, but rather, a usual majority bloc -- strip away the ability for...
A Second Homeschooling Candidate Resigns from the FHUSD Governing Board
On October 11, 2025, Madicyn Reid resigned her position as a member of the Fountain Hills Unified School District (FHUSD) Governing Board. The resignation was effective immediately and follows the February 20, 2024, resignation of Libby Settle. Both Reid and Setttle...
Councilmember McMahon Rebukes Move to Restrict Public Participation
Fountain Hills Times Independent, Nov. 19, 2025: "In a chaotic discussion wherein Mayor Gerry Friedel had Sheriff’s deputies clear the council chamber of the audience, Fountain Hills Town Council voted 5-2 to remove open public comment and personal...
No – Our Voice & Right to Speak Is Not a ‘Toy’ to Be Taken
We will describe the meeting exactly as it unfolded. The Tuesday, Nov. 18, Fountain Hills Town Council session was a disorderly spectacle of historic scale. The council’s majority — the usual suspects — eliminated public speech by dismantling the formal Call to the...