By Pam Cap.
If you watched the November 4th Fountain Hills Town Council meeting, you would have witnessed chaos once again. Since January, under Gerry Friedel’s lead, our council has appeared clueless and directionless most of the time. Councilmembers yelling over each other. Members unable to make motions correctly. Friedel gaveling only those he disagrees with. But now he is ratcheting up his deplorable behavior.
Friedel interrogated a longtime resident prior to allowing her to speak during the call to public. Demanding to know where she lives? And where she was speaking from? Now, that’s an unusual question. Well, Gerry, she is a longtime resident of Fountain Hills and she is speaking to you from the council chambers. It seemed obvious.
Friedel has never asked anyone from Turning Point USA or the MAGA party about their residency before they spoke before the council. They were welcomed with open arms. But a decade-long resident, open member of the LGBTQ+ community who has spoken before Friedel many other times gets interrogated about whether she lives in Fountain Hills currently or not? Why?
It appears a few things can be true. You decide. The previous call-to-public speakers hurt Friedel’s feelings? Friedel is racist, misogynistic, homophobic, weak, and/or incompetent? In my opinion, all the above.
A strong leader is one who welcomes others’ opinions and ideas. Incompetent leaders are ignorant of the rules and laws. They rely on insults and intimidation. Friedel is leading us to the “Show me your papers!” stage of Project 2025. This is just another example of Friedel challenging and stomping on people’s Constitutional rights. Is this really what residents wanted when they voted for Gerry Friedel?
A little truth bomb for you. No one is required to carry an ID to go shopping or attend a council meeting.
