Who Gets Heard Under a ROT Council Majority?
At a recent Fountain Hills Town Council meeting, two members of the Phillippi family waited nearly four hours before they were finally able to address the Council under the revised Call to the Public process adopted by the current Council majority and Mayor Gerry...
Town, Local Nonprofits Pay the Price for Friedel & Co.’s Culture War Politics
Friedel’s hypocrisy is on full display as he praises Republic Services for its long-standing commitment to Fountain Hills. "A hypocrite is a person who has the audacity to act as if they are building the house, while they are secretly pulling out the foundation." —...
An Emboldened Friedel is Now Gaslighting us From the Dais
Gerry Friedel is no stranger to gaslighting. During his 18 months in office, Friedel has engaged in gaslighting on issues ranging from the reason he ordered the press table removed from the council chambers to the reason the River of Time Museum is facing eviction....
A Tale of Two Standards: River of Time Museum, Friedel
The ROT majority invokes the Arizona Constitution to justify the ouster of the River of Time Museum, but ignores it to protect Gerry Friedel. In January the members of the board of directors of the River of Time Museum were advised that they had eight months to come...
Arrogance or Ignorance?
Why would Gerry Friedel falsely accuse Ginny Dickey and Peggy McMahon of committing a federal crime months after the Town bailed him out for doing the same thing? One would have hoped that Friedel would have learned from recent experience that falsely accusing someone...
Why Did Ben & Gerry Lie About the Funding For The Lake Liner?
In the opening days of the campaign, Town Council candidate Ben Larrabee and mayoral candidate Gerry Friedel appear to be intent on supporting their candidacy by inciting anger and fueling toxic partisanship with lies. In a recent post, Larrabee claims that “during...
Friedel and His Personal Attorney Jennifer Wright are Teeing Up Even More Litigation for Us to Pay for
With all of the Notices of Claim and Open Meeting Law complaints pending against the Town of Fountain Hills arising out of the unconstitutional acts of the Town Council, the Park Place debacle, and Jennifer Wright’s ineptitude, you would think that the last thing she...
Friedel: It’s a “Privilege” for Residents to Speak in My Town Council Chambers, Not a Right
Listen to his tone, focus on his expression, assess his demeanor. Is THIS a leader, or a tyrant who uses the power of the position to silence his critics? When Fountain Hills Mayor Gerry Friedel scowled and squinted downward — unwilling to look his audience in the...
The State of Our Town: Looking Back on a Chaotic Year
One year ago, Mayor Friedel opened his first State of The Town meeting with the following observation: “(i)t is important that we don’t deal in drama – we send the drama down to the theatre…the theatre deals in drama, we have town business to conduct.” ...
Town Council: We Have Seen What Extreme Partisanship Looks Like. Is This What We Want?
For more than a century, local elections in Arizona have been nonpartisan. Arizona law (A.R.S. § 9‑821.01) requires that municipal ballots for mayors and councilmembers show no political party affiliation. The long-standing practice and the statute are based on the...
Fountain Hills Government
Fountain Hills deserves accountable leadership that values community voices. Since early 2025, key avenues for public input have been weakened — including the Code of Ethics and Call to the Public — limiting residents’ ability to raise concerns and hold officials responsible for their decisions.
We are committed to restoring transparency, strengthening participation, and supporting leadership that welcomes public input rather than shutting it out. Together, we can ensure that local government — from Town Council to public schools — remains responsive to the people it serves.
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