I have lived in Fountain Hills for 25 years, and during that time I have voted in lots of elections, with the good and bad that goes with politics.

The other day I received a flyer that felt far beyond what our town represents. It was a blistering takedown of Cindy Couture, who is running for Town Council. Aside from the questionable veracity of the flyer, I was struck and taken aback by the meanness of it. Who could possibly be bringing such low behavior to our small-town politics? It took some looking, but there in very fine print was a note that it was funded by a PAC for Allen Skillicorn.

While I had seen his separate flyer, I wondered who he is to stoop so low in our town? Mr. Skillicorn, I see you are new here, moving recently to Fountain Hills from my home state of Illinois. I tried to contact you through your website, but all it did was sign me up, no way to open dialogue. So, in place of being able to speak directly to you, here is my plea: Feel free to run for office but please respect the civility of our small town. Mailing all residents vicious takedowns of another candidate is not civil, and not how so many of us who value our community treat each other.