The Fountain Hills Democratic Club (FHDC) kicks off its meeting season Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Community Center.

Six candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives will speak at the 6 p.m. meeting, according to a press release. The six Democrats are vying for the seat currently held by Republican David Schweikert.

Social time and refreshments open the event, followed by the 6:30 p.m. meeting and speakers’ presentations.

According to FHDC spokesperson Chris Clemens, the six candidates include Kurt Kroemer who has served as a CEO and senior executive at some of the country’s leading organizations including the Red Cross and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“Kroemer led crisis responses, helped sick children through their most trying times, helping make our country a better place,” Clemens said.

Another candidate is Andrew Horne, a native Arizonan and father, who says he is, “fighting for our future,” Clemens said. “Andrew will fight for universal background checks, commonsense gun safety and access to mental health care. He vows to push to invest in teachers and trade school opportunities, along with lowering the cost of college. He will advocate to protect reproductive care, lower prescription drug costs as well as strengthen Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Horne is an orthodontist and business owner who will push for “upgrading our infrastructure and water systems and invest in Arizona’s microchip, technology and defense sectors,” Clemens said.

The third candidate is Andrei Cherny. Cherny enlisted in the Navy after 9/11 and as a reserve intelligence officer saw up close the service and sacrifice given by Arizonans in uniform, Clemens said. Cherny then served as Arizona’s assistant attorney general, focusing on financial fraud and public corruption.

“He put human traffickers, drug smugglers and criminal fraud artists behind bars. Andrei introduced checking and savings accounts free of unfair bank fees that affected middle-class families, thus saving Arizona families millions of dollars,” Clemens said. “His company created one of the largest private-sector reforestation initiatives in the world, planting over 100 million trees here in Arizona, across America and around the world.”

Another candidate is Dr. Amish Shah. As an emergency room doctor, Shah traveled all over Arizona and saw first-hand the consequences of a broken healthcare system and the state’s crumbling infrastructure, Clemens said. He decided to turn the lessons he learned as an ER doctor at Mayo Clinic and Honor Health into broader public service. In 2019 he became Arizona’s first Indian American elected to Arizona’s House of Representatives.

According to Clemens, Shah has become a steadfast voice for improving healthcare for all Arizonans. He is an advocate for protecting reproductive rights and stood firm in his conviction for providing the right to vote for all Arizonans.

Also speaking is Marlene Galan-Woods. A 35-year resident of Arizona, Galan-Woods is a former journalist and mother of five. According to Clemens, Galan-Woods’ parents fled Cuba looking for a better life for their children.

While her late husband Grant Woods served as Arizona’s attorney general, Galan-Woods was exposing corruption and holding the powerful accountable during a 20-year journalism career. According to Clemens, the couple became dedicated to improving the lives of Arizona children by founding the Mesa Arts Academy within the Boys and Girls Clubs of the East Valley.

“Galan-Woods says she is ready to take the next step and is running for Congress because she refuses to sit back and watch our freedoms and liberties be attacked, while politicians do nothing about it,” Clemens said.

The final candidate running for Congress is Conor O’Callaghan who works as a managing director at BTIG, a global financial services firm. According to Clemens, this is his first run for public office, but he believes a sense of service was instilled in him by his father, a physician at Mayo Clinic and who held a public post during Democratic Governor Rose Mofford’s administration.

“He believes he is the most electable of the people currently running for this office and wouldn’t have entered if he didn’t feel strongly that is true,” Clemens said. “He feels the candidates in previous elections were ‘too left’ for the district. His main focus is going to be the economy because the district is home to many small businesses, however, he believes the water issue is number one - securing the future of Arizona’s water. He feels his candidacy offers people a fresh perspective, especially since he is not a politician.”