OPINION — Fountain Hills residents should be concerned by the increasingly ugly tone of this year's mayoral campaign.
A political advertisement produced by ROT (Reclaim Our Town) in support of mayoral candidate Gerry Friedel employs language and symbolism that many residents find offensive and demeaning. Rather than focusing on policy differences, the message seeks to ridicule and disparage Friedel's opponent, Councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis. Friedel has been asked to denounce it, but he has been as silent as a Fountain Hills summer night.
The problem does not end there. Another ROT-endorsed candidate, Ben Larrabee, an employee of Turning Point Action, the political arm of Turning Point USA — an organization frequently criticized for divisive political rhetoric — has publicly misgendered Kalivianakis. It is part of a pattern of personal attacks and disrespectful conduct that has become all too common among some of ROT's supporters and allies.
