In addition to various local elected officials and candidates, about 130 Fountain Hills Republican Club members and guests recently heard from three keynote speakers at the Republican Club’s monthly meeting in the Fountain Hills Community Center. 

The first of the keynote speakers, according to a press release, was President Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson, a lawyer, entrepreneur and ASU graduate who served on the Arizona Board of Regents.

Her priorities as governor, according to the release, would be public safety and border security, the economy, education and election integrity. 

“Taylor Robson believes that we need more law enforcement officers and more respect for law enforcement and the Rule of Law not only at the border, but everywhere in Arizona,” the release stated.

The economy is another of Taylor Robson’s concerns that she has ideas on how to improve.  “Arizona needs its own DOGE-type actions,” according to the release. “Arizona already has a state economy that is better than many states due to generations of conservative leaders and a low tax and a decent regulatory environment. But we need to find ways to have more affordable housing as we grow.”

Taylor Robson was followed by Teenage Republican (TAR) Gabriella Ehmann, a 14-year-old student at North Valley Christian Academy involved in community, charitable and school events.

Ehmann told the assembled crowd about some of her experiences and how belonging to the TARs has affected her and strengthened her beliefs, the release stated.

“She impressed the audience and showed the good that the youth of today can be,” the release continued. “There was general agreement that if more of our young people were like Gabby, this county would be in good hands.”

Ehmann will be one of the youth of Arizona going to Washington, D.C., for the TARs national convention.

The final speaker was lawyer Jennifer Wright, who has been involved in election integrity efforts for 15 years and provided a history on Arizona's “Federal Only” voters, who are voters that have not provided proof of citizenship and are therefore not eligible to vote in local and state elections.

She explained that federal law requires states to accept and use the Election Assistance Commission's federal voter registration form for federal elections, which only requires a voter to check a box affirming under penalty of perjury he is a U.S. citizen.

Although all states must register voters using the federal form, Arizona is the only state that restricts those that haven't provided proof of citizenship to only voting in federal races. The SAVE Act, passed by the U.S. House and awaiting a Senate vote, would close the loophole and require all voters to provide proof of citizenship to vote.

The next Fountain Hills Republican Club meeting will be June 21 with the other gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Representative Andy Biggs, as a keynote speaker.