Fountain Hills Republicans recently heard from several candidates for election at its August meeting.

Ralph Heap and David Marshall are running for the Corporation Commission; Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee is running for Arizona’s Superintendent for Public Instruction; and Cody Reim is running for the Legislative District 3 open House seat.

Arizona Congressman David Schweikert also spoke about the nation’s massive debt problem and offered ways to reduce the debt, said club spokesperson Chris Brant.

Kimberly Yee said she canceled business dealings with Ben and Jerry’s ice cream because the company decided to support and back the “Palestine terrorists” over Israel, said Brant.

Yee shared her family history. Her grandparents owned a store in south Phoenix in the 1930s. She graduated from Pepperdine University and worked with California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Returning to Arizona and later being elected to the State Senate, Yee became the Major Leader; only the second female to do so, the first being Sandra Day O’Connor.

Yee has eyes on the state’s highest education position and wants to use early phonics instruction in the classroom and improve students’ academic results in reading and math.

Cody Reim’s goal is to win the open seat in the State House Representative for Legislative District 3. Reim would take over from Alex Kolodin who is running for Secretary of State. Reim briefly lived in Fountain Hills but is now a resident with his wife and four children in Rio Verde, Brant said.

Reim focused his message on Arizona’s water supply, particularly with the ongoing situation in the Rio Verde Foothills.

Another issue he spoke about was the state’s budget over recent years. Brant explained that Reim expressed concerns of Governor Katie Hobbs’ administration’s financial mismanagement, including accusations of reckless spending, raising questions about transparency and accountability.

Ralph Heap and David Marshall are both currently serving in the State House and their concerns are that the current commissioners are going too easy on the actions of Arizona Public Service (APS). The Heap/Marshall team believes in the technology incorporated in the new line of small nuclear reactors but those will not come online for a number of years, said Brant.

Heap and Marshall are concerned with APS reliance on expensive wind farms and their plans of the shutting-down of local coal-fired electricity generating stations in Northern Arizona, Brant said. They also believe there is too much rubber stamping of what APS is doing and, therefore, the result is increase in electricity bills for customers.

Upcoming events

The next GOP Social will be Wednesday, Sept. 24, where all conservatives, Republicans and like-minded Independents are invited to attend. There are no formal speeches since this is a social event to get to know one another better.

The GOP Social will be held at Parkview Tap House, 16828 E. Parkview Ave.

The club will also hold its monthly Saturday Get-Together at Euro Pizza Cafe (12645 N. Saguaro Blvd.) Saturday, Sept. 6, at 9 a.m.

This is also a no-host event and a social activity, so no speeches are allowed. Join fellow conservatives for coffee, tea and/or breakfast.

Further information about the Fountain Hills Republican Club’s meetings and events can be viewed by visiting fountainhillsrepublicanclub.com or visit facebook.com/FountainHillsRepublicanClub.