The great Fountain Hills political eyesore sign war has begun, with the first salvo tossed out by none other than Reclaim Our Town (ROT), the political action committee that brought you the 2022 “Golden Ticket,” complete with agitator Allen Skillicorn.

Along Shea, you'll see signs with their new battle cry: “Mayor Dickey and her comrades support leftist ideas," erroneously branding the woman who has led our town to great success over the past six years.

Did you know that our town elections are nonpartisan? Well, at least they were, up until ROT decided that Fountain Hills has a “we” and a “they.” The ROT strategy is to foment fear and divisiveness. They want you to be afraid of rising crime (Fountain Hills is one of the safest places in the nation); homeless people (of which there seem to be two); squatters (of which there seem to be none); "drug houses" and even apartment-dwellers.

Perhaps we can’t avoid polarization on the national front but, really, is there any good reason to tolerate this in Fountain Hills? There’s nothing partisan about overseeing our parks, events and festivals, police and fire departments, emergency medical services, public art, streets, sewers, signs and encouraging business and tourism.

No, the Dickey-led council is not marked by “leftist” spending. In fact, in 2023, our town accumulated $3.5 million more than budgeted (largely from sales tax, licenses and permits) and spent $2.5 million less than anticipated. Our new town manager and her team are hitting it out of the park.

This year, ROT is supporting Gerry Friedel for mayor and Gayle Earle, Rick Watts, Robert Wallace and Mathew Corrigan. Don’t make the same mistake. Retain Mayor Dickey and Councilperson Peggy McMahon. Vote for Clayton Corey and Independent Henry Male.

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.