Who is on the Fountain Hills Town Council? What to know
Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this article mischaracterized the outcome of an ethics investigation that arose while Allen Skillicorn was an Illinois state lawmaker. The investigation found no wrongdoing.
The small town of Fountain Hills sits at the northeastern most edge of the Valley and is home to roughly 24,000 people, as well as one of the most divisive and most politically charged town councils in Maricopa County.
Each council member serves a four-year term. Their elections are staggered, meaning half of the Town Council goes up for reelection every two years.
During the election in 2022, a new class of right-leaning officials joined the town's leadership and have been engaged in a hyper-partisan tug-of-war with their more liberal colleagues ever since, despite local government positions being non-partisan.
Their disagreements range from how they can secure tens of millions of dollars to fix local roads, to whether they should begin their meetings with an invocation prayer or a moment of silence.
The town's residents will have to depend on their six council members to sort out those issues and many more during the remainder of their terms. Here are the people in charge of getting that job done.
Vice Mayor Peggy McMahon
McMahon was last elected to the Town Council in 2020 and will be up for reelection in 2024.
She's a retiree who spent her 35-year career working as a paralegal working in the "estate planning and taxation areas of law," which included stints at the Snell & Wilmer law firm and JPMorgan.
Gerry Friedel
Friedel is halfway through his current term, which will expire at the beginning of 2025.
An Illinois native who moved to Fountain Hills six years ago, he spent decades working in the banking and finance industries, including nearly 22 years as a loan officer and another 17 years as a financial planner.
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Sharron Grzybowski
Grzybowski is the last member of the class of Fountain Hills officials elected in 2020.
She served on the town's Community Services Advisory Commission before being elected and has held various jobs throughout her life, ranging from a position as a bank teller to the owner of a small fitness center.
Brenda Kalivianakis
Kalivianakis is a member of the new class of Fountain Hills officials who won her seat in 2022.
She's a retired lawyer from Illinois who spent her career working as a prosecutor in the Assistant State’s Attorney’s Office and as a private criminal defense attorney. She also serves in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.
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Allen Skillicorn
Skilicorn is an influential member of the Fountain Hills Town Council's freshman class. He describes himself as a "serial entrepreneur owning multiple small businesses" and the "executive director for good government group Grassroots Revolution." He also previously served as a state lawmaker in Illinois.
An Illinois state investigator “found against” Skillicorn in response to an allegation that he had been recorded voting on bills while he was out of town in 2019, according to a local news outlet. The ethics issue was ultimately dropped because the investigator found no evidence that Skillicorn had knowingly allowed anyone to cast a vote for him.
Skilicorn lost his 2020 reelection bid to the Illinois Legislature and later resigned before his term was officially up.
Hannah Toth
Toth is the youngest member of the Fountain Hills Town Council at just 24 years old.
She graduated from Arizona State University with bachelor’s degrees in sports business and business law. She works for the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce in events and marketing.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who is on the Fountain Hills Town Council?