An Arizona town council has taken action against the so-called “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” policies. In a 5 to 2 vote, the Fountain Hills Town Council passed a resolution banning “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) practices by Town employees and officials.
The resolution was authored by Fountain Hills Councilman Allen Skillicorn with the assistance of the Goldwater Institute. Skillicorn said the best part was the banning of pronouns in emails.
“In compliance with this ordinance staff shall promptly issue a directive to end invested and identification-based pronoun usage to best achieve the policy outlined in this ordinance and remove any reference to their identifying pronouns from town email signatures and other forms.”
I voted for this! pic.twitter.com/WGtd5lOPGo
— Skillicorn for Arizona (@allenskillicorn) March 7, 2025
The Town Council passed the resolution banning the divisive DEI policies at its Tuesday March 4, 2025 meeting.
“I talk a lot about how Fountain Hills is open for business,” Skillicorn said. “Tonight, I get to join Amazon, Disney, Ford, Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s, McDonald’s, Molson Coors, Pepsi, and Toyota in rejecting divisive DEI policies. In the public sector, the Supreme Court ruled that most forms of affirmative action were unconstitutional in 2023. Our town joins the Federal Government, Department of Education, and many states banning divisive DEI.”
Councilmembers Gayle Earle, Rick Watts, and Skillicorn joined Vice Mayor Hannah Toth and Mayor Gerry Friedel in favor of the resolution.
Councilwoman Peggy McMahon voted against it while Councilmember Brenda Kalivianakis abstained from the vote.