When: Wednesday April 8, 2026 6;30PM-8:30PM
Where: Sun Lakes Country Club Phase 1 Navajo Room
Who: approximately 100 people
AGENDA
- Fifth Vice Chairman Michael Tennant announced frequently that tickets were being sold for the 50/50 raffle and the new gun raffle prior to the meeting.
- At 6:30 PM First Vice Chairman Carolyn McCorkle greeted the guests and took time to recognize the veterans and first responders as well as other elected officials in attendance.
- AZ State Legislature Senator JD Mesnard gave the Invocation and Carolyn McCorkle led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Carolyn presented the “Constitutional Minute”. This month it started with this foundational phrase from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” She expounded on this to discuss how our Declaration of Independence is having its 250th birthday in July. She also talked about the importance of the rights set forth in that document. The rights are given by God and they protect us as individuals from a tyrannical government.
- After the Constitutional Minute, she announced that the (local) National Day of Prayer will be taking place in the Oakwood Ballroom on May 7th. It is free and includes special music and speakers. She also recognized Jeanette Cline in the audience who is the organizer and who was instrumental in bringing this to Sun Lakes for us.
- Carolyn introduced our Legislative District 13 State Senator JD Mesnard who is presently serving in the AZ Senate but is a candidate for Justice of the Peace in the San Marcos District. He started with a legislative update on important bills under consideration, as well as a preview of referendums to the November ballotdue to Katie Hobbs’ vetoes of over 400 bills. At present, a big concern is that taxpayers may have to file their taxes twice, due to Hobbs’ veto of two tax conformity bills that were designed to align Arizona state tax filings with federal tax filing requirements. None of us wants to have to file an amended tax return! He introduced a bill to conform the State tax forms to the Federal tax forms which was designed to continue the Trump Tax Cuts set forth in the “Big Beautiful Bill” that we enjoyed last year at this time. However the current Governor Katie Hobbs has been challenging this by linking her signature to that bill to the passing of the AZ government budget. This is the first time in his memory that any Governor has done this since he has been in government (24 years). Because of this the taxes filed by individuals before she signs the bill might have to be filed again. In short she holds our returns hostage until she gets what she wants in the budget. The tax return paperwork would all need to be redone to take away the tax cuts and refiled if she doesn’t get what she wants. The State Legislature doesn’t want to see their constituents having to file their AZ taxes twice. The Legislature is supposed to serve 100 days but this stand off will likely drag the session out until June. If it drags on to July 1 (when the budget is due) there will be a government shutdown. Because of this the State Legislature has agreed not to hold citizens responsible for resubmitting their taxes should the Trump Tax Cuts be taken away. The republicans do not have a 2/3 majority to override vetoes by the Governor. This is an important reason to get Congressman Andy Biggs elected as Governor in November! Just to be clear, this affects only your Arizona State
Return NOT your Federal Income Tax Return! Sen. Mesnard went on to tell of some of his achievements while serving in the legislature. He was the one to propose the first Lieutenant Governor for the State of Arizona, and we will have our first one starting in November. After marijuana was legalized, he introduced the “nuisance law” regarding the smoke or odor of the drug bothering neighbors of marijuana users. People have the right to smoke marijuana but people also have the right not to have to breathe in or smell the second hand smoke of marijuana smokers. He says his stance has not been popular with the liberals in the state. He has introduced a bill to expand the General Assembly so that citizens of AZ are more effectively
represented. Currently, each State Representative represents 250,000 constituents, more than any other state. Since Senator Mesnard’s term will be expiring due to term limits, he is a candidate for San Marcos Justice of the Peace. - Next Carolyn introduced AZ State Legislator Julie Willoughby. Our Legislative District 13 Representative Julie Willoughby, who is also serving us well as the House Majority Whip, is a candidate for State Senator Mesnard’s seat. She is running unopposed in the Senate Primary. Representative Willoughby provided us with her assessment of the remainder of the current legislative session and important energy issues. Some of these included: (1) Restricting HOAs from forcing their residents to oversee their lawns and water during periods of drought, (2) Making medical records available to people within 10 business days of request, (3) Allowing parents of babies who miscarried to be given a death certificate and the remains of their child
to bury with dignity. (Presently the medical profession keeps any remains of children under 20 weeks and throws them in the trash.) Representative Willoughby told us that it has been found that every sign we display in our yard counts towards 3-5 votes at the polls. All of the candidates tonight brought yard signs to display in our yards. Here is her website: https://juliewilloughby.org/ - Next Carolyn introduced each of the 3 Arizona Corporation Commission candidates who were allowed time to speak about their candidacy in the upcoming election for the Corporation Commission. The first two speakers were incumbents and spoke together. Chair Nick Myers was elected to the ACC in 2022, bringing a background in software engineering, entrepreneurship, and regulatory advocacy following a dispute with a utility company. Learn more about him here: https://nickmyers.us/ Kevin Thompson has a mechanical engineering degree, with over 25 years of utility, regulatory, and public service experience. He joined the ACC in January 2023.Learn more about him here: https://thompsonforcorpcomm.com/ They explained that we presently have a 5-0 dominance of Republicans on the Corporation Commission. Consequently one of the first things they said they did was to get rid of the “Green New Deal”. For instance they cut 1 billion dollars out of the budget of APS and this resulted in APS having to cut back on green alternative sources of energy (windmills and solar). They are hoping to continue together to work to utilize reliable energy sources such as nuclear, natural gas, coal and fossil fuels as sources of energy in our state. The next speaker was their challenger in the upcoming Commission election, Dr. Ralph Heap. He is a retired orthopedic surgeon. As an ACC candidate, he emphasizes protecting ratepayers, opposing unnecessary utility rate hikes, defending rural communities, and resisting California-style energy policies. He is running together with former police officer David Marshall Sr, who launched a safe house for battered women, operating the ministry for seven years, and in 2005 became the pastor of Calvary Chapel Snowflake, where he continues while serving in the AZ House since 2022. Mr. Marshall was unable to attend the meeting this evening. Dr. Heap challenged the
claims of the first two speakers by showing a list of energy projects allowed to pass through the review of the AZ Corporation Commission which seem to incorporate “green new deal” ideas which promote unreliable, more expensive energy sources and restrictions on reliable energy resources. To learn more, this is his website: https://heap.vote/ The three candidates then had a time of questions and answers from the audience. - The 50/50 winner this evening won $45 and generously donated her share back to the club.
- The gun raffle will be ongoing until we sell 100 tickets at $10 each. At that point a winner will be pulled at random and informed. At that point they will go to pick up their gun and fill out the appropriate forms. We will video the pulling of the winning ticket.
- The next SLRC meeting will be Wednesday May 13 at the same location and time. The keynote speaker will be “Election Integrity and Transparency” with Secretary of State candidate and election law attorney Alex Kolodin.