PHOENIX — With the 2024 presidential election just around the corner, African American leaders in Arizona are weighing in on the key issues that matter most to their community.
Anthony Gathers, owner of Ageez Barber Shop in Phoenix and Chandler, is using his business as a platform to promote voting awareness and education among his clients.
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"I know we have to talk to the youth more about it and how important it is," Gathers said. "I hear a lot of the youth don't say my vote doesn't count."
Gathers said he's heard a number of concerns from the community members about what they think is at stake this election season.
Gathers said keeping the price of insulin down and providing affordable housing for all are important to him.
"There's a lot of houses [that] are high up right now," Gathers said. "Vice President Harris would like to make a change with that, by contributing monies to first time home buyers."
Gathers said he encouraged all people to research the topics and candidates.
"In 1965 they had the voters right act and someone paid the price for you to be able to vote," Gathers said. "You owe it to yourself to vote for someone who's going to benefit you and your family and others."
Christian Lamar, a former Arizona GOP executive, said he has voted for Trump in every election and plans to vote for him again.
"Under Trump, we had a secure border," Lamar said. "World leaders were afraid to do anything, because Trump was the president, and we saw our incomes rise and the inflation go down."
Lamar said his top three issues were protecting elections, border security/immigration, and the First Amendment.
Lamar projected Harris to win the 2024 election, citing both the lack of election integrity and the GOP's lack of participation.
"Kamala is going to win the election because of the ineffectiveness of the GOP. I don't think it's going to have anything to have anything to do with the messaging or anything like that," Lamar said. "It's all about those counties and how those ballots are counted, how the signatures are checked, the chain of custody. Are they using a software vendor? What is that software vendor doing?"
Lamar said he encouraged more people to get engaged in the political process early on.
"A lot of people want to wait until the election comes five seconds before the election, or three months before the election," Lamar said. "No. You have to be involved all the time, that's our that's our responsibility."
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