We live in a community that has unique growing pains.  These are caused by the explosive growth, of all of the great people who have moved here as well as many of the challenges that were given to all of us by a lack of planning by the Pinal County Board of Supervisors. 

Many of you may not know that about 70% of our community was planned for development at the County Level before we were even a city.   This combined with the State Highway that runs through the center of our community and intersects with a high volume Railroad, both of which are autonomous and not able to be regulated by the City of Maricopa, offer all of us challenges very few communities have ever had to deal with. 

On top of that, Maricopa has grown from 1048 people to over 30,000 in about 4 years. We incorporated and established ourselves as a brand new city.  At times the challenges we have faced have seemed to be insurmountable.  With the great community we have built together in the last four years, we have met every challenge, though not without a few hiccups, head on and are building a community with a solid future.

Some of the questions we have been asked about:

City Hall

Maricopa is poised to be the dominating city in Pinal County.  It is vital that we make strong responsible steps to build the bedrock of our city center.  A focal point of the City Center will be our City Hall. To build City Hall without proper planning and well thought out development would be our biggest mistake. 

When Council started looking for land to purchase, our initial focus was on the downtown area.   Studies prove, that an investment like a City Hall attracts many other prime economic generators. 

Our investment in City Hall needs to benefit as many as it can, not just a few speculative developers. 

When the City Council got sidetracked with a potential land purchase for City Hall on Highway 238, the “Peed Property”, I fought it!  I was able to show that while this property would be ideal for something like a Publics Works Facility, putting City Hall in the middle of prime commercial / industrial land zoned for major employment would be the wrong direction for Maricopa.  I was successful in stopping this mistake, and redirecting the Council back to the core of our city where we are currently envisioning our City Hall.

Downtown Redevelopment

We don’t need Downtown “re”development we need Downtown DEVELOPMENT.  Economic Development has been one of my major pushes since we became a city and this year we have finally gotten to the point where Downtown Development could become a major priority.  I have been working diligently with our staff, Vice-Mayor Murphree, and great local citizens on a Downtown Development plan that will take us into the future. 

This exciting project we are working on will entail a downtown walking mall type environment.  This will encourage small businesses, is family friendly, and is anchored by a new City Hall.  There will also be a place for people to meet and be entertained in an outdoor type amphitheater.  This project will provide some intelligent loft type housing developments, evening entertainment with restaurants and clubs, centers of higher learning and a major Health Care Center for our citizens.

A large portion of this plan includes one of the most aggressive, time sensitive mechanisms for getting Maricopa an overpass for the Railroad Tracks.  I was able, with the help of staff to budget, in this current budget, the finances to enable the next step, which is hiring the right downtown development consultants to move us down this road. 

Economic Development

While Rome may have not been built in a day, Maricopa has blossomed overnight.  30,000 friends moved here, retail stores, small businesses, and restaurants have opened. While we would all like these necessities to continue opening even faster, in reality much of what has happened has happened at warp speed. 

We must continue pushing this retail commercial development.  Maricopa has places to live, the beginning of places to shop, but very few places to work.  With your help, the help of one of the premier Economic Developers in America, and focused responsible Developmental Aids, we are on the verge of being able to offer shovel-ready sites with utilities at hand to handle some major employers moving to Maricopa.

Our citizens are some of the most educated, skilled people in America and we have what employers want, YOU.  We’re close to pushing the infrastructure needs to areas slated for commercial development.  Commercial developers and landowners in Maricopa are seeing the vision, and following through with the work needed to make this a reality. 

When you live, work and play in Maricopa you won’t waste precious hours driving, instead you will spend that time with your family.

Education

My concern for our city’s future is on behalf of my four children. This translates into a deep care for your children, and the prospects for their future.  While the Maricopa School District is its own governmental entity our City Leaders must give them the best opportunities for success. 

When this means fighting the Home Builders Association on providing our schools a way around development fees, then that is what I have done. 

If it means aggressively pushing for Charter Schools to offer their type of learning environment here, then I will continue fighting for them. 

Many children need different types of learning environments, and while today my children attend school at MUSD, for 8 years my amazing wife Cindy, homeschooled all of our children, so we understand those dynamic needs as well.

Let’s not stop, we need to continue working with, and helping to establish college, and higher learning institutions in Maricopa.  Continuing education for our adults and seniors needs to be a focus for us, so that we will continue to become the premier city in Arizona and America.  If people “fail for lack of knowledge” let that not be said for us.

Recreation

While most of our city departments are great, our Parks & Recreation Department has accomplished more than anyone in America would have thought possible.  The youth leagues, adult sports programs and big events like, Founder’s Day, Salsa Festival and our Fourth of July Celebration are the threads that weave our City into a Community of Friends. 

I will be the first to admit that I had doubts about Mr. McDonald’s leadership, but he has grown to become one of the leaders of what is becoming the new Maricopa.  Our Council must keep this growing and developing with strategic new parks, dog parks, and a trail system that link our city.  We must develop more programs for the teenagers in Maricopa.  This is vital.  This is critical. We must push harder to succeed in this. 

Active Adult programs must be encouraged and delivered for our citizens. 

While the slowing housing market will have an affect on the cities near future, we must strategically put resources in building a library system for all of us. 

The stress of life sometime just needs to be broken by a walk in the park, a friendly softball game or watching our children play on a slide.

Small Business

70% of working adults work in a small business.  Small business is the driver of America.  Small business is going to play a critical role in the future of Maricopa.  Our government must do everything in its power to enable those brave people who risk everything to start a business, to succeed. 

Our government must clear out some of the obstacles they have put in their way.  Silly things like our anti-balloon law must be changed.  Not that I think balloons will make a business succeed, it’s just that when government makes laws because they can instead of because they should, that same government demoralizes those fighting to feed their families and employ our citizens. 

The City Council must readdress the sign ordinance and fix its mistakes.  This is one big area that must be remedied and done now, especially with the slowing economy we may be dealing with. 

Being a small business owner most of my adult life has given me insight into these issues, and my experiences with success, and failure in business has allowed me to be the strongest voice for our businesses in Maricopa.

Transportation

This is the most frustrating topic in Maricopa.  I’ve sat for hours beside you waiting on a wreck on 347, trying to get to Phoenix.  I’ve watched our community change from one where you honked your horn to say “Hi,” to now, using it as a clearing device as you’re trying to get through an intersection without a traffic light. 

The biggest problem is that for every huge step we make to fix the traffic problems, the growth overwhelms whatever gains were made.  Council has little say over 347; a state highway controlled by ADOT.  Council has little say over the Railroad through town.  The Pinal County Board of Supervisors and their lack of planning when they planned most of our city before we were a city hamstrung our community.

There is a plan to deal with these challenges.  Focused work with ADOT and the Governor has enabled Maricopa to get more than it’s share of state resources.  Continued alliances with the Gila River and Ak-Chin Indian communities are forming plans for alternate routes and innovative roadways. 

The downtown development plan I have led, and employment growth will make a difference. Multi-modal transportation options must be continued.

Why do I want to be a council member and what are my top three priorities?

Number one reason; it’s a complex, exciting challenge that is fun. I am a leader that critically sees all sides of each issue and am able to focus on the far-reaching impacts that each small decision makes. 

We must have leaders who can see farther than next week or the next election and will make hard decisions for the future of Maricopa.  I always have and always will ask the hard questions.  I don’t dance around issues but meet them head on. Wrong choices, done for the right reasons, are still the wrong choices.

We need leadership that is beholden to no one but the citizens if Maricopa.  We need no hidden agendas.  With me, you get what you see and Maricopa needs someone like me who is not afraid to confront each issue. Maricopa needs strong leaders to continue fixing problems in City Hall. We need a change in Maricopa and I have been at the forefront of the changes that are occurring in City Hall.

Priorities:          1. Financial viability in a down turning economy

                        2. Economic Development the brings good employment and self sustainability

                        3. Making Maricopa safe at home, at play and driving on the streets

What specifically would you have the council do to deal with your top priorities?

I feel like it has taken me four years to finally get the Council to begin turning down the path that we are heading.  I used to be the lone voice of reason on the Council and finally my continued call to responsibility, and the help of Maricopa’s citizens, the Council is finally getting on the right track. 

We will have a new Mayor in Maricopa, we will have at least one new councilmember and I hope the voters in Maricopa will insist with me, that these people be strong and committed to change.

I voted against giving our outgoing City Manager a “sweet deal” and much of the call to transparency and an open government was started by me. We must continue these positive changes. 

We must grow by wisely investing in infrastructure that causes a multiplying effect on our economy.  Economic Development and a new Downtown plan will positively impact the traffic problems and this new path must be continued. A strong Police and Fire Department must be supported.  We need to have definitive plans for our City Hall and Libraries.

City Hall must be responsive to development, business and most especially our citizens.

What is it about me that make me best suited for the position?

Leadership. I have been asked by many people, why didn’t I run for Mayor.  I was pushed hard to run for the Pinal County Board of Supervisors.  My name keeps getting circulated to run for the State House of Representatives.  But Maricopa is my home. 

My children are growing up here. My business is here.  My employees work and live here.  I have a vested interest in the success of Maricopa.  While I didn’t grow up here, my family has history here. I have a vested interested in making Maricopa the best community in Arizona. I have had many opportunities to “take the next step” but there is still so much to be done and we are finally turning towards the right direction. 

Much change still needs to happen. Maricopa needs a leader with vision and foresight.  Maricopa needs someone who will fight for its citizens and no one in Maricopa fights harder for you than me.  I look forward to the fresh breath new members of the Council will bring, but no one will speak louder and clearer for the citizens of Maricopa.

What would my legacy as a council member be?

A legacy is what you leave behind when you are gone.  Maricopa has a rich heritage, built on hard work, strong values and good families.  All of us that now live in Maricopa have a responsibility to build upon that foundation that was started over 50 years ago.  But we can’t live in the past, we must move to the future. 

We must build a city for our children and their children.  Maricopa sits at unique crossroads juxtaposition between what is and what can be. The legacy that Pinal County left caused most of the challenges we are dealing with.  Together we can build a community that we would want our children to raise our grandchildren in.  We don’t have that yet. 

We need to bring the amazing, wide ranging and diverse backgrounds that all of us brought to Maricopa and make it collectively better than they are by themselves.  I hope my legacy is that I was a part of bringing all of us together to build a city for tomorrow.   A city your grandchildren can walk down the street to play in the park and wave at all of their neighbors.  Our future will be my legacy.