Inside Mesa

Well, we have four people running or at least interested in being a candidate for Mayor of Mesa….Pat Gilbert, Esq. of MesaCAN was the first to declare his candidacy.Rex Griswold, Councilman District 5, has appointed an exploratory committee.Vice Mayor Walters will possibly run. She is weighing her options - I shadowed Walters during a leadership program and was so impressed with her knowledge and ability to communicate with people skillfully and respectfully.Tom Freestone says he is definitely running and building is campaign team; he is a former State Senator. With Freestone running Arizona Republican Party Chairman Matt Salmon, decided not to run because Freestone and he are friends; he says he’ll still serve somewhere in Mesa. Any ideas where he might want to plug in — councilmember? Would he even consider it?Who would you think is more capable if all do run? Walters says a person needs to know the financial situation in Mesa. There are so many issues that a new mayor will face, like financing the future. How secure are we? How far into the future have we planned that is financially solid? How much money do we really have?Other considerations:– the GM proving grounds; what kind of ideas can come out of this project as builders look at it and want to improve it. Will it be housing? Factory space? Warehousing? Sports Arena? Education? Medical facility? A park, police station, fire station, a small mall shopping center?– how about Williams Gateway? A definite area that needs our supports and looked at seriously as it is a growing major development in southeast Mesa. Who will best be equipped to bring new jobs, enhance higher education and support the groundwork for Williams Gateway to be a relief for Sky Harbor Airport?– then there’s the primary property tax. Can Mesa survive without this tax when we have already seen the complications and the cutbacks; how it’s affected our city. Have we learned anything?Freestone says absolutely no tax, Gilbert won’t shy away from it but thinks we should use our revenue more thoughtfully and efficiently. Griswold says the same and that we need to use our resources more effectively. Walters realizes we’re a big city and that we need to embrace it and start acting like a big city; she sees this as the greater issue.We have a new business manager and new chief of police, both of which have been praised for their excellent skills and financial accountability. Are they doing the best for our city?Who do you trust to run our fair city in the coming years? With these tough questions at stake we are going to need some tough answers. Can we meet this challenge?