Today is Election Day in the Town of Gilbert.

Up for grabs are the seats for Mayor and two members of the Town Council.

Since Don Skousen dropped out of the Mayor’s race, John Lewis is basically running unopposed. There is a write-in candidate, Glen Spencer, and although Skousen’s name is still on the ballot, votes cast for him will not be counted (per the Town of Gilbert web site).

The two Town Council seats are a different matter.

Candidates for Council are:

Jenn Daniels
Joan Krueger
Erin Scroggins
John Sentz

The top two vote getters will take their place on the Town Council. It’s probably going to be very close.

In the four years I’ve been writing here, I’ve tried to keep politics off the blog, and I’ve never “endorsed” a specific candidate.

Well, so much for that.

I’m voting for Jenn Daniels. I’ve met her in person, and I like her. She’s smart, is honest and genuine, and she truly cares about this town. That’s good enough for me.

You, oh avid reader, are of course free to vote for whomever you see fit.

You can find polling places here. Polls are open from 6:00am – 7:00pm. If you are in line at 7:00pm, you will be permitted to cast your ballot.

If you got an early voting ballot and haven’t mailed it in yet, you can drop it off at your polling place (DON’T mail it today!). If you lost your early ballot, you can cast a provisional ballot at your polling place.

The Mayor and Town Council have more control over what happens in Gilbert than any other elected body. Turnout will probably be abysmal. I encourage everyone to exercise their civic duty today. It is important, and your vote does count!

Jay’s note: I’ve invited virtually every candidate running for Gilbert Town Council and Gilbert Mayor to guest author here. John Sentz is the fourth to respond (see all Gilbert Mayor/Council guest posts here). The Gilbert primaries are March 10. Please, get out and vote! Local elected officials have far more influence over your daily life than anyone in Washington, yet historically voter turnout for these elections is abysmal.

Given the current economic environment, the Gilbert Town Council requires experienced leadership. The recent emergency landing of flight 1549 on the Hudson River best demonstrates the value of experience. Had the pilots been less experienced, the results may not have been so positive. There is no substitute for experience. I have over 30 years of experience in a leadership role in both industry and the military. I managed multi- million dollar projects for a large corporation. As a project manager, I was responsible for managing to the budget while meeting a demanding delivery schedule and achieving continuously improving quality goals. During my service as a military officer, I served in a leadership role where I was responsible for a large number of people. I received numerous awards in recognition of my leadership ability.

I have been an active volunteer on the Gilbert Planning Commission for four years. I served as the founding Chair of the Gilbert Veterans Day committee for two years and continue to serve as a committee member. I am a graduate of Gilbert Leadership and served on the board of Directors for three years. These years of service to our Town have not only educated me in the operations of various aspects of the Town and various organizations but have enabled me to give back to our community. This background and experience, coupled with my leadership role in various not for profit organizations has prepared me to serve our Town as a member of your Town Council. My service and experience are reflected in the endorsements of the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona, Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, Gilbert Small Business Alliance and The Arizona Republic.

If elected, I will work to ensure we are able to attract the businesses we need to build a strong and diversified economic base, obtain a more diversified input from residents on issues in the Town and achieve accountability in our Government. Your vote for John Sentz is a vote for Leadership, Experience, Ability and Community Commitment. Please mark your ballot for John Sentz for Gilbert Town Council.

More info is at www.sentzforcouncil.com

Jay’s note: I’ve invited virtually every candidate running for Gilbert Town Council and Gilbert Mayor to guest author here. William Jefferson is the third to respond (see all Gilbert Mayor/Council guest posts here). The Gilbert primaries are March 10. Please, get out and vote! Local elected officials have far more influence over your daily life than anyone in Washington, yet historically voter turnout for these elections is abysmal.

Gilbert is our town, we all love her. However, I want us to respect her.
As any woman knows, there are those who will tell you anything you want to hear and smile at you with broken promises.

Throughout your life, more than one silver tongue will overcome your solid reasoning. I am a thinker and a doer, a soldier for the people not to be mistaken for a bleeding heart. I am a conservative Republican that believes in man’s ability to rise to any occasion when provided with incentives.
Our town not only needs individuals who are good with facts and figures (business people). Gilbert needs individuals who recognize that any fact or figure can be manipulated. Gilbert needs persons who have the intelligence, the training and experience to ask the questions that you would ask, to scrutinize answers as you would scrutinize them and to make quick decisions for the greatest good.

Our town needs persons who have the greatest amount of experience working successfully with the greatest percentage of our highly diverse community. I possess those qualities and have shown them, unfailingly, in my leadership in many different groups, for over a quarter of a century. For several years, I have been on the board of the Gilbert Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association and have shown my respect for our officers by attending numerous functions including the candle light ceremony for fallen Gilbert Officer Rob Targosz ; I have been a board member of the Gilbert Human Relations Commission now the HRCA&P. I have been a primary planner and presenter of events for groups from fifty to one thousand persons since becoming a member of an internationally recognized fraternity in my early 20’s. As a member of the Gilbert Elks, I chaired and was a primary planner and presenter of our sunrise Salute to the fallen soldiers’ memorial on last Fourth of July. My leadership skills and experience are both wide-ranging and diverse.

I am a trained and experienced administrator, clinician, mediator and negotiator with a Masters from the University of Michigan, course work at Harvard, course work and certification from the UCLA School of Law, course work and certification from Rice University School of Business Administration and extensive training and experience as a mediator through the court systems.

I have lived in Gilbert and raised two sons for almost 20 years (13 as a single parent).

My accomplishments are unsurpassed. I am the only candidate that has been professionally trained to bring varying groups together.

As your make your selection for Gilbert Town Council, please remember that what someone has done is of greater importance than what one says that will do. We do not have time for more empty promises. Vote for William Jefferson for Council.

Jay’s note: I’ve invited virtually every candidate running for Gilbert Town Council and Gilbert Mayor to guest author here. Erin is the second to respond (see all Gilbert Mayor/Council guest posts here). The Gilbert primaries are March 10. Please, get out and vote! Local elected officials have far more influence over your daily life than anyone in Washington, yet historically voter turnout for these elections is abysmal.

My name is Erin Scroggins and I am asking for your vote for Gilbert Town Council on March 10^th. As I have campaigned from neighborhood to neighborhood and talked with Gilbert residents from all ages and political backgrounds, the one constant is an underlying sense that we need new voices, new ideas and a fresh perspective on the town council.

Throughout my campaign I have talked about my vision for Gilbert; responsible funding of our police force, no new tax increases, and expanding our economic base. My hope is that my children will grow up, buy a home and raise their children in the greatest town in Arizona. But in order for that to happen we cannot continue to do business as usual. We must be willing to make difficult choices in these tough economic times so that our most valuable commodity is protected; our families. The conservative principles that I bring will assure that these goals are achieved.

Along my journey in this campaign I have met with leaders at the local and state level. In these discussions I have shared my beliefs regarding the proper role of government, the need for lower taxes, and the priority we must place on law enforcement. It is because of these principles that Sheriff Joe, Sen. Russell Pearce, Hon. Tom Freestone, Rep. Andy Biggs, and former Rep. Eddie Farnsworth have endorsed my candidacy and believe in my vision for Gilbert.

Gilbert is a town with meager beginnings. We have grown quickly from a small town of just 5,000 to one of the largest towns in the Valley. We face some very difficult challenges in the road ahead. Finding the map for success on our journey may not be easy and the road may be uphill but a vote for Erin Scroggins is a vote for principled leadership.

I humbly ask for your support on March 10^th. Vote for a new voice, new ideas and a fresh perspective. Vote for Erin Scroggins for Gilbert Town Council. Please visit my website at www.erinscroggins.com and my blog at www.scroggins4council.blogspot.com for more detailed information about my campaign.

Jay’s note: I’ve invited virtually every candidate running for Gilbert Town Council and Gilbert Mayor to guest author here. Jenn Daniels was the first (and only one so far) to respond. The Gilbert primaries are March 10. Please, get out and vote! Local elected officials have far more influence over your daily life than anyone in Washington, yet historically voter turnout for these elections is abysmal.

My name is Jenn Daniels and I feel honored and privileged to be running for Gilbert Town Council.  The last few months I have met thousands of Gilbert residents and you continue to impress and amaze me.  The vast majority of you love Gilbert, have a great interest in the community and want to contribute to the town’s success.  Unfortunately, something critical is not happening at the town level and I want to change that. 

Gilbert lacks good communicators and good communication – two distinctly different but essential ties that create unity and facilitate progress.  Communication has simply been overlooked with detrimental effects.  It often seems that communication with the people has been an afterthought and done only in the name of procedure and courtesy rather than to gather insight and perspective.  I recognize that expediency is part of the challenge and that’s why it is imperative that we find creative, cost-effective solutions to reach out to the people and to field new ideas, suggestions and information.  Website and email can certainly be improved upon – but what about communicating through our schools, Twitter, text message and blogs?  Let’s put some energy into our efforts and start connecting with each other. 

As a town council candidate, I have committed myself to being available to you.  Not because I’m getting paid to listen to you, but because I truly want to know “what’s hot on your plate.”  I believe that when our elected officials are in touch with the people they are more accountable, more reputable and more trustworthy.  It’s a win-win. 

I am running for town council because I believe that I really can make a difference – but only with the help and support of the people who live here.  Send me an email (jenn@voteforjenn.com), drop me a line (480.205.9685), follow me on Twitter @GilbertJenn, or check out the website & blog www.voteforjenn.com – I’ll be here.

P.S. Communication is just one of the many issues facing our town.  Check out the website for more insight about how we can handle the budget deficit, the general plan update and future economic development.