My wife Mandy, myself and our four children are proud to call Gilbert home.  We want to help make Gilbert a place that we can be proud of for years to come. This is one of the reasons why we decided that I should run for Gilbert Town Council.  We moved to Gilbert because it is a great place to raise a family. It has great neighborhoods, schools, parks and people.  However, so many Gilbert residents leave our town to work somewhere else. We need more high wage businesses to come to Gilbert. This will increase our tax base and create a sustainable future for our community.

Last year, Gilbert celebrated its 90th birthday, and our town has a tremendous legacy.  Recently, however, we have seen imprudent spending decisions by our elected officials, a proposed tax increase, budget shortfalls and business opportunities pass Gilbert by. This is why I am running. I have the business background that is necessary to help the town understand the hurdles that businesses face, and streamline the processes so that our community is attractive to high wage businesses. I believe strongly in fiscal responsibility, as well as accountability by the Town to its residents. Finally, I know that we need to fund public safety first. This is essential to maintain the safe, attractive community that all Gilbert residents enjoy.

I believe that it is time for the Gilbert Town Council to have a new perspective that will build on Gilbert’s strengths and improve on past mistakes. I am the candidate to help Gilbert transition into the next 90 years. If you have any questions please contact me via my website www.votejordanray.com

Jay’s Note: I have invited all of the candidates running for Gilbert Town Council to publish a guest post here. This should not be construed as an endorsement for any particular candidate. Nor is this in any way connected to my position as a Commissioner on the Town of Gilbert’s Redevelopment Commission. I’m simply providing another venue for all of the candidates to get their message out to the residents of our lovely Town of Gilbert. I do encourage you to vote on May 17, 2011. Our local elected officials can have a tremendous impact on our daily lives, so please vote for the candidates of your choice!

• World Class Jazz. In Gilbert! And a Contest!
• Dear Flancer’s Cafe: I Hate You
• Flancer’s Cafe: A slice of heaven in Gilbert
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Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

Keeping Gilbert Great!

I love Gilbert. I’ve called it home for over 27 years and it has become a big part of who I am. My wife and I have chosen to raise our children here for the same reasons that many of you have chosen to do so: friendly families, strong schools, involved faith groups, and quality community design. We love the fact that Gilbert has attracted big city amenities while keeping a safe, small hometown feel.

I am optimistic about Gilbert’s future, especially when it comes to attracting business and employment. In my view, our Town has never been better positioned than it is today to capture the high-wage jobs that will strengthen our community, broaden our tax base, and enable our small businesses to thrive. For example, we have remarkable momentum in growth areas such as the biomedical industry. We also have a huge economic engine developing in nearby Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. And finally, we have available land and buildings that are well connected and ready for development.

These truly are unprecedented times – and we are well positioned for a bright future. I am excited to help because my small-business background and my economic development experience at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council are tailor-made for our times. I believe I can add an important perspective that will enable our community to reach its economic goals much faster than we might otherwise.

In addition to economic development, Gilbert will face several other critical issues over the next few years that call for the experience of a leader who sees things from a business perspective, including: balancing the Town budget, hiring a new Town Manager, and keeping the community clean, safe and vibrant while remaining fiscally responsible. We will need to streamline processes, employ technology where it creates efficiencies, and encourage public-private partnerships to ensure that Gilbert residents get the most value for their money and that the community remains one of the most desirable places to live and work in the country. All of this will protect our property values and contribute to our economic development success.

As I said at the outset, I have a passion for our Town. I am grateful for how Gilbert has shaped my life over the years and I look forward to contributing my time back to the community to show my appreciation. Please join with me as we keep Gilbert great!

Please learn more about my tradition of service to the Town and my business background in real estate development consulting at www.bencooperforcouncil.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bencooperforcouncil.

Jay’s Note: I have invited all of the candidates running for Gilbert Town Council to publish a guest post here. This should not be construed as an endorsement for any particular candidate. Nor is this in any way connected to my position as a Commissioner on the Town of Gilbert’s Redevelopment Commission. I’m simply providing another venue for all of the candidates to get their message out to the residents of our lovely Town of Gilbert. I do encourage you to vote on May 17, 2011. Our local elected officials can have a tremendous impact on our daily lives, so please vote for the candidates of your choice!

• World Class Jazz. In Gilbert! And a Contest!
• Dear Flancer’s Cafe: I Hate You
• Flancer’s Cafe: A slice of heaven in Gilbert
• Listing Feed

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

Growing business success and jobs, while maintaining quality of life

My passion and love for this Town has not diminished in the twenty- five years since my husband and I made the decision to make Gilbert our home and to raise our family here.

During this time I have worked along with others to ensure that our community is one of the finest in the United States; one that is safe, clean and vibrant and reflects the small town atmosphere and family values shared by our citizens.

I am not a naysayer; I am a worker, proud and dedicated to our community. I have proven consistently to Gilbert’s voters that I have both a strong work ethic and an ability to implement long range planning. It continues to be my privilege to work with the Mayor, fellow Council members, Gilbert’s business community, our school districts, neighborhoods and employees to achieve a reputation that is valued by our residents.

I am optimistic about Gilbert’s future and the opportunities that lie ahead. Just as in the past, these stressful times present challenges for elected leadership to be creative, innovative and efficient. I have demonstrated these traits throughout my service to our residents yet at the same time; recognize the importance of preserving the investments our citizens believe have worth.

As your Council member I will remain steadfast in working to achieve a Gilbert that will continue to grow and develop a dynamic business climate, continue to prioritize safety, as well as commit to ensuring efficient street systems, the development of fields for youth sports, and continue to partner with our schools; as their success is a mutual priority.

I am proud of what has been accomplished on behalf of our citizens and it is therefore with appreciation and continued support from my family and Gilbert residents that I look forward to serving our citizens and their families for another four years as a Gilbert Town Councilmember.

Linda

More information can be found on Linda Abbott for Gilbert Town Council.

Jay’s Note: I have invited all of the candidates running for Gilbert Town Council to publish a guest post here. This should not be construed as an endorsement for any particular candidate. Nor is this in any way connected to my position as a Commissioner on the Town of Gilbert’s Redevelopment Commission. I’m simply providing another venue for all of the candidates to get their message out to the residents of our lovely Town of Gilbert. I do encourage you to vote on May 17, 2011. Our local elected officials can have a tremendous impact on our daily lives, so please vote for the candidates of your choice!

• World Class Jazz. In Gilbert! And a Contest!
• Dear Flancer’s Cafe: I Hate You
• Flancer’s Cafe: A slice of heaven in Gilbert
• Listing Feed

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

What is Prop 406?

The Gilbert Town Council is placing a resolution in front of the voters in a special election to be held on May 18, 2010. Here is a PDF of the entire resolution. To summarize, Proposition 406 is:

A resolution of the common council of the town of Gilbert, Arizona, to submit to the qualified electors of the question of whether to adopt an ordinance increasing the Transaction Privilege Tax (editor’s note: think sales tax) from 1.50% to 1.75%, of which the use of the .25% increase will be for public safety services, defined as police, fire, court and prosecutor office services…

What is the controversy?

It’s a tax increase. That alone tends to get people fired up.

Gilbert, like many other municipalities across the country is facing a budget crisis. The Gilbert Town Council did a good thing in implementing a “Citizens Budget Committee” last fall. These ordinary citizens of Gilbert were tasked with diving into the budget and presenting alternatives to the Town Council for their consideration. I don’t think anyone went into this process believing that every recommendation of the budget committee would be accepted, or even considered.

But in reading what several members of the committee and subcommittees have had to say in the months since, one starts to wonder if the Town Council listened to anything the citizens had to say.

Check out the site GilbertWatch.com .

From their about page:

Gilbert Watch is an internet publication devoted to informing Gilbert residents and business owners on local political issues affecting them.

Several members of the Gilbert Citizens Budget Committee appear to be writing for this site. It provides a very good insight into the workings of that committee. The authors here don’t seem to think the tax increase is necessary. Another “vote no on 406” article can be found at Campaign for Liberty.

There are two sides to every story

Those pushing for a “yes” vote on Prop 406 point out that Gilbert has one of the lowest municipal sales tax rates in Arizona (even with the proposed increase) and that without this increase, public safety services will face cuts. CitizensForPublicSafety.com is the only “pro” 406 web site I could find. They also have a pretty active Facebook page with 1,798 members.

I wouldn’t dream of telling you how to vote

It’s certainly not my place to tell you whether to vote yes or no on Prop 406. But if you live in Gilbert, you should vote. The sites listed here are a great place to start your research. I haven’t dug into the issue enough (yet) to decide in my mind which side presents the best argument. Granted a 0.25% increase in sales tax isn’t a lot, but it’s still a tax increase and generally speaking I’m not a fan of tax increases. Gilbert’s budget problems need to be solved, but I tend to prefer spending cuts over tax increases. That’s just me, your mileage may vary.

You have to be registered to vote by April 19, 2010 in order to vote in the special election to be held May 18. Early in-person voting begins on April 22 and ends May 14. For more election details see the Town of Gilbert elections page.

• World Class Jazz. In Gilbert! And a Contest!
• Dear Flancer’s Cafe: I Hate You
• Flancer’s Cafe: A slice of heaven in Gilbert
• Listing Feed

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

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!

• World Class Jazz. In Gilbert! And a Contest!
• Dear Flancer’s Cafe: I Hate You
• Flancer’s Cafe: A slice of heaven in Gilbert
• Listing Feed

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

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

• World Class Jazz. In Gilbert! And a Contest!
• Dear Flancer’s Cafe: I Hate You
• Flancer’s Cafe: A slice of heaven in Gilbert
• Listing Feed

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

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.

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

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.

• World Class Jazz. In Gilbert! And a Contest!
• Dear Flancer’s Cafe: I Hate You
• Flancer’s Cafe: A slice of heaven in Gilbert
• Listing Feed

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.

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.  

• World Class Jazz. In Gilbert! And a Contest!
• Dear Flancer’s Cafe: I Hate You
• Flancer’s Cafe: A slice of heaven in Gilbert
• Listing Feed

Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content.