November 30, 2005

City wants diversity, more involvement

MARICOPA - For those who want to have a hand in shaping Maricopa's future, there is no better time than now to get involved in development of the city.

Currently, there are two openings on the Public Safety Committee, as well as a position available on the Planning and Zoning Commission. For those interested in running for City Council or mayor, applications are currently being accepted for those seats as well.

For all positions, the only requirements are for applicants to be at least 18 years of age and a legal resident of Maricopa for the last year. Applicants must also be willing to contribute a reasonable amount of time to the panel they are applying for.

The City Council, for example, requires quite a bit of time and dedication from its members. Regular meetings take place on the first and third Tuesday of each month, with other special sessions planned when necessary. Councilmembers are also expected to study large amounts of information, meet with city staff and constituents and participate in other civic activities.

"One of the things that I find most important is taking the time to listen to the citizens," said Councilmember Will Dunn. "I have a crazy schedule but I have to force myself to stop what I'm doing at work because they put their trust in me that I'm going to listen to them, that I'm going to be able to respond to their concerns.

"We also have to digest massive amounts of information on the council, but that's not the hard part for me. The hard part is making sure that I'm doing what I think is best for most people instead of what's best for me."

The city has prepared a packet for those who are interested in running for City Council or mayor, detailing the various requirements and deadlines. So far, there have only been four application packets signed out for the council, and there are three seats opening.

Dunn encouraged more citizens to consider running in the upcoming election.

"The more people that we get will give us a better sampling of our community - our community is changing and we need to be reflective of that. I think we have a lot of Hispanics in our community and we don't have enough representation on our committees and council," Dunn said. "We're getting a large African American population, and they really aren't represented. Not that color means anything, but we just want the full demographic, the full flavor of our community. The last thing we need right now is a bunch of young white men running for council, because we already have that."

Mayor Kelly Anderson hopes he will have a challenger or two for his position. So far, he's the only applicant for the mayor's seat.

"I think the city is growing so fast and there are a lot of people with tremendous experience and ideas and new views. I think it's healthy to have a good debate in a campaign. It's good for the candidates and for the community to get all of the ideas on the table and discuss and debate them."

The deadline for filing nominating petitions for the March primary election is Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. at City Hall. In order to make the primary ballot, candidates must obtain at least 29 signatures from registered voters.

With the recent appointment of Planning and Zoning Commissioner Joe Estes to fill a vacancy on the council, a position is now available on the commission. Two additional positions may become available by the end of the year as those commission terms are set to expire.

The commission meets on the second and fourth Monday of the month at 5 p.m. to discuss development within the city.