Mesa, Arizona

My name is Ryan Winkle and I’m running for Mesa City Council for District 3. Let me tell you why. Since moving to Mesa when I was just eight years old in 1986, Mesa has experienced tremendous growth. In fact, the city has grown from approximately 250,000 residents to nearly half a million people, making us the 38th largest city in the United States. Unlike other fast growing Arizona cities, we are host to only two major employers, Banner Health and Boeing Aerospace. Instead of big companies, the economic backbone of our city continues to be small businesses, many of whom are struggling in today’s uncertain economy. That is why I am running for Mesa City Council. I believe that Mesa needs to reinvent itself for the 21st Century. Growing up here, my parents were small business owners and because of that experience, being an active member of the Mesa business community is a fundamental part of me. I myself am a small business owner and have been extensively involved with small businesses across the city over the course of my career, making me intimately familiar with the challenges facing small business owners in our city. I know from experience that for our city to move forward and to take its rightful place as the number one business and neighborhood destination in Arizona, we need a new vision for Mesa. A vision that sees our city not as the sleepy, single family suburb we once were, but as an example of how small businesses can sustain job growth, promote economic vitality and innovation, support families and provide the base upon which we can reenergize our neighborhoods and our community. Over the past four years I have worked closely with the Downtown small business community as we brought the light rail system into our city as part of a greater plan to revitalize the center of the city. I want to bring that experience to Council District 3, which is the densest and most diverse part of our great city. Like all older areas, we in District 3 face challenges in infrastructure, job growth and public safety. To reinvent Mesa, here are my six Goals as your city councilman: 1. First and foremost, I think that transparency and cronyism need to be addressed immediately. The handling of tax money is a sacred trust, and for small business owners and residents alike, accountability in the spending of those dollars is critical to having confidence in the city and its staff. To strengthen confidence in the city, all city contracts, land sales, bond activity, sales tax usage and the process of how these things are decided needs to be transparent and open to all. Favoritism by city staff or council for their favorite business partners or to favored projects opens the door to corruption and the giving away of city tax dollars to benefit the few at the cost of the residents and small businesses that fund the city through their tax dollars. 2. Elimination of Red Tape for Small Business Owners. Small businesses are always looking to find ways to better serve their customers. A simple thing like signage, additions and modifications can take from weeks to months to approve while requiring numerous reviews. I propose to streamline the process for capital improvement approvals so business owners can implement them in a timely manner. 3. Public Safety. Our men and women in Blue put their lives on the line for us every day to make our streets, schools and homes safe. I know that a safe city is a city that families and businesses prefer to locate. We need to make sure they are given the resources they need to do their jobs safely so they can return home at night to their families and loved ones. Funding the police department in an efficient and transparent manner should be a top priority for the city. 4. Make Staff Available during Business Hours. Building Mesa is a Monday through Friday job, as any business owner and anyone building a new shopping plaza or office building or home can tell you. Yet, some necessary Building & Zoning Departments are only open Monday through Thursday. Since the city is critical to helping businesses grow we need to better coordinate to suit all zoning and building requests or we need to consider being open M-F during regular business hours. 5. Neighborhood Renewal Zones. Aging neighborhoods are not an eyesore but are a treasure to be capitalized on as we reinvent our city. By designating older neighborhoods as Neighborhood Renewal Zones we can provide services and benefits to small business owners, developers and homeowners and parents of school age children alike to spur investment in new commercial infrastructure and improve the value and quality of the historic housing stock. The key is quality roads and sidewalks, quality schools, and quality neighborhoods.

• published: 30 Jul 2016
• views: 209