Chandler candidates talk affordable housing, growth and policing. Here's what they said
The seven candidates vying for a spot on Chandler’s City Council gathered for their first debate on issues from urban growth to affordable housing to public safety.
They’re competing for three available City Council seats on the July 30 primary ballot. Chandler residents have to be registered by July 1 to cast a ballot this cycle, and early voting starts July 3.
Councilmembers Christine Ellis and OD Harris are the only incumbents running because Councilmember Mark Stewart has reached Chandler’s term limit.
Both were first elected in 2020, so they’re each hoping to win a second four-year term.
Four political newcomers and a fifth challenger who has run for office before are also in the race. One is guaranteed to become Chandler’s newest council member because Stewart is leaving. They include:
Jennifer Hawkins: She works as a commercial real estate associate at a firm called Royal. She’s also worked in the health care industry
Ajlan "AJ" Kurdoglu: He is a native of Istanbul and a businessman who owns home decor stores. Kurdoglu is a Democrat who unsuccessfully launched a bid to replace Republican State Senator J.D. Mesnard from the District 17 seat in 2020.
Cicely Rocha-Miller: She owns an event planning company called Life Design Events and is the former director of a nonprofit that helps kids and families cope with poverty.
Michael Simon: He is a U.S. Marine veteran who serves as vice chairman of Chandler's Military and Veterans Affairs Commission.
Joseph Yang: He is a prolific volunteer who has served on numerous public safety boards in the city. Yang is also the CEO of a model car company called 153AZ.
All of the contenders met at City Hall on May 7 for a nearly two-hour-long forum hosted by the Chandler Chamber of Commerce, marking the first time they’ve all been publicly questioned on their positions.
The Arizona Republic broke down the discussion highlights related to two of Chandler’s top issues — affordable housing and growth, and public safety. Here’s what the candidates had to say:
Affordable housing: More apartments to house the workforce?
The first topic the candidates tackled was whether Chandler should do anything to help those who work in the city afford to live there, something that’s becoming increasingly more challenging given rising housing costs throughout the Valley.
The issue is a lightning rod in Chandler that has drawn massive backlash from residents. Even a proposed affordable housing complex for seniors drew dozens of opponents to a community meeting in November.
But despite the public distaste for affordable housing projects and increasing apartment development, none of the candidates was outright against it.
Ellis, Yang, Rocha-Miller, Harris, and Kurdoglu all thought the city should take direct action to boost housing development in Chandler.
The former two talked specifically about rezoning underused commercial properties to residential, which would make it possible for denser apartment complexes to crop up there.
“We have tasked our (staff) to start looking into it because this is where we are,” said Ellis, who pointed out that 93% of Chandler is developed. “We are at that stage in the city where we are looking for every sliver of land that we have.”
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Ellis also said Chandler should look into designating some areas “opportunity” zones, where the city offers incentives like tax breaks or looser zoning rules for developers who want to build.
Rocha-Miller echoed that sentiment, saying there “could be some incentives, or some sort of rewards programs that could be laid out” to prompt housing development, but she was “not sure about specific policies” to accomplish that.
“My mother can’t afford to live here, and she’s aging and needs my help,” she said about the issue. “I have a sense of sadness when I hear about a police officer who lives outside of our city.”
Kurdoglu mentioned working with the private sector to identify incentives. He talked about allowing multi-use buildings where there can be retail on the bottom and housing up top, as well as decreasing the “red tape so that investments will be a little bit cheaper.”
Yang floated an idea to tackle economic growth and housing costs.
He pointed to Intel Corp. — Chandler’s biggest employer — and its initiatives to build workforce housing for its staffers, saying, “I’d look at more partnerships like that, bringing in premiere companies that can bring in workforce housing.”
Yang was less concrete about how he would sell the plan to apartment opponents. He said he would listen to “skeptics” in order to find a reasonable solution and that it was all about “balance,” but added that he didn’t have a number of housing units that would hit the mark.
Harris said selling a boost in development to a skeptical public is about having “courageous conversations” about the detrimental impact the rising housing costs would have on Chandler’s employee base.
“We have to go out and talk to our neighbors and help them understand. If you’re heading home from work and you want to stop by McDonald’s, and it’s not there because the workers are not there to serve you at that McDonald’s, then you understand the importance and the power of (the issue),” said Harris, who didn’t talk about any specific strategies to boost development.
When it comes to growth, Harris said, “Chandler is already there. We are a 300,000-person city … we’re already in urbanization right now.”
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Hawkins was the least enthusiastic about the idea of the city directly working to increase the housing stock.
She mentioned “looking at infill projects on properties that are appropriate for dense development, particularly along main corridor streets” and said she would be OK with apartments “on a case-by-case basis, based on location.”
“I look at it from the perspective of, ‘What is our job?’” she said. “From that, I would focus on fiscal responsibility and also, how do we support economic growth? How do we bring in those good paying jobs to help support that cost of living?”
Simon seemed generally supportive of making Chandler more affordable, but his stance wasn’t entirely clear.
He mentioned tweaks to Chandler’s general plan, which is a blueprint that lays out what types of development are allowed on different properties throughout the city. The candidate didn't say what changes were needed, however, and his answer about whether he would pursue apartments or more single-family homes was also vague.
“Overall, I think we have enough opportunity for growth, no matter what direction we go into. Whether it’s single-family or multifamily,” Simon said.
Public safety: staffing, 'Goons' and cybercrime
All of the candidates except for Kurdoglu and Ellis said the Chandler Police Department needs more officers and listed recruitment as one of their top public safety priorities.
“We are understaffed. We have a goal of 353 officers, we are short of that by around at least 20. And we’re also on the cusp of a major retirement option for many of our officers,” said Rocha-Mille, who recommended the city beefing up its bonus structure as a recruitment tool.
Chandler has hired dozens of officers over the past five years and, according to Harris and Yang, is actively out trying to recruit officers from other communities across the country.
The department also got a new union contract in February that provided raises, more overtime pay and better medical coverage.
Hawkins said that the city needs “to provide mental health breaks to allow (officers) to have some sanity back in their lives for a little bit.”
She added that Chandler should invest in upgraded technology for the department, which Simon echoed in his answer.
“I always go back to the military — making sure you have the proper equipment, that you’re modernized, and that first and foremost you’re staffed. (All of that impacts) the ability to go out and complete whatever mission you’re tasked with,” Simons said.
The veterans advocate also mentioned ancillary staffing for the Police Department, saying “that kind of dovetails into (utilizing) other resources in the city of Chandler, whether it be our navigators or neighborhood resources — being able to collaborate together to address concerns of mental health or public safety.”
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Ellis spoke about Chandler becoming the largest city in Arizona to fully fund its public safety pension, which ensured that city officers would get the retirement benefits they’ve been working for. That happened in July, when the city spent $73 million on the program.
“What we have done since I’ve come here is provide an environment where every single thing that they have ever (asked for), they receive,” she said.
Yang, who has volunteered with the Chandler Police Department, proposed that the city get its own jail as a way to improve public safety.
“I would be interested in … getting our own detention facility,” he said “Scottsdale, which is a smaller city than us, has its own detention facility. I’ve talked to some of the officers there and they love it. They think it works for them, and that it’s made their city safer.”
As far as the biggest community-facing public safety issue, Yang said it’s cybercrime — because “you could be cooking dinner for your family downstairs and your child could be with a predator upstairs online and you wouldn’t even know it.”
'Goons' attack in Chandler? Police seek info on victim; attackers seen in April 2023 video of beating at party
Kurdoglu said the surge in teen violence across the East Valley was the biggest concern.
It’s been a prominent topic in the region since an Arizona Republic investigation found that a gang of mostly affluent teenagers, called the "Gilbert Goons," had engaged in a string of attacks on other teens in the region for more than a year.
Members of the "Goons" have been charged in the Oct. 28 fatal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord outside a Halloween party in Queen Creek.
Many of the attacks have been in Gilbert, but one is suspected to have occurred in Chandler in April 2023. Chandler leaders have vowed to lead a regional push to crack down on the issue.
Kurdoglu wants to prioritize that effort if he’s elected in July.
“As a council member, I will communicate the very important and essential nature of this problem to our Police Department and work with them so that they have the resources that they need to keep this problem at bay in our city,” he said.
Reporter Sam Kmack covers Tempe, Scottsdale and Chandler. Follow him on X @KmackSam or reach him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Chandler candidates talk affordable housing, growth and policing