El Mirage City Council candidates respond to Q&A on 2024 election issues

El Mirage voters are deciding who will fill three City Council seats in the July 30 election.

El Mirage City Council incumbents Roy Delgado, Robert Jones and David Shapera are hoping to retain their seats.

There are four newcomers hoping to replace their incumbent competitors. Specifically, the newcomers are Ryan Eldridge, Scottie Gentry, James McPhetres and Jacquelyn Parsons.

The Arizona Republic asked each candidate about everything from their reason for running, what needs to be changed, to how they plan to address issues facing El Mirage.

James McPhetres did not respond to The Republic questionnaire. Here’s what the others had to say, in alphabetical order. Some answers may have been slightly edited to meet agreed-to lengths.

Arizona election: Read our full election coverage of the El Mirage City Council race

Vision: Why are you running for El Mirage City Council?

Why are you running for El Mirage City Council? If elected, what will your first priority be?

Roy Delgado: Twenty-three years ago, when I initially won a seat on the El Mirage City Council, most areas of the city had dirt streets, our wastewater treatment plant could not keep up with the demands of new housing developments coming in, so waste was being trucked out to other communities. The city often struggled to make payroll and then there were the days that the city could not supply water to the residents. I remember someone suggesting we have a bake sale to raise money. That is why I am running for El Mirage City Council, to keep the city moving forward and to continue improving the quality of life for our residents. My first priority is to make sure we continue to meet today's needs and tomorrow's opportunities.

Ryan Eldridge: My journey into politics is not driven by personal gain but by my genuine desire to serve and give back to the community I call home. I am a single father of four with two younger daughters living with me.  I desire to have a positive impact on the quality of life for our city’s residents, both today and in the future. My background and leadership skills will help El Mirage’s economic stability into the future while honoring the culture and history of El Mirage. I am concerned with the current leadership and their frivolous and unneeded spending. It’s time to remind them it’s “We the People” not “We the Council”.

My first priority will be as a City Council member is to work on repairing the trust between the residents and the representatives that they voted into office and to be the voice the residents need. We need to immediately put a stop to the projects that the residents voted no on that current council members are still pushing on the residents of El Mirage.

Scottie Gentry: I am running for City Council to continue to fight to bring back our city's history and legacy. I myself have deep roots in El Mirage. I grew up on the same land as my mother across the street from Bill Gentry Park. To give a voice to forgotten voters, and focus on quality of life projects for all residents. If elected, my first priority will be reinstating our impact fees and making sure that the city is fiscally responsible.

Jacquelyn Parsons: I am running for City Council because I want to give a voice to the El Mirage residents and provide transparency.  I will work on having the City Council meetings live streamed and recorded so that the residents who are unable to attend are able to view and stay informed.  Other surrounding cities provide various platforms for their residents to watch.  Why are we not doing it?

David Shapera: I am running for a fifth term as there are some unfinished projects that need to be completed. I am highly qualified, experienced in local government, educated, and am a 22-year resident of El Mirage.  My continued priorities are economic development, jobs, and keeping taxes reasonable so that the city can provide the services its residents ask for. I am promoting more road maintenance by increasing our funding of our in-place line item.

Robert Jones: I have been a long time resident of our beautiful city. I am running for City Council to continue bringing items ahead that our residents have requested to improve our city.

Our residents have spoken and want more recreation for our families. I will continue to work on our city parks and bring residents what they have continued to request, more and better additions to our parks and recreation department.

James McPhetres did not respond.

Taxing and spending: Where do the El Mirage City Council candidates stand?

New state policies will affect city budgets. If faced with a deficit, will you support raising taxes to maintain city services or cutting programs? Which specific services and/or taxes would you consider first and why?

Delgado: Our amazing city leaders have anticipated times of revenue shortfalls and have in place a strong fiscal plan to overcome any significant gaps in the budget. Taxes from new companies coming to El Mirage like Microsoft, CAVCO, Cives Steel, Consolidated Resources, Avanti Windows and Doors and Tippman Innovation will certainly help overcome shortages.  It is extremely important to me that the city continue to provide excellent services for our residents.

Eldridge: When the rental tax goes away, El Mirage stands to lose about $2 million in tax revenue. Even with this loss it will not create a deficit. El Mirage should learn to live within our means and conduct live budgeting. If cuts are to be made we need to look into the wasteful spending on items that do not benefit the residents and those projects that the residents have voted no on.  I will never cut services from police and fire or any current city services.  We need to look at expenses that do not benefit the residents of El Mirage.

We need to reinstate impact fees so that new businesses can pay their fair share of the upcoming city improvements and not place the burden solely on the residents.

Gentry: This decision would depend on the specific circumstances and input from the community. It's important to consider the impact on residents and essential service.

Parsons: While the state policies can affect the city budget we should manage and plan ahead for the decrease in revenue.  Therefore we need to look at areas that have wasteful spending and cut wasteful spending.

Arizona election 2024: Here's everything to know about registering and voting

Shapera: The new state policies will be a challenge for most cities, including El Mirage. Our professional staff will present a balanced budged with my input. Expenses increase with inflation and small tax increases are expected by reasonable taxpayers. Declaring no tax increases during inflationary times is irresponsible. Cutting some items from the budget is expected, too.

Jones: I don't support raising taxes. The current council has been able to lower property taxes for three consecutive years. Currently, we have maintained a balanced budget for eight years. We will continue to have a balanced budget. If cuts are necessary, we will find ways to solve the issues without raising taxes or cutting services.

McPhetres did not respond.

Perceptions: What would El Mirage City Council candidates change?

What is the best thing about El Mirage that you would never change? Why? What is the first thing that needs changing and why?

Delgado: I would never want to change El Mirage's grand heritage. We should never forget those who came before us, the migrants that farmed the land, but we must always look to the future. We learn from the past successes and failures and use the knowledge to provide a foundation for a bright future.

The first thing that needs changing is the need for a second fire station. Public Safety Management did two independent analyses of the fire department to evaluate current and future fire service needs. The results were alarming.

The study clearly showed the city should begin planning now for an added fire, staffing and ladder company service to serve now and future planned commercial and industrial building growth in the south area.  This staffing should be linked to a second fire station and should house an engine company and a ladder company. This study showed a lack of fire protection at the south end of the city. That for me is a huge problem for a large section of our community, the community I, as a city leader, have an obligation to protect. Some have said that if we need a ladder truck, we can borrow one from Surprise. That's true, but is it fair to Surprise taxpayers to have to cover our inability to protect our own community?

Eldridge: I have always loved the small town feeling of El Mirage. We have a wonderful mixture of cultures that make El Mirage. It’s sad the farmland that also brought me to El Mirage is disappearing acres at a time.

We need to bring back that feeling of community and engagement. We need to bring back the voices of El Mirage residents and have the city work for them again and not believe they know what’s best for the residents. We need to look at doing more events within the city and utilize our sports fields for tournaments.  I like to always say it’s “We the People” not “We the Government”.

Gentry: Bill Gentry Park. Bill Gentry Park was built in 1961 and has long been revered as the heart of the town even before it evolved into a city; its significance goes beyond adjust being a park. Its holds a special place in the hearts of the community members and serves as a symbol of unity and charged experience

The first thing that needs to change is streamlining meetings for efficiency purposes and for transparency. By streamlining meetings, you can infer that discussions are focused decisions and are made promptly. Streamlining meetings can enhance transparency by making it easier for participants and the public to follow the discussions, understand the decision-making process, and track the outcomes of the meeting.

Parsons: I like that it is a small town. Small towns foster a sense of community. First I would work on rebuilding the trust between the residents and city council. Second I would work to bring more family oriented events to the community.

Shapera: I will never back down in supporting public safety. As a retired LEO and teacher, I know that a safe city is vital. I have promoted many public safety items over the last 16 years. As far as what needs changing, I would suggest increasing the replacement of old water and sewer lines. It's an ongoing process and we need to be ahead of the curve.

Jones: The best thing about El Mirage is the residents who live in this wonderful community. We have a very diverse culture of people living in our city that come to the need in the event of any emergency. One of the problems as in all communities is drugs and the destruction it's doing to the family unit. Our police department has created a team called the Neighborhood Enforcement Team. We as a council have supported this team to clean up the drugs in our community.

McPhetres did not respond.

The big picture: What is the biggest issue facing El Mirage?

What is the biggest long-term issue facing El Mirage? How would you work to address it over the course of your council term?

Delgado: The biggest long-term issues facing El Mirage are, as I mentioned before, protecting the southern end of our city with fire protection.

Otherwise, we have an extremely well-equipped police department, a new parks and rec director, the city bond rating is a AA, we've had a balanced budget for eight years, we have lowered taxes the last three years, roadways improvements are being done, we have a new library, new fire hydrants are being installed to help our firefighting capabilities and we have a good supply of water going into the future.

Eldridge: We are on course to bankrupt our city. We need to be fiscally responsible and live within our means. El Mirage is only 9.9 square miles and has 36,000 residents. We do not need to compete with Surprise, Peoria, Glendale or any of the surrounding cities.

The city needs to be more transparent with the residents. We need to have all council meetings, work sessions, planning and zoning meetings and any other meeting held for the city streamed live and uploaded to the city website for residents to view any time they desire. We need to ensure all residents have the opportunity to participate in city meetings so they are updated with all the business with the city. With technology today there is no reason we should not be providing this to our residents.

We also need to bring back town hall meetings. City representatives need to be available to answer questions for residents and engage in civil dialog.

Gentry: The need to ensure that incoming industrial growth in the southern portion of the city contributes fairly to the services they will require, alleviating the burden on residents. It's crucial to implement policies that balance the economic benefits of industrial growth with the well-being of our community, securing a sustainable future for all residents of El Mirage.

Parsons: I believe the budget is the biggest issue facing El Mirage. I believe there is a lot of wasteful spending. I would go through each line item on the budget to identify the wasteful spending.

Shapera: The largest long-term issue for El Mirage is the replacement of the sewer plant that is ending its life usefulness rather quickly. Federal and state guidelines are always changing and newer methods of treating wastewater need to be implemented.  The replacement of the plant is very expensive and will need to be a bond issue. Like it or not, we need it and it will be mandated by other agencies that we replace the decades old treatment plant.

Jones: The biggest problem facing our city is the lack of retail businesses. The lack of retail businesses creates a lack of needed sales tax revenue. I believe working on a marketing plan to help businesses start up and maintain a plan thru government SBA would draw business to our city.

McPhetres did not respond.

Inspiration: Who shapes the El Mirage candidates' thinking?

Who in public life, past or present, do you admire most? Why? And what lesson do you draw from that person’s experience?

Delgado: Public figures that I have admired the most are two gentlemen I met when I was first elected to the El Mirage City Council. Roy Villanueva, past Mayor and Councilman of Surprise and Adolfo Gamez, past mayor and present councilman of Tolleson. They gave me valuable and much needed advice and I have always admired their spirit, their determination and what they have achieved.

Eldridge: I have had some many influential people in my life such as my parents, family member, teachers and fellow elected officials. I would probably say the one person that had the largest influence would be my grandmother Jean Dowdy. Growing up with a hearing loss, many times I was ridiculed due to my hearing loss. My grandmother should be granted a sainthood.  She was a beautiful woman that was the type of Christian I want to be. She taught me to rise above the hate and be a fighter that people would be proud of. The next group that I fight to be a better person for and have taught me to be a better father are my amazing children, Matthew, Regina, Caileigh and Madysen.

Gentry: Ronald Regan because of his ability to connect with the American people. This has left a lasting impact on the county. He has taught lessons in effective communication and leadership.

Shapera: I admire concepts, not people.

Jones: John McCain is my American hero. His presence in the senate was amazing. He always looked at both sides of all issues and regardless of the issue he tried his best to do the right thing. His influence has me follow him in always looking and understanding that there is always two sides to all issues and to look and see the effects my decision is going to have on my personal decision.

McPhetres did not respond.

Election integrity: Where do the El Mirage City Council candidates stand?

Do you think Arizona elections are fairly run? Do you trust the results? Will you abide by them? Why or why not?

Delgado: Yes, I think Arizona elections are fairly run and yes, I trust the results.

Parsons: Yes, I would like to believe the election is run fairly.

Shapera: I feel they are fairly run. I actually like the early voting system and feel it is worthy of continuation. In my 52 years of public service, I have yet to see any mischief with the tabulation of ballots. I think we should leave well enough alone.

Jones: Regardless of controversy, I believe in the system. It's fair and I will abide by the results.

McPhetres did not respond.

Reach the reporter at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: El Mirage City Council 2024 election: Candidates answer Q&A