By Annie Z. Yu | The Republic
Chandler City Council candidate Rene Lopez prefers to focus on one major goal.
“I (want) to keep Chandler on the right path so that in the future my kids are going to want to raise kids here,” said Lopez, who has children ages 16 and 12.
His strength, he said, lies in the process improvement and management skills learned from more than 13 years as a project manager, most recently with Avnet Inc. Lopez said it comes down to learning the existing process to spot areas that can be improved upon. This often includes easy solutions to minor things that nobody has dealt with or noticed before, he said.
Chandler City Council candidate Kevin Hartke has all the ease and confidence of somebody experienced in the spotlight.
With by far the most cash among all candidates — he raised almost 15 times more than his next-closest competitor, according to the latest campaign-finance reports — that hasn’t stopped him from getting up at 5 or 5:30 a.m. most weekdays to campaign, which includes putting up signs and fixing those that were downed by winds.
“I don’t take anything for granted,” Hartke said. “One of my commitments is to be the hardest-working guy in the race.”
Sam Huang goes against the grain. Not in a bad way, but in a way that makes him immediately stick out from most politician hopefuls.
When asked why he’s running for Chandler City Council, Huang responded, “Actually, everybody told me I shouldn’t run. Literally everybody.
“I’m an Asian minority. I don’t have a large voter base from my own community. I was basically unknown. It will cost a lot of money. And fundraising is always a big problem. … It will be a big struggle for me to get my name out and to get elected.”
Jon Beydler knocks on a door and stands with his hands clasped behind his back, waiting. When the door opens, he introduces himself: “Hi, my name is Jon Beydler, and I’m running for City Council. Are you following the campaign at all?”
The 63-year-old real-estate business owner and former Fountain Hills mayor is calm, friendly and confident about his qualifications. After studying political science in his native Missouri and earning a Master’s of Public Administration degree from American University in 1975, Beydler worked with political organizations for years, switched to the sales industry and ended up in Scottsdale by 1978, he said.
“Then, I decided to learn technology because I was concerned I would be antiquated and become old like my father did,” he said, laughing. “So, I taught myself computer technology.”
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