By Tom Blodgett and Lucie Flagg | YourValley
What are your priorities if elected to Gilbert Town Council?
Chuck Bongiovanni, co-founder and CEO of Majestic Residences Franchise Systems
“Fiscal Accountability: The town government always needs to remember that tax revenue comes from citizens and businesses. It is the people’s money—not the government’s. Being good stewards of the money is extremely important. That leads to transparency. It is vital that government is transparent with all aspects of government spending and includes citizens along the way—not just telling them what they are spending their money on but helping them understand why that specific project is essential.
“Responsible Growth: Responsible Growth means so many different things to so many different people. For some, that means never changing anything and stopping all new development. For others, that means developing areas that don’t include their own backyards. Responsible Growth doesn’t mean I’m against growth like some of my opponents. It simply means that with growth comes responsibility, both governmental and individual. I believe that there may be some reasons to request code changes, but developers must be able to verbalize how such changes will benefit the community and the Town’s shareholders, not just their own.
“Quality of Life: Quality of life means so many things. It can be traffic for some people and lower taxes for others. Quality of life also includes being heard. Citizens must feel like the Town is theirs. This means we need to find ways to increase civic engagement and respect the input from our citizens.”
Bobbi Buchli, real estate broker
“Residents first, government transparency, fiscal conservative, keep taxes low/stop the overspending, oppose Commuter Rail, low density/low height apartments—oppose high rise/high density, support our Police, Fire and Ambulance services “
