44
THE SUNDAY SANTAN SUN NEWS | DECEMBER 20, 2020
For more community news visit SanTanSun.com
McClymonds: I plan to continue giving back BY COUNCILMAN JEREMY MCCLYMONDS Guest Writer
I moved to Chandler more than 17 years ago for opportunity in business, to start a family and to become part of a community where I could make a lasting impact. Throughout my years of living in Chandler, I have contributed to the City economically, charitably and politically. I believe children and commerce are the lifeblood of all great communities. Throughout my career I have worked with local organizations, like the Chandler Compadres and Kiwanis Chandler Young Professionals, which work to improve the quality of life for those who call Chandler home. I have dedicated my time through local business organizations and as a councilman to ensuring a strong economy through a focus on economic development and fiscal responsibility. My professional experience in finance and as a business owner lent itself well to my duties on Council, allowing me to look at situations through many different lenses. My civic journey from the City’s Parks and Recreation Board, to the
chairman of the Vote Yes on Prop 493 campaign for our General Plan, to my appointment in 2018 to City Council member has been incredible. As a councilman, my mission was to continue giving back to my community, leave a positive impact and inspire programs that would benefit our city for years to come. It has been an honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Chandler for the last two and a half years. I have learned so much during that time. I can only hope that I achieved my goal, which is to leave Chandler in a better place than when I was appointed. We dealt with unprecedented issues during my time on Council while still delivering the first-class services the residents deserve. Through my participation on Council subcommittees for Public Safety; Communications and Public Affairs, Information Technology, Management Services; and Facilities and Fleet, I have gained a well-rounded view and respect for how well Arizona’s fourth largest city is run and I am proud to have been part of that during my time on Council. Some of my proudest accomplishments as Councilmember include: • Setting the vision for the future of Chandler through Council’s first Five Year Strategic Plan;
• Laying the foundation for city planning through updates to several master plans including the transportation master plan, parks master plan and the airport master plan; • Encouraging the growth of Downtown Chandler through my support of projects like Overstreet and New Square, the attraction of George Oliver’s $53 million redevelopment and the expansion and openings of several new and unique businesses; • Seeing through the completion of major infrastructure projects like the New Square Parking Garage and the Downtown South Arizona Avenue street improvements; • The refresh of the Chandler Museum, including the formation of the Chandler Cultural Foundation and the new Museum Store; • Advocating for additional multiuse sport fields resulting in four new lit fields and tournament quality Volleyball courts; • Lowering taxes so Chandler could continue to boast one of the lowest costs of service for local sales tax, property tax and City utilities across the Valley; • Supporting our public safety professionals through supporting the completion of the first and second phases of the Public Safety Training
Facility and voting to approve a rapid pay down of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System; • S ecuring funding for the Chandler Fire Department to purchase specialty tools that would allow first responders to be ready with the most stateof-the-art equipment designed to ensure the safety of residents and the preservation of property; • S upporting economic development projects that resulted in more than $190 million of capital investment in the community, created nearly 4,000 jobs and added 1.7 million-square-feet of office, industrial and flex space in the community in 2019 alone; and • P rioritizing innovation in all aspects of our community including launching an autonomous vehicle ride hailing program for City employees to reduce fleet costs, using technology to better connect with residents during the pandemic and creating unique relief programs to support our business community through trying times. After my term expires, I will continue to look for opportunities to give back and serve Chandler going forward. I thank our residents and business community for allowing me to serve them, the rest of Council for their leadership and my family for their support.
Huang: I will keep advocating for city’s prosperity BY SAM HUANG Guest Writer
Four years ago, I ran for Chandler City Council with the platform of bringing in fiscal accountability, economic opportunity, and quality of life to city administration and the residents’ lives. As an elected official, the interests and needs of the community remained at the forefront of my mind and have driven all my decisions. As promised, I was able to serve with passion, promoting our existing programs and leading with a vision to take Chandler to the next level. I am honored to have been Chandler’s first Asian City Council member. I often benefitted from my international background when presented with challenges. It provided me with a different perspective and unique, innovative solutions. I have advocated for various
t? o G ws Ne
diversity programs that celebrate the rich cultures in our community, including the Chandler International Film Festival and the creation of the first Asian Village at the annual Multicultural Festival. Along with Mayor and Council I am so proud of the initiatives I have supported that benefit the quality of life not only for our current residents, but for generations to come, including: • Completing the New Square project after several attempts in 23 years; • Acting as Vice Chair to Chandler’s Census Complete Count Committee, aiding in the achievement of one of the highest response rates in the East Valley at nearly 75 percent; • Creating the table tennis programming and funding equipment at both downtown Community Center and the Tumbleweed Recreation Center; • Advocating for additional resources for our libraries, including the Early Literacy Spaces that launched in 2019;
• Finding dollars to build a shade structure for the toddler area at Nozomi Aquatic Center; • Supporting economic development projects that have created and retained thousands of job within our community and added millions of square feet to our office and industrial portfolio; • Keeping our City fiscally accountable and responsible, resulting in continued AAA Bond Ratings; • Starting and finishing the construction of the new Chandler Museum; • Completing all the planned parks. Through my service on the City Council subcommittees of Community Services, Economic Development, Neighborhood Resources and Cultural Development; and Airport, Development Services, Public Works and Utilities and Transportation Policy, I focused on updating ordinances and master plans to better reflect the needs of our community.
Notable projects include the creation of the historic preservation ordinance, the multigenerational feasibility study and updates to the airport and parks master plans. I was also fortunate to serve on regional committees such as the Maricopa Association of Governments’ Domestic Violence Council, where I could be an advocate for not only Chandler residents but residents across the state. In these four years Chandler has experienced an exceptionally prosperous period. We have developments on virtually every street. City revenue continues growing. We were able to lower City taxation three times in a row. I feel so fortunate and humbled to be a part of these great achievements. I will continue to be an advocate for Chandler’s prosperity after my term ends and look forward to what the future holds for me. Thank you, Chandler for four great years.
Contact Paul C Contact Paul P l Maryniak Maryniak M y i k at at 480-898-5647 480 898 5647 or or pmaryniak@timespublications.com p pmaryniak@timespublications.com pmaryniak@timespublications y i k@ i p bli i com