I was honored to be elected as a Maricopa County supervisor by the voters of my district last November. I campaigned on bringing transparency and a business mindset to elected office – learned through growing up in the car business and now as president and CEO of the Arizona Restaurant Association – and I have endeavored to apply those private-sector principles to county government. To that end, I felt it was imperative to keep our property tax rate flat to ensure Arizona’s economic recovery continues. It was not easy, but we as a board were able to keep the rate flat and reduced property taxes by $33 million and county spending by $89 million.

Reducing bureaucracy in our regulatory agencies remains a top priority. I was proud to accomplish the streamlining of the county’s dust permit from 43 pages to just 7 pages, as well as help launch a government reform effort to simplify processes within our departments. Soon, the county will co-locate several staff members from our Air Quality and Environmental Services departments with the City of Phoenix so that taxpayers can have a one-stop shop for county permitting when they apply for city permits. Businesses make it easier for their customers – governments should do the same.

I believe Maricopa County should continue to focus on its core functions and doing them well, always maintaining a ‘Best in Class’ mindset. Because providing for the safety of our citizens is the most basic function of local government, it was of critical importance to me this year to ensure the needs of our public safety and criminal justice departments were met.

This will continue to be a personal priority for me and I will work to be certain the necessary public safety resources are available to all residents, especially in the more rural areas of Maricopa County.

These are the types of improvements I will continue to bring about during the duration of my term. I remain as committed as ever to government transparency and communication, increasing efficiencies in our county functions, and providing for public safety needs, all while maintaining the fiscally conservative principles that have guided this past year. I look forward to the New Year and continuing my work on behalf of the people of District 2.