Maritza Dominguez|Arizona Republic
More than a dozen Gilbert residents attended aforum Monday to hear from six of the 10 candidates running for Town Council in the Aug. 2 election.
Candidates, via a moderator, fielded questions from the audience and resident submissions.
Lynne King Smith, who ran for mayor in 2020, hosted the forum at her downtown business, Thrive Coworking for Women.
Candidates responded to questions for the better part of two hours, delving into issues such as leadership, creating a welcoming community and handling growth as the town exceeds 270,000 residents and nears buildout.
Susie Jackson, who has lived in Gilbert for 18 years, said she attended the forum because she wanted to hear directly from the candidates instead of just seeing the online rhetoric.
She's looking for"representatives who are kind and are looking for the best interests of our citizens."
One of her top concerns isensuring the Town Council has a good working relationshipwith the school boards in Gilbert.
The town, which saw three council members and the mayor resignin 2020 for variedreasons, is guaranteed more change this year as CouncilmembersLaurin Hendrix and Aimee Yentes did not seek reelection. In all, four seats are up for grabs on Tuesday.
Leadership style important to residents
The past couple years, Gilbert has had its share of council infighting,ethicsprobes and open meeting law violations. Several of the questions dug intocandidates decision-making, trust and transparency.
Scott September, appointed to the council in 2020 and making his first run for election to the seat,was asked how he approaches voting.He said it's important to know how his vote would impact the community. He said he doesn't always entera meeting with a set decision because he wants to hear from the public and his colleagues.
Bill Spence, answering a similarquestion, said he looks at the data and what residents want. Spence was appointed to the council in 2020 but lost his election bid later that year to Hendrix. "I have to go with the people," he said.
MichaelClark, who owns a sales company, was asked how the council can become more accessibleto residents. He said it starts with transparency. If the council is more open, residents will be more engaged, he said.
Yung Koprowski, appointed to the council in 2020 and seeking her first election to the seat, said council members must be good communicators andaccessible to the community. She said she's always available via email or phone.
Growth and future of Gilbertin question
Gilbert catapulted from a town of about 5,700 residents in 1980 to an estimated 271,500 today.That's expected to top 300,000 residents as the townreachesbuildout by 2030.As always in Arizona, growth was a hot topic with candidates asked about housing, public transitand infrastructure.
Candidate Jim Torgeson, who owns a sign shop,said he is concerned that owning a home in Gilbert has become increasingly unaffordable for many but that denser development brings its own set of problems, including demands forwater. He said he understands that residents may feel like they're losing their community with the addition of apartment complexes and renters who he said tendnot to stay in one place for too long. He said he wouldrather seemultifamily housing developers use land tobuild condominiums and other non-rental options.
Candidate Chuck Bongiovanni, who runs a senior residential home franchise, said the underlying sentiment against high densityis reallysaying "we don't want those people here."
He disagrees with that, but also said that high density apartments aren't set up to be attainable. "They're really expensive."
Gilbert election: Where candidates stand on transportation, housing and political infighting
"We're creating an environmentwhere we're telling our kids they can't afford houses and we're not doinganythingon the other side for the elderly"Bongiovanni said. "We're losing two generations in this town."
Koprowski was asked if the town was doing enough about infrastructure for the next generation.She pointed to the $515 milliontransportation bond that votersnarrowly passed last year that will help maintainroadsand address congestion as the town grows. Reliable internetservice also has been a large component of the infrastructure conversation.Koprowskipointed to the town's plans to build up broadband for residents to continueitsCity of the Futuremission.Earlier this year, the council put out a call for proposals to expand high-speed internet access across the town.
Spence said he doesn't think the town is doing enough with infrastructure.During the heightof the pandemic, he heard from residents asking for more outdoor amenities. We can do more to create abike and pedestrian friendly community, he said.
Is Gilbert a welcoming community?
Several questions submitted by residents revolved around whether Gilbert is a welcoming community. Gilbert is a hold out when it comes to passing anordinances to protect LGBTQ residents from discrimination. Neighboring Mesa passed a nondiscrimination measure last year.
Gilbert's council rebuffed the idea of providing gender confirming surgery under its health care coverage in March 2021. Mayor Bridgette Peterson had said it was importantto offer such benefitsto keep the town competitive.Korpowski voted "yes" to align the town with industry standards, while Septembervoted "no" to avoid socialpolicy issues. The measure failed.
Bongiovanni and Torgeson were both asked if Gilbert's health care plan should cover the procedurein order to keep the town competitive.
Bongiovanni said it wasahuman resource issue. "If other citiesand towns areoffering this as a benefit,we need to offer it as well," he said.
Torgeson said if the surgerywas an extra cost to taxpayers he would not support it, but if itdidn'tcost the town a dime he wouldn't mind it.
Torgeson also was asked if the town and council are doing enough to recognize diversity in the community.
He saidas a straight white man he doesn't think about it that much. He said as he talked with residents during the campaign, no oneraised that concern to him. Towards the end ofthe forum,Torgeson said he realized, based on the number of questions on the topic,that it was was a concernfor some.
Clark was askedhowhe would make members of the LGBTQ community feel more welcomed in Gilbert. "Anybody who lives here in Gilbert is taxpayer.You deserve to be heard," he said.
If a constituent came to himwith those concerns,he said he would take the time to sit, talk and learn how he couldhelp them find a welcoming place in the community.
September,answering the same question, said getting to know your neighbors and learning from them is important. He said he would express deep regret if he heard that residents feltunwelcomein the community.
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More from candidates
Candidates not at the forum were Bobbie Buchli and Mario Chicas, who both said they had to work,Bus Obayomi, who said he was out of town, and write-in candidate Garrett Glover, who said the invitelanded in his email's junk folder and he saw it too late.
The Republic previously asked the council hopefuls to answer questions on some of the key issues facing the town. You can read their responses here.
Reporter Maritza Dominguez can be reached atmaritza.dominguez@arizonarepublic.comor 480-271-0646. Follow her on Twitter@maritzacdom.
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