Along with Tempe mayoral candidates, the following five Tempe City Council candidates will be on the ballot on March 10, going after three open seats.
Tempe City Council members work with the mayor to create and enforce policy for the city which includes anything from regulating construction projects to dealing with flooding and even determining future land use.
The candidates' positions on education, city infrastructure and more are below:
Casey Clowes
In order to pursue equitable solutions, improve education and foster sustainability, attorney Casey Clowes is running for City Council to improve "the quality of life for all residents," she said in an email.
Clowes received her undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees through ASU and currently works as an attorney. She is a member of Arizona State Bar's Council on Persons with Disabilities in the Legal Profession and the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Council, volunteers at Phoenix Children's Hospital and assists students at South Mountain High School in the law magnet program.
With a background in public service, public policy and law, Clowes said she hopes to expand preschool access for all families, enhance police training by adding lessons about mental health and sexual assault and support the Community Assisted Mortgage Plan.
"I will bring both my progressive values and my contract negotiation skills to the city when negotiating contracts with developers and contractors to ensure that agreements further Tempe's priorities," Clowes said in an email.
Among her other priorities are increasing green space, utilizing mobile technology to estimate public transit location and arrival time, increasing city employee minimum wage to $15 an hour and implementing rank-choice voting.
Doreen Garlid
Doreen Garlid, a member of the Navajo Nation, would be the first Native American elected to Tempe City Council. She has devoted over 45 years to promoting Navajo culture visibility and awareness through free community talks, according to her website.
Along with her continued efforts to preserve the history of the Navajo Nation, Garlid wants to embrace Tempe's history while also making innovative decisions to support the city's growth and accommodate the growing population.
On her website, she said she will work to "preserve our sense of place and character for future generations."
Garlid promises to make safety a priority. This includes better training and equipment for public safety officers.
In order to have a balanced budget and provide residents with the help they need, Garlid hopes to increase access to clean, safe and long-lasting water supply in the city.
She wants to help provide affordable housing in developing areas of Tempe without compromising history or the treasured establishments that characterize the city.
Randy Keating
Serving on City Council since 2015, Randy Keating hopes to win another election to continue influencing the city's positive growth.
Keating believes Tempe needs "pragmatic, inclusive, and thoughtful" leadership to ensure the city's bright future. Among his top platform issues are alleviating traffic congestion, creating and improving low-income housing and to plan development projects with residents in mind.
"(We need to) understand the ramifications of projects before shovels even hit the ground," Keating said.
When it comes to educating and employing future members of the Tempe community, Keating hopes that businesses and ASU will consider promoting jobs and programs that do not require four-year degrees, rather certifications and apprenticeships.
Among his other priorities is implementing a plan to address suicide prevention in schools, providing license requirements and regulations for scooter sharing, constructing roads that are safer for cyclists and conduct a survey to find tools that will help limit gentrification.
Joel Navarro
Like Keating, Joel Navarro is seeking reelection for another term. After 11 years of serving on the council, Navarro claims to have maintained fiscal responsibility, enhanced public safety services, supported veterans initiatives and encouraged community input.
He has served as chair of Tempe's Human Relations Commission since 2006, where he has allocated grant money to a number of local nonprofit organizations.
Aside from helping local charities, Navarro wants to continue infrastructure maintenance in waterways, sewers and trash pickup systems. He hopes to address mental health and homelessness and fight drug addiction.
Given his experience working with local businesses and organizations close to the Tempe City Council, Navarro hopes that another term will allow him to foster business, economic opportunities and relationships with Mexico.
Navarro is a trained firefighter and paramedic with a "commitment to public service," according to his campaign website.
Marc Norman
Marc Norman is a musician and a downtown Tempe resident. He said he entered the race because he was "less of a politician and more of a concerned citizen."
Aside from his frustration with big development in the city, Norman wants to find a solution to what he called a homeless epidemic in Tempe — "a problem no one has an answer to."
Norman said he is the only representative from the downtown Tempe area in the race for Tempe City Council. He hopes it will separate him from his opponents as he too, hopes that the city will adopt a "responsible growth" mindset.
With his roots in the arts, Norman hopes to increase the number of art and music venues as "the arts and culture of a city really define who a city is and what it cares about," according to his campaign website.
This is Norman's first time running for office, an experience he has called "all encompassing."
"It's the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about before I got to bed," Norman said.
Reach the reporter at pjhanse1@asu.edu and follow @piperjhansen on Twitter.
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Piper Hansen is the digital editor-in-chief at The State Press, overseeing all digital content. Joining SP in Spring 2020, she has covered student government, housing and COVID-19. She has previously written about state politics for The Arizona Republic and the Arizona Capitol Times and covers social justice for Cronkite News.
