LOVE interviews Mayoral Candidate, Joe Winfield. Part 3.

Mayoral Candidate, Joe Winfield, recently sat down with LOVE for an interview. This is our final installment of the 3-part article. Parts 1 and 2 were published on Tuesday and Wednesday. You can find them by scrolling down beneath this article.

What is your vision for the remaining 15% of Oro Valley's undeveloped land?

WINFIELD: When the question of vision comes up, I immediately turn to the General Plan, Your Voice, Our Future, because it lays out the vision for our community and it’s a reflection of all that community input. I feel that I would have a responsibility as mayor to be an advocate for that vision and to protect that vision, to make sure that the decisions that are made are taking us towards that vision, rather than away from it.

If it were suggested that there should be a change, then what would be important to me is that the community would support that change. I would reach out to the community to understand what it is that they wanted to happen for any particular parcel.

What is your impression of the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Ordinance? Do you believe it’s what the citizens envisioned and intended?

WINFIELD: The genesis of ESLO goes back, I think over 20 years. It’s a little hard to say if it’s lived up to what people envisioned. At the time, there was a lot more undeveloped land and pristine desert and the hope of many residents at the time was to preserve as much open space as possible.  I would probably say that, now 20 years later, I doubt that it’s accomplished what they were envisioning.

What makes it difficult to answer that is that you would almost have to go back to 1996-1998 and look at an aerial photograph of our community and map those areas considered to be environmentally sensitive lands…what were those lands that we were trying to protect? I think what we essentially have now, 20 years later, are lands to a certain extent that would have been preserved without the ordinance, and for the most part, that’s undevelopable lands…the washes. I would like to think that some open space has been protected, but with the recent development approval in Big Wash, a major wildlife corridor between the Catalina and Tortolita Mountains...if we can’t protect that, than what can we protect? So I suspect that for the folks who were very much invested in the ESLO, I think they would be disappointed in the results we see today.

What was your feeling about the Community Center purchase when it was first discussed in December of 2014 and what is your impression of it now, after 3 years of operations?

WINFIELD: I was on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board when the mayor and council made the purchase of the golf course and clubhouse and I opposed it, and as a result of that, I resigned from the Parks and Rec Advisory Board. I felt it was a betrayal. When we were given a tour of the clubhouse, I was even more astonished that this was being portrayed as a community center because to me it was completely unsuitable as a community center, both from an accessibility standpoint and architecturally it was too compartmentalized and dated. Clearly, to me, the mayor and council didn’t have the community’s interest at heart.

Three years later, I don’t feel any differently. Personally, I think any money invested in that facility is a waste of taxpayer money. I think it will always be unsuitable. Does that mean that it can’t be adapted for use for some other Town purpose? Absolutely. But as a community center? I think we should stop wasting our money and time.

As Oro Valley’s population continues to grow, the demand for water also increases. What will you do to ensure that residential growth does not negatively impact our water supply or increase our costs to obtain CAP water?

WINFIELD: Our ground water tables have been dropping for years and they’re going to continue to drop because of increased development and population. I think this is a serious matter. The golf course is a perfect example of poor water use. That’s the first place we should start as a community. Admittedly, this is a an area that requires some science in hydrology.

We need to take a more serious look at what is sustainable. I think, to a certain extent, we don’t exercise enough humility when it comes to the environment and where we live. I mean, for goodness sake, we live in the Sonoran desert. We’ve been in a drought for a decade or more. There’s nothing we can do to change that other than to change our attitude about water use. It’s more than turning off the water when you’re brushing your teeth. It really has a lot to do with over-development and the golf courses. That’s a good place to start.

Do you support the Main Streets project?

WINFIELD: I don’t support the Main Streets project. I think it’s folly. What I do support is a more walkable community, making things more pedestrian, making our streetscapes as pedestrian friendly as possible. I said this when we were doing the General Plan…that this idea of a Town Center, the water has gone under the bridge with that. Our town is what it is. I think it’s a lovely town. We don’t have a Town Center and that’s OK, many communities don’t. But many towns that do have a Town Center, the shops are boarded up. So Main Street is a planner’s folly.

LOVE interviews Mayoral Candidate, Joe Winfield. Part 2.

Mayoral Candidate, Joe Winfield, recently sat down with LOVE for an interview. Part 1 was published yesterday. Part 3 will be published tomorrow. (If you missed Part 1, you can find it below this article.)

What do you like about Oro Valley?

WINFIELD: I was in the Landscape Architecture program at Arizona State University and learned that the program wasn’t accredited but that it was accredited at the University of Arizona (U of A) so we moved to Tucson. We fell in love with the mountains, the Catalinas, the Santa Ritas and so forth.

When we had the opportunity to return back to Tucson about 20 years ago, we had 6 children at the time, so of course schools were important to us and that’s what really drew us to Oro Valley.

In addition to that, the mountain views and close to home recreation. Wherever we’ve purchased a home, we’ve looked for trails, parks, and similar amenities because we enjoy the outdoors and being physically active. Certainly, the schools were first, but the beautiful mountain views, the open spaces. Having graduated from the U of A in Landscape Architecture, the Sonoran desert plant palette is something I love.

What are your hot button issues with the town?

WINFIELD: My hot button issues go back to about three years ago when the Your Voice, Our Future General Plan was nearly finished. I have to applaud the Town for YVOF because it was so impressive, the amount of community outreach that was done. Public involvement, that’s at the heart of what I’ve been doing for 25 years, and I was impressed with the effort made to involve the residents in the planning process.

So consequently, because I was so pleased with the effort to involve the residents, I was equally disappointed and felt betrayed, that once the Town passed the General Plan, we had no more than approved the plan when the mayor and town council began to make amendments to YVOF. We had just made this great effort to involve the community and then it was as if all that public effort was being cast aside. So, for me, it was such a betrayal and so counter to my own personal values.

Closely tied to that was the announcement of the purchase of the golf course.  My issue with it was how it was presented to the community, especially how it was veiled in terms of a community center. I felt it was taking advantage of the community because I, for one, had been an advocate of a community/recreation center. But when the mayor and council presented the golf course and clubhouse as our community center, we toured the facility and it was such a disappointment. It was so unsuitable, in my view, as a community center. It was not accessible, it was dated architecture from the 1980’s, it was very compartmentalized, it wasn’t open, and the spaces weren’t inviting, and I thought, what a tragedy that this clubhouse is being pawned off onto us as a community center.

My other hot button issue is the survey that was done, the “statistically valid survey."  The Town commissioned a survey to determine what amenities and facilities the residents wanted in their parks.  At the top of the list were playgrounds, play structures, and ramadas.  But how did the Town respond?  They purchased a 45-hole golf course, they developed large treeless parking lots at Naranja Park and James D. Kriegh Park, and they installed large park monument signs, all of this stuff, even an archery range. I don’t have anything against archery, but archery was not even on the list. So to me, these are all examples of how out of touch the mayor and council are with the community and instead are pushing their own agenda or the agenda of Special Interests.

What is your vision for Oro Valley in four years, after your first term?

WINFIELD: I would hope that after four years of my term as mayor, that there would be an increased feeling of goodwill in our community.

I would also hope, as I already mentioned, that there would be new accessible play structures in Naranja Park and James D. Kriegh Park and that those would be facilities that children and families and others would enjoy.  Having adequate ballfields so that families do not have to travel outside of Oro Valley for practice is important to me.  We did our fair share of driving kids to Catalina simply to practice baseball and other sports.  That needs to change.

One of the things that’s always concerned me since we moved to Oro Valley is the polarization between the retired community and the non-retired community and I would hope that we could somehow bridge that and that we could see ourselves as one community.  It’s been interesting to me as I’ve been canvassing and talking to individuals, I’ve been surprised that some of the senior members of our community have also felt somewhat abandoned and feeling that there haven’t been the programs and facilities they desire.

I would hope to have made a difference in terms of the development of our community. Admittedly, much of the community is already developed so I don’t know that you’ll see a significant difference but I would hope that there would have been some moderation in development and the type of development.

LOVE interviews Mayoral Candidate, Joe Winfield. Part 1.

Mayoral Candidate, Joe Winfield, recently sat down with LOVE for an interview. We will publish the interview in three separate articles over the next three days.

Why do you want to be mayor of Oro Valley?

WINFIELD: I don’t believe the community is being well-served by the current mayor and council. In particular, I would like to give more attention to our Parks and Recreation program, specifically, providing amenities for children and families. I also value living within our means. I‘m concerned about the escalating budget of the Town and believe that we can do a better job at reigning in costs. I’m concerned about the community’s voice not being heard. I've heard from many individuals expressing frustration about being ignored by their elected officials and I can empathize because I've felt that way, too.

As an example, look at the General Plan, Your Voice our Future. There was considerable time and effort put into reaching out to the community, soliciting their ideas. Other members of the community then took those ideas and articulated them into a vision and goals, policies and objectives that speak to a variety of elements of our community, such as the character of our community, the physical character, what it should look like, and that translates into land use and zoning. I’m concerned that the mayor and council are not listening to the community. They’re not listening because of the amendments that they’ve made to the General Plan and the numerous zoning changes.

Those are some of the specific things that have drawn me into the race and why I want to serve as mayor.

Why do you believe that you will be a more effective mayor than Satish Hiremath?

WINFIELD: I believe I’ll be a more effective mayor for a variety of reasons.

(1) I’m a very people-oriented person. I enjoy working with people. That includes individuals who don’t necessarily share my point of view. In fact, I value different points of views and perspectives. I spent much of my career working with communities convening various organizations and groups to help find common ground, to help facilitate conversation, to go through a planning process in terms of identifying a vision, goals, and objectives, and working together to implement those ideas. So I’m very comfortable working with a variety of groups and individuals and inviting conversation. Working in a collaborative community-based manner is important to me and I believe as a mayor that this is a skill-set that can be very valuable in terms of bringing all stakeholders to the table.

(2) I also have, over my career, been responsible for managing budgets. I pride myself in working within budget. In fact just recently, when working for the Forest Service, the budget historically had challenges. They developed a pattern of deficits and since I’ve been serving as a Recreation Staff Officer, I was able to turn around a $600,000 deficit into a $1 million dollar surplus. So I’ve worked with budgets and I value and honor the fact that it’s taxpayers money. I look for opportunities to work efficiently, effectively, and to provide the public with a good value for their money.

(3) I’ve also worked hard over my career at leveraging dollars. In fact, for about 20 years, I had a relatively small budget because the intent was for us to find the funding, whether that was through grants or other non-federal sources. And then by acquiring those grants or working with organizations, we were able to leverage funds so that $1.00 would turn into $3.00 or $5.00 because of investment coming from various sources. The idea was really to have as little government funds in the project as possible. It was a partnership approach bringing private funds and public funds together.

What is the first thing that you will try to do as mayor?

WINFIELD: There’s really a number of things I’d like to do but I think one of the first things is to bring a play structure to Naranja Town Park and James D. Kriegh Park. When I was on the Parks Advisory Board, there was a survey that was done in our community and there was a list of items that individuals who responded to the survey said was important to them. At the top of that list was playgrounds and play structures. To me, it’s a shame…I think it’s been maybe 15 years since we had a new play structure in our community.

In addition to that, the golf course is something that needs attention. The current mayor and council have been entrenched in their original decision. They seem to be doubling down on continuing to invest significant monies into the golf course. I think that the path they are on is not the path we should be on. But I believe there are solutions. A good place to start is the National Golf Foundation Study and working with the community to reach a sensible solution that protects property values and provides an amenity for all residents to enjoy.

In addition, I want to moderate growth. I would approach that by simply putting a moratorium on any amendments or rezonings and letting our community take a breath on the amount of development that has been occurring. I’m not suggesting that we don’t need development or that development would need to stop, but that we would comply and follow the current land use and zoning.

I think another area that I would want to focus on is the town budget. It’s increased significantly during this mayor and council’s tenure…83%. To me, it’s irresponsible and I would want to begin immediately looking at the budget. I would recommend a hiring freeze for 90 days to take stock of the current organizational chart and determine what positions are absolutely necessary and what positions we may be able to live without and bring the budget back to a more reasonable level.

Part 2 will be published tomorrow.

Press Release: Statement from Joseph Winfield, Candidate for Mayor of Oro Valley

"Oro Valley, May 2 – My family and I announce my candidacy for Mayor of Oro Valley. On Thursday, May 3, at 8:30 a.m. in the Town Clerk’s office, I will file the necessary forms including the maximum number of valid signatures (689) to become an official candidate for Mayor in the 2018 Primary Election.

I thank all of the Circulators who helped gather signatures and especially the Oro Valley registered voters who signed my nomination petitions helping me qualify as a mayoral candidate.

It has been extremely gratifying to talk one-on-one with hundreds of Oro Valley residents to learn about your concerns and hopes for the future. If I am fortunate enough to be elected as your mayor, I will work diligently to preserve and enhance our quality of life with integrity, inclusiveness, and hard work.

Our family returned to Tucson in 1996 and chose to live in Oro Valley because of the Amphitheater School District’s reputation for excellent schools and teachers, stunning views of the Catalina Mountains, and close proximity and access to outdoor recreation.

I have a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Arizona and have been employed by the National Park Service and Coronado National Forest for over 34 years. Early in my career I was fortunate enough to be introduced to community-based decision making. I highly value this collaborative approach and when employed properly, unleashes creative boldness and energy to achieve a community’s vision.

As wonderful as the Town of Oro Valley is, I believe “it’s time for a new direction.” What do I mean by a new direction? I believe we need to:

• Moderate growth and conform to land use and zoning designations that contribute to the feeling of a “small-town” and “neighborly feel."

• Break the pattern of “tax and spend” and reverse the explosive growth of town government.

• Employ sensible strategies to curb golf losses and move towards community amenities everyone can enjoy.

• Respect the “voice” of residents by being transparent, attentive, and inclusive.

• Preserve our natural, cultural and recreational inheritance for our enjoyment now and into the future.

• Respond to the recreation needs of children, adults and seniors of all abilities.

I welcome your thoughts about the new directions outlined above and other ideas you may have about how to help Oro Valley become the community we can all take pride in. Please go to joewinfieldmayor.com to volunteer, donate funds, and learn more about why you should vote for Joe Winfield on August 28."
---