Meet The New Candidates: Pat Straney and Don Bristow Seek To Bring Civility Back To The Oro Valley Town Council

Recently, the Arizona Daily Star published regarding each of the six Oro Valley candidates. The article is brief.  Also a local advertising circular published about these candidates. They conveniently printed only the pictures of the Majority-4, They conveniently misstated that these 4 have served 2-terms, perhaps in an attempt to increase their "gravitas".

You already know the Majority-4.   You don't need to read about what they say now. You simply need to look at their performance during the past 4 years. You simply can judge them on their performance.

But, what of the two newcomers?  Would you like to meet them?

Today, June 11, we introduce them to you. Heck, we'll even post their picture!

We've done our homework on them. We've met with them. We know what they want to accomplish. We know they are viable candidates.  We want to share some of what he have learned.

Patrick Straney For Mayor

Pat Straney

You can read about Pat's background both as President of the Ranch Vistoso Master HOA and as a senior executive at General Motors (He left long before the bankruptcy) at his web site, votepatstraneymayor.com. So, we won't repeat it here. What we do want to share are some of the insights we learned during our conversations with him.

Pat believes that our elected officials need to work as a team.  He also believes that it is the Mayor's role to seek ways to build consensus. To Pat, discord has no role in Oro Valley governance.

Pat observed to us that he understands that council members will not always agree.  He sees lack of agreement as a good thing.  Pats experience has been that the best ideas often surface through the convergence of differing views. We agree.  He has demonstrated through is work in the public and private sector that he can build agreement.

Our conversations with Pat have been reassuring. He is "calm, cool and collected." He handled our tough questions directly. When we asked him, for example, if he were friendly with any of the Majority-4. He responded that he knows Mayor Hiremath because the Mayor appointed him to a advisory activity in town. He also told us that he serves on a Rancho Vistoso Community sub committee with Joe Hornat and that he enjoyed talking to Joe about issues that are shared by both Rancho Vistoso Community and Town of Oro Valley. Pat noted: "I want to be everyone's Mayor." We think that is a good thing!

We asked Pat his thinking on the role of the Mayor when it comes to managing the town. Pat believes that the Mayor needs to do his own thinking. He said that he is ready to do the hard work of preparing for every meeting by reading the materials and then meeting with staff.

When it comes to special interests Pat believes that as Mayor, Oro Valley is his special interest. He wants to provide the leadership required to build on the Town’s strengths and help guide it to the highest level of excellence – while preserving the history, culture and uniqueness that defines Oro Valley.

Pat doesn't believe that the Oro Valley Police Department or any other town department’s 's budget and operations should be a source of contention among council members. His plan is to fully understand the ample input received from the Oro Valley residents relative to their expectation of Town services provided. It is the council’s job to fully understand all aspects of providing such services over the long term and make knowledge based decisions that support Oro Valley excellence going forward.

Don Bristow For Council

Don Bristow, like Pat Straney, has been a resident of Oro Valley for a number of years. You can read about him by visiting his website, votedonbristow.com.

There are three things that we found refreshing when we spoke with Don regarding his candidacy.

First, Don is a citizen who takes action. He is active in our community even though, at present, he is neither an elected or appointed official.  For example:

• Don is passionate that Oro Valley’s codes and regulations should be reviewed and followed.  He believes that these codes should not ignored or administratively modified to suit special interests. Rather than complaining about violations, he actually does something about it.  When Don sees what he believes to be a sign or display code violation, he reports it to town staff, with accompanying photos.  He knows its a violation because he knows the code.  Most often, the violations he reports are validated by town staff. Corrections are made.
• Don’s interest goes far beyond signage. He attends virtually all council meetings and many board and commission meetings. He has brought forth issues to staff and council such as permitting a u-haul rental facility where it did not belong; to challenging a staff conclusion that an RV motor coaches and towable trailers are, by definition, merely cars. This definition allows for the display of RV motor coaches and towable trailers at the Oro Valley Marketplace, a display which does little to benefit Oro Valley.

Don has demonstrated the he, like Pat, will do his homework. He will be prepared to do his job knowledgeably.  Don will listen to all presentations and ask questions before making his decisions.

Second, Don will do his council job effectively because he is a measured, respectful person. He gets along with everyone because he is respectful to all. His positions are fact-based. They are presented in a manner that is both understandable and verifiable.

Third, Don believes the only special interest group is you, the citizens of Oro Valley.  This does not mean that he will ignore other interests. It means that he will seek council decisions that balance the needs of the citizens with the needs of other interests, including the business community. Within that context, he told us that he will use the Oro Valley’s General Plan and Town regulations as his guide to making decisions while on council.

We asked Don what he would like to accomplish while on Council.  He responded that he would like to transform the Oro Valley Town Council into a highly cooperative team, a team that demonstrates respect not only for fellow council members but also for the citizens of Oro Valley.  He would seek fiscal responsibility by spending wisely on priorities that matter to the residents of Oro Valley.  He would also advocate for environmental, historical and cultural preservation in Oro Valley.  Of course, all of this would be done, he noted, in the context of maintaining quality of life and public safety for all in Oro Valley.
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Both Pat and Don are registered Independents, like us.