As the Tempe mayoral elections draw closer, advocates for both Corey Woods and Mark Mitchell have expressed their reasons for supporting these candidates. The Wrangler team is dedicated to providing its readers with locally-influenced and well-balanced news from the Tempe and West Chandler communities. Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send an email to editor@wranglernews.com.

About . . .

Mark Mitchell

I’m Maryanne Corder, former Neighborhood Services Director for the City of Tempe. I cherish the diversity and unique character of every neighborhood in our City, and that’s why I’m asking you to support and help re-elect Mark Mitchell as Mayor of Tempe. In my time with the City, Mark always put neighborhoods first.

He takes the time to listen to residents, to consult with the community, and to make decisions with our neighborhoods in mind. He always has.

Mark likes to say “the cornerstones of our city are our neighborhoods, and the cornerstones of our neighborhoods are our parks.” I agree with him. The heartbeat of our city can be found in our neighborhoods. That’s why Tempe has introduced character areas throughout the city, so residents have even more input to decide how their neighborhoods are developed.

And under Mark’s leadership, the City has created an all-inclusive playground index for our parks to ensure that everyone can enjoy our great parks – increasing safety, accessibility, and modernizing equipment. And you’ll notice that there are more bike paths around Tempe than ever before – 215 miles of bikeways.

Mark’s also fought for new economic opportunities for our city. Since 2012, Tempe’s brought in over 33,000 new jobs and $3 billion in private investment, while preserving our historic areas. And all that investment extends to investment in our residents, which is why Mark and the Council are investing $60 million into revitalizing and re-dedicating parks all over Tempe, and investing $80 million into refurbishing our roads.

It’s important to Mark that all these great investments extend to our entire city. You’ll see the free-of-charge Orbit bus in South Tempe these days and a beautifully re-dedicated Estrada Park. There’s also new and exciting businesses on the way to South Tempe, like Postino WineCafe and the Porch neighborhood gastropub.

I’m proud of Mark’s record as Mayor, and I know re-electing him means putting neighborhoods and citizens first. Join me in voting Mark Mitchell for Mayor of Tempe!