Ray for Buckeye

AZ Republic article on Ray

February 20, 2010 · Leave a Comment

You can also check out the article bio on Ray at the AZ Republic here.

Ray Strauss: District 4, Buckeye Town Council candidate

Arizona Republic candidate questionnaire

Biography

Occupation/main source(s) of income: Senior pastor

Previous occupations: Demographic Specialist, Collegiate Track Coach

Education: Edmond Memorial High School, Edmond OK. Graduated in 1991.Oklahoma Baptist University, Bachelor of Arts, 1996.Graduate Studies: (60 hours) New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1997-1998 Southwestern Theological Seminary, 1998-2001Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2004-2005

Age: 38

Family: Christina Strauss (married 1-3-1998)

How long have you lived in Arizona? 3 years in June.

Previous public offices you’ve sought/held: none

Civic organizations in which you’ve been active? None

Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Do you have any civil judgments outstanding? Please be specific. No
1. What is the best piece of political advice you ever received? Listen to all perspectives objectively before rendering judgement.

2. What character trait best serves a public official? Integrity

3. What character flaw most harms a public official? Dishonesty

4. What is your favorite book (besides a spiritual text)? Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept, by James W. Sire is simply fascinating at the moment as was Malcom Gladwell’s book, Blink before that. As a bibliophile, my favorite book changes almost weekly.

5. What is your favorite place in Arizona? Home with my family in Buckeye though we enjoy short get-a-ways to Sedona and the North Rim in the Summer.

6. Which Arizona political figure past or present do you most admire and why? No one I would claim to admire politically, though I am intrigued by J.D. Hayworth and John McCain’s brewing battle for Senate.

The issues

1. What are your qualifications to serve on the Town Council?
As a pastor, I serve and spend much time with many of the people of the communities in District 4. This allows me to know many of them and their thoughts on issues that affect them. Because of this, I will be able to bring their voice to the table.

2. What makes you a better choice than your opponent or opponents?
Living in Festival Ranch provides a great opportunity to get to meet and connect with a large number of the people in District 4. This is made more so because of our local elementary school, Festival Foothills, where my wife serves as the assistant principal. The school, as well as the church where I serve, are tremendous bridges for the communities of Sun City Festival, Festival Foothills, and Tartesso.

3. What do you see as your district’s top 3 issues?
1. The need for economic development.
2. Infrastructure to compete for businesses looking for new opportunities in the Valley.
3. Stronger representation for District 4.

4. What is your vision for your district in five years? In 10?
In five years: Greatly enhanced communication between the residents, businesses, and town. More entry level businesses (gas stations, professional service providers, smaller restaurants, etc.). The infrastructure and residents in place that provide the foundation for the next five years which will be:
In 10 years: Builders and developers responding to a stabilized economy and increased demand for people moving to the “next great destination” that Buckeye will be. Wisely responding to the growth while being mindful of our past experiences.

5. What has been the current council’s greatest accomplishment?
Surviving. Growing from 5,000 to 50,000 in ten years required considerable energy and resources. Adjusting to that kind of growth demanded much material and personnel to simply keep up. When the economy came to a halt, the emotion, mindset, and energy shifted and required yet another significant adjustment for all of Buckeye. This shift has been challenging for the residents, leadership, and perhaps most of all, the Town employees. I’d say Buckeye has done a fine job knowing when to press the brake and gas pedals on this trip.

6. What has been the current council’s greatest shortcoming, and how would you address it?The turn over in senior staff and financial resources incurred as a result are generally not things tax payers plan to spend money on. Hiring (and electing) people with the integrity, maturity, and leadership skills necessary for a growing Buckeye will prevent that from occurring as often in the future. That’s how I’d address it. After all, ideas have consequences and everyone we hire or elect will have ideas.

7. How long have you lived in Buckeye? 2 years.

8. How long have you lived in the district? 2 years.

Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 04:11 PM

Categories: News & Views

West Valley View Endorses Ray Strauss

February 20, 2010 · Leave a Comment

This is from the Wet Valley View.  To see the article on their site, go to http://www.westvalleyview.com

Time to begin a new age in Buckeye

Buckeye voters have an opportunity to change the direction of their city and set it on a course toward a future of visionary leadership and professional management.

Ballots have been sent out and the voting has begun in this election by mail.

What’s different about this race from all of the Buckeye council elections in the past is that all of the challengers are relatively new residents – transplants from other parts of the state or country. In previous elections most, if not all, of the candidates were born or raised in or near Buckeye. It’s partly because of those close family ties that Buckeye’s government has a reputation for being a “good ol’ boy” town. In most cases, the reputation is richly deserved.

But big changes have come to Buckeye over the past decade. Previous town councils voted to annex huge swaths of land, bringing the town’s planning area to some 650 square miles. New residential developments have sprung up in those far-flung areas and people have moved into those new homes – people who weren’t born and raised in Buckeye. Now they want to have a say in how the town is run.

Over the past 10 years, Buckeye’s government has stumbled around like Keystone Kops. The Town Council’s track record in hiring town managers has been dismal. Town managers were hired and disposed of with wild abandon – and at exorbitant cost to the town’s taxpayers.

Poor management led to one embarrassing fiasco after another (remember the water bill boondoggle?). The town is in desperate need of new faces and new ideas on the council.

That’s why Buckeye voters should use this election to begin a clean sweep of the Town Council.

In District 4, we recommend Ray Strauss. He’s bright, energetic and has already demonstrated a deep commitment to community affairs. As a church pastor and resident of Festival Foothills, he’d bring the communities in the far northern reaches of Buckeye the representation on the council they haven’t had thus far.

In District 5, we recommend Craig Heustis. A resident of the Sundance community, Heustis has been a community activist (far more so than his opponent) and has served on the town Planning and Zoning Board.

In District 6, we recommend Eric Orsborn, who lives in the Verrado community. Osborn is another young, bright, energetic candidate. The only yellow flag is that he has worked for developers, including DMB, the company that is developing Verrado, so if he’s elected, we hope that he would abstain from any votes that might involve a potential conflict of interest.

His opponent, incumbent Dave Rioux, has recently been embroiled in a couple of embarrassing personal scandals involving allegations of sexual harassment and the discovery that 14 years ago he fathered a child he didn’t know about until recently. The issues raise questions about personal character. Voters will always have to wonder if the character he demonstrated in his personal life might carry over into his public life.

Categories: News & Views
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