Mayor Scott Smith AZ Candidate for Governor: A Model For Arizona's Future

You've probably heard the saying every ending creates a new beginning. That's how  I feel this morning as I spend my last few hours as the Mayor of Mesa.  I'll miss my fellow Council members, our incredibly supportive City staff and the   army of citizens who have shared their passion for remaking our City over the   past six years. Serving as the Mayor of a New American City on the move,   creating jobs, expanding opportunities and lifting quality of life, has been more  than a privilege – it has sparked within me a passion to do for the State of Arizona  what we have been able to accomplish in Mesa. That new beginning – my campaign for the Republican nomination for Governor of Arizona –   has me ready to deliver my message of conservative, business-friendly   accomplishments to every voter in the state. Click here to learn more about my campaign. What will I be talking about on the campaign trail? How in Mesa we erased a $62 million budget deficit by creating efficiencies  and reorganizing our workforce, bringing the leanness of the private sector to government.  Today, crime in Mesa stands at a 40-year low, service levels have grown and Mesa residents paid less taxes to the City last year than they did the year before I became Mayor.  How we made Mesa the most business-friendly city in Arizona by adopting a new paradigm – "Facilitate, Don't Regulate" – that changed the mindset of City staff, from hurdles to helpers, obstacles to business builders. How Mesa not only landed a $2 billion Apple facility, but we also attracted six colleges and universities, including our state's first Catholic university. Today, Mesa has become a hub for higher education, as it has for healthcare, aerospace, tourism and technology – all the building blocks of H.E.A.T., my signature economic development initiative. You have my commitment that our campaign will be defined by leadership, not more politics as usual. I intend to run a race focused as my administration has been focused – on solving problems and creating opportunities, not on politics and partisanship. Our state has far too much of the latter, but very little of the former. Beginning today, I intend to fill that leadership void. I hope I can count on your support. Please join me right now and together we will Build a Better Arizona. Thanks, Scott