In a live hour-long forum on 2 news, we heard from the five candidates in Flagstaff's upcoming mayoral election.
Two of the biggest issues facing flagstaff residents involve housing and growth. Each candidate had their own opinions on how to address these issues.
“It is most important to me because of my demonstrated experience representing children, to really invest in children and families in our community,” said Sara Presler-Hoefle. “And to do that, we have to invest in affordable housing. And what does that mean? It means putting our money where our mouth is.”
Sara for Mayor
Flagstaff 2008
Paid for by the Committee to Elect Sara Presler-Hoefle for Mayor
P.O. Box 686
Flagstaff, AZ 86002
ph: 928-214-8038
saraform
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Arizona Daily Sun Elections Coverage
Interested in the latest news about this election? Go to http://www.azdailysun.com/elections2008/. If you would like to know more about an issue in the newspaper, please Contact Us.
Thank You Voters & Contributors!
March 11, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sara Presler-Hoefle was the top vote-getter in the Flagstaff Mayoral Primary Election.
“I would like to express gratitiude to all the people that supported me in our effort to achieve a better Flagstaff. We’re off to a great start and yet we must keep moving Flagstaff forward to a brilliant future. It's time for a change, and I thank the Flagstaff citizens for their votes and good ideas.
I would like to express my thanks to Rick Krug, David Schlosser, Stephen Knutson and Joe Donaldson for their dedication and commitment to our community. They ran strong campaigns that focused on important issues facing Flagstaff citizens,” Sara Presler-Hoefle said.
Results show over 10,000 total ballots were cast in the Flagstaff Primary. The City of Flagstaff General Election will be held, by mail, with the formal Election Day being May 20, 2008. The last day to register to vote for the City General Election is April 21, 2008.
THANK YOU FOR VOTING! Primary Election Results!
In their own words: Sara Presler-Hoefle
Arizona Daily Sun Editorial
In their own words: Sara Presler-Hoefle
Thursday, February 28, 2008
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second in a series of 500-word statements by the five candidates for Flagstaff mayor in the March 11 primary. Watch for more statements and profiles of each candidate in the Arizona Daily Sun.
"I am a true believer. The Arizona Daily Sun asked me to write 500 words about anything I'd like -- just not another candidate. I thought about listing all of my favorite things in Flagstaff: movies in the square, Macy's coffee and the observatory. I thought about writing something inspiring: I experienced a true sense of community when I suddenly became ill a couple years back.. I considered my strengths: standing up for those who have no voice. Then, it dawned on me. Use this editorial -- this one opportunity to write about my opinion -- to be most vulnerable and share my greatest weakness.
My greatest weakness is that I am a true believer.
I believe so deeply in the American system of government that the people should be more effectively represented. I believe this so deeply that I resigned from my position as a deputy public defender (let's not mention that I was a public defender in the first place). I moved to working part-time at NAU, accepting less pay and more meals at home. I am a true believer. My faith in our community is so strong that I decided to run for office because I believe we can come together, locally, to solve our problems and shape our future.
You know, I've always been this way.
Yes, I've had significant moments that helped shape my perspective. I completed an intensive law program; worked a low-income housing clinic; built homes and founded a Habitat for Humanity group; served as former NAU student body president; legally represented very small children in our community; advocated for mentally ill persons; strengthened my faith through a life-threatening illness; participate in church activities; and teach ethics to first year college students.
However, I was this way before all of those things. When I was a child, my parents openly debated political issues around the dinner table. We didn't have cable -- only PBS. My mother tried to sew most of our clothes. My father, who is deceased, would take us to the soup kitchen on Thanksgiving to serve others before we served ourselves. I was a girl scout.
It is in those moments that I became a true believer. That developed into my professional and volunteer experiences.
I am running for Mayor of Flagstaff because I am a true believer. I was a public defender because I understood at an early age that it was important to serve soup to those that need it most before we feed ourselves. I teach ethics because I learned the importance of civic responsibility as a girl scout. I am fiscally moderate because my mother taught me the importance of saving money by sewing our clothes.
We have a tremendous opportunity to shape the future of Flagstaff in the same way. I believe we can do it better. How? We can do this by believing in ourselves again, prioritizing local needs and issues, cooperating rather than competing for resources, and giving citizens a reason to trust their government again. I am a true believer. We should celebrate our weaknesses, for in them, we find our strengths."--Sara Presler-Hoefle
SSCA Forum 3/6/08 6:30-8pm
March 6, 2008
Southside's Flagstaff Mayoral Candidate's Forum is on Wednesday, March 5th at the Murdoch Community Center at 203 E. Brannen Avenue from 6:30-8:00pm. Please join us!
NAU KJACK Debate 3/4/08 5pm
The debate will take place at the Northern Arizona University W.A. Franke College of Business in the Gardner auditorium. It will be an hour debate with an open question and answer portion after an hour. The debate will be aired on campus radio 1680AM and on the web at kjack.org. The whole debate will be replayed twice on Saturday and Sunday at 6pm, it will also be available as a podcast (http://www.kjack.org/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=67). The debate is being organized by Jason at KJACK: jdm98@nau.edu.League of Women Voters/AAUW Forum 2/23/08 10:45am
February 23, 2008 9am at Federated Community Church, downtown Flagstaff. Questions from the community. Council Candidates start at 9am, Mayoral Candidates start at 11am. Please attend! Immediately following the forum, we will meet outside the Church and walk neighborhoods. Join us!
TV 2 Debate 2/21/08 6-7pm
A live televised debate has been schedule for the mayoral candidates on TV2. Please tune in to Channel 2 on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 6pm or go to www.knaztv2.com. You can watch recaps online now!
Flagstaff mayoral candidates on the issues: Where they stand on housing and growth
Hawlie Ohe
2 News
Feb. 21, 2008 10:29 PM“What we need to do is work with developers, and make sure they have the kinds of incentives that encourage them to build the kinds of houses we need in Flagstaff, which are smaller, and denser, and more sustainable, because until we do that, we'll never solve the supply side, which is causing the crisis in housing affordability, said David Schlosser.
“I know that the solution is in design. We can design homes that are affordable, inexpensive to build, and high efficiency, said Stephen Knutson. “That means they have low monthly payments for energy in order to make it habitable.”
“The truth is Flagstaff cannot make housing affordable. The city of Flagstaff cannot make it affordable,” Rick Krug said. “The city of Flagstaff does not have the legal means, and nor do we have the financial means to make it affordable. However, we can slow it down.”
“In Arizona, it's a very conservative state, and there's a real strong control on what we can extract from a developer,” said Joe Donaldson. “So it's up to us to create that afford housing, and the council has been working very diligently and very hard on providing affordable housing.”
Another hot button issue deals with growth. Candidates were asked how they would prioritize and balance growth without losing the city's small town charm.
“I think growth will happen. So it's just about how we're going to approach it. Are we going to clog our streets on Milton with more cars or are we going to talk about regional transportation plans and opportunities? And I think those are serious things we should look at,” Presler-Hoefle said.
“If we are putting in place the right kinds of policies for a sustainable community and expecting sustainability of the companies and the individuals, and of the families that move here, then we're going to attract the right kinds of businesses individuals and families,” Schlosser said.
“The model of continuous growth is like Godzilla, I mean how much bigger can it get? It just can't grow forever. It just can't,” said Knutson. “We live on a finite planet. So I think we have to change our model. I think we have to change our model from growth to sustainability.”
“So the issue is this: growth is going to happen,” said Krug. ”If we don't manage it properly, it's going to harm us. Yes we do need to look for sustainable businesses in Flagstaff, absolutely. But it has to be led from the top down, it can't be happening accidentally.”
“Arizona Department of Public Resources is developing rules that will demand assured water supplies for the next 100 years. So that will in itself limit what we can do in Flagstaff, and that will limit growth without us making policies that would keep people out,” said Donaldson.
These issues just two of many that are on flagstaff voter's minds. Voters are encouraged to do more research on each candidate before casting your ballot.Candidate Forum: 2/6/08 6pm
A candidate forum hosted by the Republican Women will be held on February 6, 2008 at 6pm at the Radisson Hotel in West Flagstaff, off Route 66. Please attend. We'll have a table set up if you'd like to stop by and say hello. Please come and compare the candidates for yourself! We look forward to seeing you there.
Sara Interviewed on FlagNews.
Click on this link to see the interview! http://flgnews.com/dates/020108/jmac.htm
KNAZ TV2 - Northern Arizona's Own
January 11, 2008
Sara was featured on the 6pm and 10pm news on KNAZ -TV2.
Sara Turns In Mayoral Petitions and Packet
January 9, 2007
With hard work and widespread community support, Sara turned in her petitions and packet. THANK YOU to everyone who made this possible. Here is the most recent update on this:
Sara Presler-Hoefle Turns In Mayoral Petitions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2008 (Flagstaff, AZ) – City of Flagstaff mayoral candidate Sara Presler-Hoefle turned in her petitions to the Flagstaff City Clerk today, with a total of 730 signatures. In her campaign to become the mayor of Flagstaff, Presler-Hoefle is focusing on three major areas she feels will improve the quality of life for Flagstaff citizens:
Return the middle class to Flagstaff by recruiting companies with better paying jobs
- Preserve the Flagstaff everyone loves by growing and building in an environmentally friendly way—something that can be achieved by offering building incentives while simultaneously raising the standards.
- Ensure fair and effective governmental processes for ALL citizens of Flagstaff.
Other key areas Presler-Hoefle intends to address as mayor include investing in our children and youth with a focus on education and family support; housing issues utilizing community partnerships; prioritizing artistic and cultural events, addressing Flagstaff’s high crime rate; and the creation of new City court space.
Presler-Hoefle is currently employed as a public defense attorney and has represented the needs of children, the mentally ill, and low-income criminal clients. She also teaches Business Law and Ethics at Northern Arizona University.
“I am an energetic, positive Flagstaff professional, and my husband Scott and I truly love this community,” said Presler-Hoefle. “I am excited to tackle the issues facing this community by progressively working together with City officials, staff and the residents of Flagstaff.”
Sara featured in the Navajo Hopi Observer
Arizona Daily Sun Article
January 6, 2008
Fourth mayoral candidate steps up
A fourth person has announced intentions to run for Flagstaff mayor. Sara Presler-Hoefle, a public defense attorney and business law and ethics instructor at NAU, has made a late entry into what was a three-man race. Former Libertarian candidate for Congress David Schlosser and businessman Rick Krug have previously announced they were going to challenge four-term incumbent Mayor Joe Donaldson in the nonpartisan election. But by joining the race in December, Presler-Hoefle had roughly four weeks to get the minimum 473 signatures to get onto the March 11 primary ballot. The deadline to turn in signatures is Friday.
Please see our Contact Us page for complete contact information.
Paid for by the Committee to Elect Sara Presler-Hoefle for Mayor
P.O. Box 686
Flagstaff, AZ 86002
ph: 928-214-8038
saraform
