By Julia R. Gusse
My name is Julia Romero Gusse, and I am running for the opportunity and privilege to serve the great City of Maricopa again as one of the City Council members. I’m currently a program coordinator at Arizona State University as well as the founder/president of VetIT (A Military Veterans 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, vice commander for American Legion District 4 (Pinal County) and chair of the Maricopa Ak-Chin STEAM Foundation. I also worked as a sixth grade teacher for MUSD at Santa Cruz Elementary but unfortunately had to resign this assignment when I accepted my current position at ASU.
In regards to my personal life, I’ve been married to Kevin Gusse (a Navy veteran) for 27 years this August and we have three children (an ASU graduate, a current ASU student and our youngest is a student at Maricopa High School). I have two siblings that reside in Maricopa with their families and our extended families (Romero/Gusse) are parishioners of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church. I served in the U.S. Air Force as a cryptologic technician for most of my military career at the National Security Agency (NSA). We have lived in Maricopa since 2005 and I have worked for the city as well as having served this community as an elected council member. I hold a BA in Spanish, an Arizona Real Estate License, an MA in Information Resources and Library Science.
As I mentioned, I was an employee of the City of Maricopa within the Development Services department and served as an elected official from 2010-2014. I am well versed on the city’s history and the direction that the taxpayers of this city have tasked its elected officials with. If elected, my desire is to continue where I left off. I am a resilient and resourceful individual and during my time in office I (single handedly) developed and coordinated many programs that have since lost its intended purpose or gone obsolete; Operation Welcome Home, Maricopa Veterans Town Hall and the Maricopa Let’s Move program.
While on City Council, I represented the constituents by attending council meetings, conferences, community meetings, Maricopa Unified School District Board meetings, small business association (Chamber of Commerce and Maricopa Business Council) meetings, Pinal County city/organization meetings/conferences, Maricopa Association of Governments Binational Forum, National League of Cities and Towns meeting and conferences (served on two NLC Boards), the Interstate 11 Corridor meetings/conferences, to name a few. I have been very involved with this community for over 11 years as well with the planning and participation of many organizations and events.
I am resilient, resourceful and reliable with a proven record of keeping informed, actively participating at the decision making table and standing up for our constituents. I love the city we all call home and ask you for your vote but more importantly, please make an informed decision and vote.
Julia Gusse is a resident of Maricopa. She is a candidate for Maricopa City Council.
![City Manager Ben Bitter speaks during a Chamber of Commerce event at Global Water Resources on April 11, 2024. Bitter discussed the current state of economic development in Maricopa, as well as hinting at lowering property tax rates again. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://www.inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/spencer-041124-ben-bitter-chamber-property-taxes-web-218x150.jpg "City gave new manager big low-interest home loan")
![Vice Mayor Amber Liermann and Councilmember Eric Goettl review parts of the city's 2024 operational budget with Mayor Nancy Smith on April 24, 2024. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://www.inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/spencer-042424-preliminary-budget-meeting-web-218x150.jpg "3 things to know about the new city budget")
![An image of one of 56 elevation renderings submitted to Maricopa's planning department for the Elena Trails subdivison. The developer plans to construct 14 different floor plans, with four elevation styles per plan. [City of Maricopa]](https://www.inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/city-041724-elena-trails-rendering-218x150.jpg "Elena Trails releases home renderings")
![A blue square highlights the area of the proposed affordable housing development and "Restaurant Row" sitting south of city hall and the Maricopa Police Department. Preliminary architectural drawings were not yet available. [City of Maricopa]](https://www.inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/041724-affordable-housing-project-restaurant-row-218x150.jpg "Affordable apartments planned near ‘Restaurant Row’")
"Why I’m running for city council".
I can find nothing in this article telling us WHY you are running for city council again. Just an extended list of you praising yourself. Please continue by telling us what you can do for US.
Also, thank you for your service, but would you really consider 3 years and 4 months a career????
United States Air Force
National Security Agency
November 1988 – February 1992 (3 years 4 months)
Cryptologic Technician and Morse Code Operator.
…..and on a side note, all of your election campaign signs again violate Arizona Campaign Policy and need to be removed, and/or replaced.
ARS 16-1019. 5. The sign MUST contain the name and telephone number or website address of the candidate or campaign committee contact person. Your signs have no identifier such as : Paid For By JuliaRGusseformaricopacitycouncil.com or Paid for by the campaign team of Julia Gusse 520-123-4567. Same signs as last election right?
and what's up with having signs outside of the City of Maricopa and on Reservation Private Property? Are you directly supported by GRIC (Gila River Indian Community)?