Hoover announces bid for mayor

Local business owner Joe Hoover announced today he will run for mayor of Maricopa. The election will be held in the spring of 2012.

Hoover first moved to Maricopa in 2003 to open the Legacy Montessori School on Garvey Avenue with his wife, Carol. The couple moved to Tempe after opening the school, then in 2010 bought a house in the Acacia Crossings subdivision, where they now live.

Hoover said if elected he would not only bring his background as a business owner to the office, but also the experience of serving on some of the city’s committees and commissions. He served on the first planning and zoning committee before the city was incorporated.

When the city was incorporated, the committee became a commission and Hoover was eventually named chairman. He is the current chairman of Heritage District Citizens Advisory Committee.

“I have a love for the city and want to see it grow,” he said. “With some of my past business and leadership skills I could be a good mayor and continue the direction for the city.”

Hoover said the city needs to help develop the school district. “There needs to be an incentive for people to move here and live here,” he said.

Economic development also is crucial, Hoover said. “The city needs to drive its own economy and not wait for the national economy to improve,” he said. “We need to bring in jobs.”

Hoover said he had been thinking about running for mayor for a while, but made up his mind when Mayor Anthony Smith announced he would not run for re-election. “I want to continue the current projects the council is working on,” he said. “Over the next few months I will be working on more specifics on how to bring that into the postion of mayor.”

Smith announced two weeks ago he is running as a Republican for a seat on the Pinal County Board of Supervisors. Elections for mayor and city council in Maricopa are nonpartisan. Hoover is the second in Maricopa to announce his candidacy for mayor. Earlier this month, business owner and financial planner Christian Price announced he will run.