Pearce: I am a supervisor candidate for everyone

By Marlene Pearce

I’m Marlene Pearce, Independent, running for Pinal County Supervisor in District 4.

It takes courage to run for office as an Independent.

I had to obtain six times as many signatures as my opponent just to get on the ballot. I had to be both passionate and determined.

It is important to me in these divisive times to make sure that you, the voter, know you have a candidate who will represent everyone equally, and who is not beholden to either side of the aisle.

An Independent candidate enables ALL voters in District 4 to have a say in who will represent them as their next County Supervisor. There are 54,902 registered voters in District 4, but only one-third of you were able to cast a vote in the 2016 election. That election was determined in the primary as both candidates were the same political party. This meant 35,349 of you had no input on who represented you in District 4.

You do now.

In the eight years I have served our District as the right hand to the current County Supervisor, I have never asked anyone’s political affiliation because I believe it had no bearing on my commitment to serve you in the best way possible.

There are some who may think that a vote for an Independent is a “throw away” vote that won’t make a difference. I am anything but that. As a proud resident of Pinal County for 15 years, I have the experience, commitment and the love for this community to do whatever possible to meet and hopefully exceed your expectations. My reputation in the county speaks for itself.

You can be certain that as your next County Supervisor, every decision I make will be with great forethought and will always be decided on what’s best for you, the residents, without any political bias. I hope to earn your vote, but I’m proud to know that as an Independent, ALL of you will have a choice.

Marlene Pearce, a Maricopa resident, is running for Pinal County Supervisor in District 4. She has been the district administrator for eight years.