Meet the candidate: Bob Marsh

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Councilmember Bob Marsh [file]

Six people are running for three seats on Maricopa City Council – Linette Caroselli, Julia Gusse, Andre LaFond, Amber Liermann, Bob Marsh and Nancy Smith. InMaricopa asked each their take on a short series of questions. Learn more about all the candidates here.

BOB MARSH

What makes you the best candidate for Council?
I love this city! I decided early on that I wanted to go all-in and participate in enabling a brighter future for Maricopa. I started volunteering and serving on boards, commissions, and committees shortly after I moved here and have been serving ever since. I’ve learned so much about our city by participating in writing the city’s zoning laws, plans, and long-term vision for the future. I’ve learned a lot about our city’s developers, businesses, and people by serving for years as a Planning & Zoning Commissioner. And I’ve broadened my knowledge by serving on a Pinal County Board.

I think I bring much to the City Council as a result of my Arizona, nationwide, and worldwide work experience. I’ve worked on projects for federal, state, and local governments, including major projects for NASA, the FBI, and the Navy. I’ve worked on major projects for electric utilities, pipeline companies, insurance companies, banks, computer companies, oil companies, and more.

One of my coolest projects at Microsoft was in Community Development. The challenge was to build the infrastructure for a massive, worldwide independent partner network to sell and service Microsoft’s products. Working with management and teams around the world, I created the infrastructure for a global registered partner program that includes free training, support, software, and more – and since then the program has grown globally to more than 17 million members. That’s community development on a grand scale. I want to bring that energy to Maricopa.

I also worked for several years in Microsoft’s Legal and Government Affairs Department, where I learned a lot about the inner workings of governments, government agencies, international standards, and corporate law. I want to support the Mayor and Council with my background in handling complex government and legal issues.

What is the current Council doing well?
I’ve attended nearly all Council meetings in recent years, and I feel that current Council seems to be working well as a team in support of the Mayor, the General Plan, and the 2040 Vision. Each Councilmember is working hard on their “passion projects” and their own areas of focus. They all seem to be collaborating well with the City Manager and Staff and with the volunteer Boards, Committees, and Commissions – their volunteer appointments all appear to be appropriate and successful. And they all seem to be using their discretionary funds responsibly.

What is the current Council not doing well?
We need to take our strategies and tactics to a new level in the recovery efforts from the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. We can do better with respect to improving the City’s infrastructure, with a focus on attracting major employers and creating a more sustainable future for our residents and businesses. My corporate engineering, technical, marketing, and management experience can help move that forward.

What is your biggest concern about Maricopa’s future and why?
Having lived in Arizona more than 28 years, having thoroughly explored the state on foot, by car, by river raft, and by Jeep, I understand that clearly WATER is Arizona’s major concern, and it is certainly Maricopa’s biggest long-term concern. With water, you don’t want to have too much or too little. Running out of sources for drinking water would be a disaster, and we’ve been in a drought statewide for years. Major flooding in Maricopa has been disastrous in the past and we don’t want it to be a problem in the future.

On the supply side, I’ve been working for my HOA with Global Water to move toward changing our turf and landscaping irrigation from potable water to their lower-cost, high-quality reclaimed water. We are on a path to make that transition, saving our subdivision and our residents money, hopefully in the not to-distant future.

On the flooding issue, I attend all the public meetings of the Maricopa Flood Control District (MFCD.) I’ve been working for my HOA with the MFCD to fix our subdivision’s flood problem, so all our homes can be out of the 100-year flood risk area. The MFCD worked with the state and FEMA to get a major grant to study our problem and they should have a solution designed and funded shortly. Once completed, our homeowners will be freed from having to pay high rates for federal flood insurance. With the success of the Desert Cedars project, the MFCD will be able to work on similar projects downstream from Desert Cedars and solve their flood risk problems as well. As a Councilmember, I’d like to work with the MFCD to scale their flood mitigation efforts out to the rest of the city.

How has COVID-19 affected your campaign?
Social distancing quickly put an end to meeting with people face-to-face, shaking hands, and even fist-bumping. COVID-19 has eliminated opportunities to meet with political, social, business, religious, and volunteer organizations to get advice and feedback and learn what YOU want the city to work on. For all candidates, this year’s campaigns will have to focus on print and social media, websites, online debates and Q&A sessions, and the old standby: roadside signs. I do miss the chance to interact with people one-on-one and in groups. This is a strange year for a campaign and a strange year for everyone. I’ll be working to get my message out on my Facebook page and my website, to open up channels for advice and feedback, and to give people reasons to “Vote for Bob.”



6 run for 3 seats on city council
Meet the candidates: Why these 6 are running for city council
Andre LaFond goes live with InMaricopa
Julia Gusse goes live with InMaricopa
Meet the candidate: Linette Caroselli
Meet the candidate: Julia Gusse
Meet the candidate: Andre LaFond
Meet the candidate: Amber Liermann
Meet the candidate: Nancy Smith



This item appears in the May issue of InMaricopa.