It was standing room only last night for residents hoping to hear from a slate of potential Maricopa City Council candidates.

Nearly 100 people packed a room at Copper Sky for a panel discussion featuring five hopefuls: Councilmember AnnaMarie Knorr, Vice Mayor Vincent Manfredi, Tena Dugan, Adam Leach and Planning & Zoning Commissioner James Singleton.

The Northwest Pinal County chapter of the Arizona Republican Assembly hosted the forum, fielding audience questions that ranged from crime and public safety to growth, infrastructure and what candidates would change if elected.

Public safety and crime

Some of the first questions of the night focused on public safety, with residents asking whether the city employs enough police officers and how crime is being managed.

“We’re a town of 80,000 that acts like we’re a town of 100,” Dugan said. “So, while it does appear that we have a lot more violence than other places, we do not. We are definitely rated one of the safest cities.”

Manfredi and Singleton each said they trust Chief Mark Goodman to determine appropriate staffing levels at the Maricopa Police Department.

“Our job here is to make sure that we’re providing the police chief with what he needs,” Manfredi said.

Singleton said Goodman had told him staffing levels were currently appropriate.

“We can always use more [officers] but we’re kind of set. I don’t want police officers just sitting around doing nothing, wasting their time, taxpayers’ money, etc.,” Singleton recalled the chief saying.

Knorr disagreed, saying the city needs more officers and suggesting there may be additional factors influencing how staffing needs are discussed publicly.

“I can also understand why the police chief, who is hired and fired by the city manager, says we have enough police because that’s what the city manager said, ‘I’ll give you this many.’ And if he’s out in the public saying, ‘we don’t have enough officers, it kind of makes your job in jeopardy,” she said.

Growth and development

Growth and infrastructure quickly became part of the discussion, a familiar topic in Maricopa politics.

Panelists generally agreed they support smart growth, but said halting development to catch up on infrastructure is not realistic.

“In this young city, we all want certain stores to come out here. We want Salad and Go, we want Target to come, we want Harkins Theater, we want other restaurants. What does that take? Rooftops,” Leach said.

Dugan said infrastructure follows development and emphasized the limits of city authority.

“If somebody comes in right now [wanting to build] and if it fits the general plan and it fits what’s there, there’s not a lot the city can do to stop it,” she said.

Manfredi and Singleton both pointed to actions at the state level, saying the Legislature has moved to reduce local control, including limiting the role of planning and zoning commissions.

Knorr urged residents to weigh in on the city’s updated general plan draft before the Feb. 6 public comment deadline.

What they would change and improve

When asked what they would change if elected, candidates offered a wide range of responses.

Manfredi said improved communication should be a priority.

“I think the city needs to communicate more openly with the public,” he said. “We need more of that, more discussion. I want more people to get involved in the community. I want you guys to come to meetings. I want you to talk to us.”

Dugan echoed those concerns, saying she wants greater transparency and the return of anonymous city employee surveys.

Leach said he would focus on transportation improvements and attracting more businesses to Maricopa.

Knorr also emphasized transparency, pointing to an 81-page salary study discussed at a December council meeting but not posted publicly.

“Just to give an example, we did a survey for our employees, the salary study, and we were voting on a component of it in a council meeting on a Tuesday. The salary study was never posted online, so I requested it … But the public who I feel like I work for, I feel like I am your representative. I want to hear from you the public didn’t have the opportunity to read that study. I don’t think that’s fair information,” Knorr said.

Knorr and Singleton also said they support bringing back formal city manager performance reviews, a process not included in recent contracts for Rick Horst or Ben Bitter and increasing funding for police and fire services.

Vincent Manfredi is the owner of InMaricopa.