‘Things that matter’

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”–Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Sept. 15,after long nights of endless research, posters, petition postings and speeches prepared by me and my fellow Maricopans and presenting them to the council, a unanimous vote was reached to reinstate the city’s only transit system.

While we all can agree that the current transit system is flawed, and could use a major overhaul, it was during our research that we discovered and ultimately proved that the city council had made the decision to terminate our only transit program without performing any real due diligence of their own. Revenue generated by the bus at the time was reported inaccurately, as was its cost to the city, and very little, if any, information was sought out from the Arizona Department of Transportation until after the decision was made to terminate the transit program, and the residents protested.

While the decision to reinstate the transit program was decided in our favor, it did not ease my mind in the least that decisions that are being made in city council are not always done with proper due diligence. Here is a program, despite its flaws, necessary in any city that expects to continue on the road to progress. This was something that mattered not just to me, but to many of the residents who believed in doing their part to improve our air quality, road congestion, and assist our senior citizens, college students, commuting families and disabled residents needing access to our neighboring cities and have no other means of doing so.

So, after conversations with residents about unpopular decisions that city council has made or failed to make, but which some say will soon come to be seen as the embarrassing reputation of a city that is forever under some sort of lawsuit or scandal, and a city that has a government they feel cannot be trusted because of its lack of transparency, I could no longer sit by in silent anger about the “things that matter,” not just to me, but to all of us who call Maricopa our home. And this is just one reason why I have decided to run for city council in the upcoming election.

I was born in New York but raised in many small towns. Since I have always considered myself a citizens’ advocate, it was only fitting that when I spent a decade in the Army it was with the Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) helping others through their legal hardships. With a degree in legal sciences and additional studies in criminal justice, I was assigned to many rewarding places, such as the Carlisle Army War College, the Pentagon, the Federal Records Center and, ultimately, the Pacific Command Center, where we often say, “If I tell you what I did I might have to kill you.”

However, prior to joining the Army, one of my best places to work was first, as an accounting manager and then a director, for a Community Action Program Agency, CCIS. Its job was to distribute state and federal funds to families that qualified for childcare assistance. Some of what I did included budgets, reconciling state funds annually, controlling a waiting list of 500 families while servicing thousands, auditing providers to ensure compliance with state regulations, reviewing contracts, conducting internal audits of social workers to ensure agency compliance and as a liaison to our sister agencies for WIC, shelter for abused women, senior services, Head Start and the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic. Currently I work at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P., an international law firm. While there are many ways I like to volunteer my time, I particularly enjoy volunteering, cooking and serving meals at the Ronald McDonald House, which has a special place in my family’s heart, and working with Habitat for Humanity.

In 2007 we discovered Maricopa, and decided we wanted to be part of the growth of this new up-and-coming city, so we made it our home. I have been happily married for 10 years to my husband Tramell, a dedicated public servant who retired as a police officer after 20 years of service. I have five children: Jay, Samira, Marissa, Sierra and TJ. Jay is in the Army, currently stationed in Iraq. My full-of-life daughters always strive for excellence in school, and TJ is learning how to practice his “inside voice.”

“… progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

As a taxpayer and fellow Maricopan, invested in this city, I believe I can help build a new type of city council where dedicated individuals, transparency and accountability are not just buzzwords for an election.

I recognize that my roots in this community are not as deep as some, but they are no less strong. Maricopa is my family’s home. This city’s future is my children’s future, as it is your children’s future. And so I feel I have no greater responsibility than to help shape that future if you, my fellow neighbors and friends, should grant me that honor.

The Maricopa City Council has many long-standing members of the community in its ranks. And while this provides our city with a much-needed sense of history and continuity, it also tends to create an echo chamber of ideas and policies that, unfortunately, bring us back to disappointment. I believe that this city needs fresh perspectives and experiences to keep it growing in the right direction. I will ask the tough questions and tirelessly challenge those that have personal agendas in mind instead of working for the greater good of the community.

“Improvement of quality of life” is different for all of us. So I will engage residents to care with me and to help improve their quality of life. And I will look at our city’s Strategic Plan and see where we can implement the programs and services that will help us do just that. I plan on working hard to make Maricopa’s government something we can be proud of, a city worthy of its residents, because as your newly elected councilwoman, I will answer to you.

Rosalin Sanhadja is a candidate for the Maricopa City Council.

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