Vincent Manfredi to run for city council

Maricopa resident and volunteer Vincent Manfredi announced his candidacy for the city council Monday. He said he officially will file his nomination petition as soon as the city provides the election packets within the next several weeks.

“Economic development in Maricopa is my top priority,” said Manfredi, who is a customer care trainer at Chandler-based Isagenix International and owner of Sunbelt Home Watch Services.

He said he was motivated to run by what he called an ongoing stagnation of new business startups in the city.

“We need to make it easier for people to come to Maricopa and get their business off the ground fast,” he said.

Manfredi, according to a press release, favors the city partnering with the Maricopa Unified School District, as well as creating an “uninterrupted pathway from north Maricopa and the south via an overpass at the railroad tracks.”

His volunteer work includes serving on the city’s Zoning Code Rewrite Task Force, board of directors for the Maricopa Babe Ruth league, Maricopa Little League, the city’s board of adjustments and starting the Maricopa Motorcycle Riders Facebook page. He also has volunteered with the Maricopa Historical Society, worked on numerous local, county, state and federal elections campaigns and participated in the city’s Leadership Academy and Maricopa Advocates Program.

Manfredi moved to Maricopa in 2010; he is married and has three daughters.

More information about Manfredi, and his campaign can be found on his website.

Former Maricopa Police Chief Patrick Melvin also has announced his intention to run for the council. He currently is chief of police for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Police Department.

Four of the seven council seats, including mayor, are up for grabs this year. Terms will be ending for Julia Gusse, Peggy Chapados, Vice Mayor Edward Farrell and Mayor Christian Price.