- Gilbert: "Best Places To Live"
- Gilbert drivers safest
- Gilbert growth ...
- Gilbert in top 4 in U.S.
- Everyone is happy in Gilbert
Economic Development
For many years Gilbert confused residential growth with economic development. For every new house that was built we collected fees. For every house built we had to provide: roads, sewers, fire hydrants, parks, police protection, courts, clean water, libraries, and fire stations. Simply not Economic Development.When I was elected Mayor in 2001 I had a lot of work to do. Builders Magazine had just named Gilbert "The Worst Place in America to Build Anything". Houses were being built, but that is all. We had a population of 107,000 and didn't have a hospital, had two car dealerships and one 500,000 sq ft shopping center. The first thing I did was remove the impediments that were discouraging new businesses from locating in Gilbert. Next, I began an extremely aggressive campaign to bring commercial development to Gilbert. The results:
- San Tan Mall
- San Tan AutoPlex
- San Tan Villages
- Six new auto dealers
- Five new 500,000 sq ft shopping centers
- Three new hospitals
- Ten Million Square Feet of new Commercial Buildings.
When I hear the current Mayor and Council measuring economic development in terms new housing starts, I worry about our future . They have ignored Gilbert's voter approved General Plan and are rezoning our precious commercial property to allow building of apartments. It is bad enough they have not brought a single major employer to Gilbert since I left office. What is worse, showcase employers like Infusionsoft, are leaving Gilbert and building new facilities in Chandler. It's not too late to get back on the winning track: I know how to do it, I've done it before.