While it doesn’t get as much attention as bigger ticket elections, the town of Paradise Valley will choose both its next mayor as well as several town councilmembers this year. We have recently covered the race to be the next mayor as the candidates make their case (get up to date here), but recently the prospective councilmembers had a chance to differentiate themselves at a recent forum.
As far as drama and tension go, we are sad to announce that there will be nearly none of that in this particular race. After all, there are three seats to be voted on, and there are three candidates total. All candidates (current planning commissioner Karen Liepmann and current council members Scott Moore and Julie Pace) are running unopposed. Barring an act of God, they will head to the council.
While this may be seen as a serious anomaly, as wherever there is perceived power there will typically be numerous people who seek it out, it is worth mentioning that not only is Paradise Valley a small town, but town councilmembers do not get paid for their efforts, so it is obviously less enticing of an electoral ring to strive for.
As could perhaps be expected, the forum turned into a bit of kumbaya moment, with relatively few differences and a very noticeable lack of conflict. A focus from all of them is keeping the standard of development high. All agree that the preservation of building standards is not just paramount for resorts, but also for single-family homes.
Another point of agreement is regarding speed cameras. Sometimes a contentious subject in other municipalities, car accident rates have gone down significantly since their inception in PV, and all agree to their efficacy. They also agree to the importance of their short term-rental limitations and agree that having a mayor that has strong relationships at the state capitol is important to help keep those restrictions in place.
The only point of difference is how a hypothetical $1 million grant would be spent. The candidates all referenced law enforcement, but Liepmann also mentioned expanding their community center. Not exactly political fireworks.
All things told, this election will be perhaps the most boring one in the Valley. That said, that’s not a bad thing. When everyone agrees that things are going in the right direction, that’s a pretty good spot to be in.