News
ENLARGE
Editor's note: This is the fourth in a five-part series looking at the potential candidates and issues of the 2012 municipal elections in Summit County. Each story will focus on the political landscape of a different town. Attempts to contact some candidates were unsuccessful.
Frisco, town council candidates are saying, is on the verge of some big wins, with projects like the Frisco Adventure Park, the Peak One Neighborhood and the arrival of Whole Foods in the works.
The candidates are hoping to see those projects to fruition in the next four years.
“I'm excited to continue with some of the things that are yet unfinished,” incumbent Councilwoman and hopeful Eileen Davies said. “With those projects on the horizon, that is why I made the decision to run for reelection.”
Davies and incumbent Larry Sawyer are both seeking reelection in April, while sitting Councilman Gary Wilkinson plans to challenge Mayor Bill Pelham for Frisco's top job.
“Being on council for four years, I feel like I have the experience and leadership to take over as mayor,” Wilkinson said. “I think it would be good to have some new leadership. It's nothing personal against Bill, but … it's been a long-term goal of mine to fill that position.”
Pelham, however, seemed unconcerned about the competition.
“I'm looking forward to reelection,” he said.
Former Councilman Tom Connolly is also considering jumping in the race for one of the three available seats.
Connolly, who has lived in Summit County for 21 years, sat on the town council from 2000-2003, but stepped down several months before his term was up amid a controversy surrounding health care benefits for council members.
“I still think I have a lot to offer the Town of Frisco,” said Connnolly, who has also been on the planning commission. “The interest is there in returning to the town council, but I have not made a decision yet.”
Connolly resigned along with then-Mayor Bob Moscatelli after the council voted to reinstate its own medical benefits, which had been deleted in a 1994 clerical error. The town charter prohibits the council from increasing or decreasing compensation for sitting members. Connolly and Moscatelli voted against the measure and then resigned in protest when it passed on a 4-3 vote in November, 2003.
Looking ahead to the upcoming election, the incumbents all prioritized current big-ticket projects, including the Frisco Adventure Park — the current council completed phase one of the peninsula-based park with a new tubing hill last year — and a possible Whole Foods location on a 9.4-acre parcel of land in town.
Sawyer, a 28-year resident of Summit County, also said he wanted to see more family-friendly housing in Frisco if elected to a second term. He said he worries that if family housing options aren't preserved, the town will become a “retirement community.”
“We really need to have a conversation in Frisco about what type of housing we're going to build,” Sawyer said. “It's changing the character of Frisco from a small town with a mixture (of people) to one that's been moving more toward senior citizens.”
The candidates must turn in a petition with signatures of registered Frisco voters supporting their run to the town clerk's office by Friday, March 2 to get their names on the ballot.
The candidates are hoping to see those projects to fruition in the next four years.
“I'm excited to continue with some of the things that are yet unfinished,” incumbent Councilwoman and hopeful Eileen Davies said. “With those projects on the horizon, that is why I made the decision to run for reelection.”
Davies and incumbent Larry Sawyer are both seeking reelection in April, while sitting Councilman Gary Wilkinson plans to challenge Mayor Bill Pelham for Frisco's top job.
“Being on council for four years, I feel like I have the experience and leadership to take over as mayor,” Wilkinson said. “I think it would be good to have some new leadership. It's nothing personal against Bill, but … it's been a long-term goal of mine to fill that position.”
Pelham, however, seemed unconcerned about the competition.
“I'm looking forward to reelection,” he said.
Former Councilman Tom Connolly is also considering jumping in the race for one of the three available seats.
Connolly, who has lived in Summit County for 21 years, sat on the town council from 2000-2003, but stepped down several months before his term was up amid a controversy surrounding health care benefits for council members.
“I still think I have a lot to offer the Town of Frisco,” said Connnolly, who has also been on the planning commission. “The interest is there in returning to the town council, but I have not made a decision yet.”
Connolly resigned along with then-Mayor Bob Moscatelli after the council voted to reinstate its own medical benefits, which had been deleted in a 1994 clerical error. The town charter prohibits the council from increasing or decreasing compensation for sitting members. Connolly and Moscatelli voted against the measure and then resigned in protest when it passed on a 4-3 vote in November, 2003.
Looking ahead to the upcoming election, the incumbents all prioritized current big-ticket projects, including the Frisco Adventure Park — the current council completed phase one of the peninsula-based park with a new tubing hill last year — and a possible Whole Foods location on a 9.4-acre parcel of land in town.
Sawyer, a 28-year resident of Summit County, also said he wanted to see more family-friendly housing in Frisco if elected to a second term. He said he worries that if family housing options aren't preserved, the town will become a “retirement community.”
“We really need to have a conversation in Frisco about what type of housing we're going to build,” Sawyer said. “It's changing the character of Frisco from a small town with a mixture (of people) to one that's been moving more toward senior citizens.”
The candidates must turn in a petition with signatures of registered Frisco voters supporting their run to the town clerk's office by Friday, March 2 to get their names on the ballot.
