Bobby Vickers, one of the two candidates challenging incumbent Tony Liu for the Ward 3 seat on the Fairway city council, responded to our request for information about his campaign earlier this week. Vickers, a vice president at Wells Fargo Insurance Services, said he moved to Fairway because he and his wife thought it would be a good place to raise their now 3-year-old son. Here’s the campaign statement Vickers sent our way:
The recent recession and decline in property values has exposed City spending commitments that have resulted in a dramatic increase in taxes. The City is now confronted with difficult choices in an effort to reign in its budget and avoid further tax increases. Having studied how we got to this point, I believe that, in recent years, city leaders lost sight of the conservative principles that had guided Fairway for so many generations through many recessions. Instead, it seems we went through a period of “rubber stamp” approval on the city council and have now been burdened with a mill levy increase that will make Fairway a less attractive place in the future.
I believe the City should and can work itself back to a position of fiscal soundness. And while this may require some tough decisions, I believe the citizens of Ward 3 deserve a choice in leadership with a commitment to prudence and common sense. As a councilman, I would take seriously the role of being a “fiduciary” of Fairway’s resources, accessible and accountable to its citizens.
We still haven’t heard back from the third candidate, Blake Reeves, but we’ll post some information about him if and when we get it.