Julie Spilsbury, a mother of six who will be sworn into her first elected position in January, prides herself on getting along with just about everyone and wants to serve her constituents in District Two.
“I love people, I love talking to people, I love listening, I truly want to represent everyone in my district, not just the people who look like me or go to my church,’’ Spilsbury said. . .
She believes that she parlayed her deep connections with the community through volunteer positions in Mesa Public Schools into her election as a political novice, ousting Councilman Jeremy Whittaker by a 55-45 percent margin.
It didn’t hurt that Spilsbury recruited by Mayor John Giles and won the endorsement of most other council members, who sometimes clashed with Whittaker over city finances and downtown redevelopment projects, such as the ASU@mesacitycenter building now under construction behind City Hall.
“I’m definitely not a puppet. I am opinionated, but I do it with respect,’’ Spilsbury said during her campaign. “I think I was asked to run because I am easy to work with. . ."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLOGGER NOTE: So what else do we know from Walsh's article?
1 She's been getting coached by City Manager Chris Brady - She said she has been going through an orientation period since her election, meeting once a week with City Manager Chris Brady and with city department heads
2 Spilsbury and her husband Jeremy operate a tree service business
3 They have "a busy household" with one daughter coming off a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mission in Chicago and a son headed to a mission in Denver.
4 Julie Spilsbury is starting a new phase, a new job representing the residents of a district encompassing east-central Mesa east of Gilbert Road.
It’s a job she is taking seriously, attending a series of Zoom meetings every week to educate herself and immerse herself in issues facing the city.
“That’s what I’ve done, I’ve been a mother for 23 years. That’s my favorite job,’’ she said.
5 Spilsbury also is trying to build relationships with other council members and had dinner recently with Councilwoman Jen Duff and her fiancé, Ivan Martinez.
6 As a Mesa Public School volunteer she attempted to filter content and remove social media access on student computers - She recalled that one of her missions during that period was to motivate MPS to remove Instagram and Facebook from school-owned computers, saying social media can have a negative impact on children as a vehicle for bullying and can distract them from completing their work.
7 She said residents of her district have not given her a list of suggestions or goals that they would like her to accomplish. , , “They know my values and what’s important to me,’’ Spilsbury said, referring to District Two residents. “I think our city is doing great and I want to stay with that.’’
8 Spilsbury said her own list of priorities include
helping small businesses survive and bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic,
supporting improved educational opportunities and
promoting Mesa’s Neighborhood Cleanup Program, in which the city drops off dumpsters for volunteer cleanup campaigns.
more
There you go. Now the Mesa city council is all white and Mormon, with NO diversity. This looks a lot like Trump's cabinet. I trusted Whittaker to not go with the flow and to ask hard questions
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------