The stage is now set for one new member to join the cast of elected officials.
Yes, dear readers, we have a new female member joining the all-male vanilla Mesa City Council after the stage-left exit of the incumbent Chris Glover who occupied the seat inside City Hall for eight years getting termed-out in 2018.
Jennifer Duff barely squeaked-into office by a slim margin in a close contest defeating Glover's second cousin Jake Brown in the November 2018 General Election where three other City Councilmember incumbents succeeded to second terms.
What do we know about the new D4 representative so far?
Here's a summary of Ms. Duff's education and business experience:
Graduate of Mesa High School
Associates AA degree in Fashion Merchandising from Mesa Community College
Buyer for Goldwater’s department store for six years
Career in Sports Fishing: Professional Bass Angler 1984
She was recognized as the top woman pro bass angler in the Southwest and is the only American woman to ever compete professionally in Japan
Duff lived in Japan in 1989 competing and promoting the sport
Duff is the President and Owner of Jef International, Inc., an import/export trading business specializing in sport fishing tackle.
She started the business in 1990
Duff also is the President and Owner of Lobina Lures, who has manufactured and distributed Rico brand topwater bass fishing lures since 1991
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It's clear from the brief official bio outlined above that Jen Duff is both 'a home-grown product' and an angler-of-sorts, who knows how to manufacture fishing lures.
It's remarkable that her two start-up business enterprises specialize in a fresh-water species of Bass that are rare in the desert Southwest where there are few clear-running streams.
Most fishing here is 'catch-and-release' for trout that are farm-raised-and-stocked into man-made ponds and lakes where only 40% survive.
According to the official bio, all of her leadership training was done in city-sponsored offerings: The Mesa Chamber of Commerce, Neighborhood Works and Mesa Fire/Medical
With a 2-year Associates Degree in Fashion Merchandising, and six years as a buyer for the now-defunct retail Goldwater's Department stores, it's hard to see how that retail experience paved the way to co-found RAIL Community Development Corporation except to say most definitely 'the community' in District 4 can use some work!
Retail: ________________________
Arts: _________________________
Innovation: _____________________
Liveability: _____________________
What is Jenn Duff's VISION THING?
Saddled with a last name like that, there is a lot of work ahead. It's usual for newly-elected officials to enjoy "a honeymoon" period of time when first taking office - there are more than a few challenges for both the office-holder and the residents who live in District 4.
> With an almost 50-50 split in the vote how does she appeal to the other half?
> With her opponent endorsed in the race by other councilmembers, there are issues
> District 4 is home to the majority of 11 Opportunity Zones, classified as neglected and distressed areas with a high concentration of low-income households in census tracts . . .
the Downtown Area and Central Business District have been neglected for 40 years in spite of promises that the arts-and-culture-and- entertainment sector and public transit will deliver on their unfulfilled promises for economic development. Most of investments are made in the suburbs
> The City of Mesa has the highest level of POVERTY in America next to New Orleans - New Orleans has an excuse;
Mesa does not.
> Where is the leadership here?
> Likewise, there is a crisis in innovative, attainable and affordable housing
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District 4
Elected to the Mesa City Council in November of 2018, Councilmember Jen Duff began her first term representing District 4 in January of 2019
Her term on the Council runs until January of 2023.
A Mesa native with British family roots that go back to Falcon Field during World War II, Duff is very active in the Mesa community.
> She spent six years on the Board of Directors of the i.d.e.a. Museum (formerly the Arizona Museum for Youth), serving two years as Vice Chair and two years as Chair. She was on the board during the 2014 rebranding of the museum.
> She has served on the City of Mesa Planning and Zoning Board and co-founded the Retail, Arts, Innovation and Livability (R.A.I.L) Community Development Corporation.
> In 2015 she was awarded the Mesa Community College Hall of Fame Alumni Achievement Award.
Duff is the President and Owner of Jef International, Inc., an import/export trading business specializing in sport fishing tackle. She started the business in 1990, following six years as a Professional Bass Angler. She was recognized as the top woman pro bass angler in the Southwest and is the only American woman to ever compete professionally in Japan. Duff lived in Japan in 1989 competing and promoting the sport.
Duff also is the President and Owner of Lobina Lures, who has manufactured and distributed Rico brand topwater bass fishing lures since 1991.
Prior to her career in sport fishing, Duff worked as a buyer for Goldwater’s department store for six years.
Duff is a graduate of Mesa High and earned her AA degree in Fashion Merchandising from Mesa Community College.
She completed:
Mesa Leadership Training and Development in 2012
Neighborhood Works Leadership Training in 201, [typo error in original copy]
Mesa Chamber Leadership Development Program in 2018
Mesa Fire and Medical Inaugural Citizen's Academy in 2018.
Arizona Boards and CommitteesMesa Community College Development Board
R.A.I.L. CDC – Co-Founder
Past Boards and CommitteesCity of Mesa Planning and Zoning Board
i.d.e.a. Museum Board – Chair and Vice Chair
Unity Church of Mesa Board
Mesa Commerce Center Board
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Office of Councilmember Jen Duff
Phone: 480-644-3004
Fax: 480-644-2175
P.O. Box 1466
Mesa, Arizona 85211-1466Email
Hours of Operation
M-Th 7am-6pm
Contact Information
Council Assistant
Jessica Potter
480-644-4745Email
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