Council candidate Kretzer: Election is all about money

The city council election is all about money - how the city gets it and how it spends it - according to Jack Kretzer, who is running in the Nov. 6 election for one of two open council seats. Kretzer is 72 years old and has lived in the city of Yuma since 1998. He is a University of Missouri graduate with a degree in civil engineering. He worked as director of public services for the town of Quartzsite from 2000 to 2001. Prior to that, he worked in Yuma for the Arizona Department of Transportation as a district maintenance engineer.

"I believe in speaking the truth, not the shaded truth," Kretzer said. "If I don't know something, I say so. I will then make requests for public records, so that when I speak it's based on documented fact."

During the September primary election, Kretzer received 35.4 percent of the vote, finishing third among six candidates. Three other candidates also advanced to the Nov. 6 election. Cody Beeson received 46.2 percent of the vote while Richard Ortega got 32.9 percent and Raul Mendoza had

31.8 percent.

Leslie McClendon received 62.5 percent of the vote in the Sept. 11 election. Since she had more than 50 percent, she was automatically guaranteed a seat on the council after the primary.

One of the problems in Yuma is keeping the youth occupied in a safe environment, Kretzer said. He explained that Yuma is a city of "haves" and "have-nots." The haves want to provide organized activities, he said, and the have-nots struggle to pay the bills and keep their kids out of jail.

"In Yuma, special interest groups vote. People who pay taxes fail to vote. If people who pay taxes voted to protect their pocketbook, we would have voted to not have the council we have today."

---

CANDIDATE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

- What is the most pressing issue to face the next city council?

Bring spending under control. The council can do that by creating individual enterprise accounts. For example, a water plant could charge residents who receive its services only the cost to construct, operate and improve that facility. And the city needs to charge developers a fair share for their projects.

- What is the biggest traffic problem facing the city and how should it be solved?

The city needs a computerized traffic model that is calibrated to existing traffic volume and that will take some of the traffic off of 4th Avenue and 16th Street. Completing the link of 12th Street across the canal or extending Avenue B north across the Colorado River will relieve traffic on the major roads.

- What, if anything, should the city and the council do to bring a multipurpose events center to Yuma?

A private developer should build it. But the project should stand on its own without diverting events from the civic center. The developer who builds the events center should pay his share of impact fees. Global Entertainment Corp. says it's a good deal. The city has ponied up $250,000, but there is nothing in the city budget to allocate funds for the events center - nobody paid for anything.

- What opportunities for recreation and entertainment should the city provide for youth?

Yuma needs community centers for young people to go to so they can entertain themselves and stay out of trouble. The community center at Carver Park is a good example. But in Hacienda Estates there is no place where children can play. There are areas like that all over town. Why do we have only one Carver Park?

- Should the Gila Mountain annexation be a dead issue?

The Gila Mountain annexation is a joke. The next council could investigate why the city got into the annexation.

- What will you do to make yourself accessible to constituents?

I am accessible right now - just look in the phone book. Part of the way I'd communicate would be budgeting for an ombudsman program. I'd make it available through public access cable TV. We would hold town hall meetings.

----

Editor's note: This is the second in a four-part series profiling the candidates for the Yuma City Council in the Nov. 6 general election.