Gilbert council candidates outline competing visions at Chamber/Independent forum

By Tom Blodgett
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Candidates for Gilbert Town Council laid out competing visions for the town’s future during a Gilbert Chamber of Commerce/Gilbert Independent candidate forum May 27, with topics ranging from water and infrastructure to economic development, redevelopment and communication with residents.

The forum featured the entire field for four open council seats: Beth Goulden, Bill Spence, Councilmember Bobbi Buchli, Bus Obayomi, Vice Mayor Chuck Bongiovanni, Councilmember Jim Torgeson and Joel Coen.

While candidates often agreed on the importance of preserving Gilbert’s quality of life, they differed sharply on how the town should handle growth, utility increases and development decisions.

Several candidates emphasized the need to attract new employers and destination businesses to strengthen Gilbert’s tax base and reduce pressure on residents.

“We need to be able to offset that (rising cost of living in Gilbert), and it’s not offset by the businesses that we had to turn up,” Spence said. “So with the focus on the Northwest corridor, I want to try and work with some of our partners to attract the businesses that are looking for that home in Gilbert.”

Coen pointed to the wave of semiconductor and technology investment flowing into Arizona and argued Gilbert needs to market itself more aggressively.

“A quarter of a trillion dollars — that is what’s being invested in the state of Arizona over the next six years in overall manufacturing and technology,” Coen said. “We’ve got to fight for ourselves.”

Obayomi, who works in technology consulting, said Gilbert must balance future economic growth with maintaining the town’s community feel and infrastructure.

“How do we maintain the quality of life, and at the same time how do we continue to have the economic development that makes what Gilbert is?” Obayomi said.

Goulden focused heavily on resident concerns and communication, especially regarding water and utility increases.

“When and if we have to raise (utility) rates as this town did in the last few years, what I find lacking was the communication and the lack of empathy for residents who were blindsided by what happened,” Goulden said.

Buchli defended the council’s handling of water and utility issues, arguing the town inherited years of deferred infrastructure needs.

“The rates had not been raised in Gilbert for at least 12 to 14 years prior to when we ended up having to take care of this huge issue,” Buchli said. “No city, no town can sustain itself with no increases.”

Water planning and conservation emerged as one of the forum’s most-discussed issues.

Bongiovanni pushed for stronger water conservation measures while also urging residents not to panic about Gilbert’s supply.

“We have water for 10 years because of what this council has done,” Bongiovanni said. “I think what we need to do is really focus on conservation.”

Torgeson emphasized that wells alone are not a complete solution and said commercial development can help to reduce long-term water strain compared with residential growth.

“Houses, most of the water goes to the grass and outside of the pools,” Torgeson said. “Commercial most of it gets returned and basically recycled clean.”

Traffic and infrastructure also drew significant attention.

Several candidates argued the town needs to improve long-term planning for roads and utilities while streamlining the development process.

“We need to hire five more people in that planning department,” Torgeson said. “For what they’re doing and the taxation upon the system is supposed to cover that.”

Bongiovanni said Gilbert should become more selective about future projects and avoid approving developments simply because land is available.

“We need to slow down and start being picky about what we choose to bring in Gilbert and what we don’t choose to bring in Gilbert,” Bongiovanni said.

Candidates also used the forum to frame their overall leadership philosophies.

Obayomi described his candidacy as an effort to bring younger generations into civic engagement.

“How do we empower and encourage a new generation of people to be more engaged in Gilbert?” Obayomi said.

Coen connected his campaign to his personal journey building a business and family in Gilbert after arriving knowing no one.

“What I learned is that if you really want to make an impact, we do it at home,” Coen said.

Spence, a former council member, repeatedly argued Gilbert needs stronger resident engagement and more willingness to challenge development proposals.

“We really haven’t gone out and said, ‘Your voice matters to me,’” Spence said.

Buchli, Bongiovanni and Torgeson each highlighted their council experience and ongoing projects they want to continue, including redevelopment efforts, economic development initiatives and water infrastructure projects.

“I want to finish things that we started,” Buchli said.

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Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).