In the July 21 primary election, five candidates are running for three seats on the Queen Creek Town Council.
Incumbents Bryan McClure, Dawn Oliphant and Travis Padilla are running for reelection. They are being challenged by Benjamin Harrison and Nick Masse.
The Queen Creek Independent sent out a questionnaire to learn about the candidates’ thoughts about the challenges Queen Creek faces now and in the future. All five candidates sent in their responses.
Community involvement: Queen Creek Citizen’s Leadership Institute alumnus (2022); active town of QC volunteer (events); active nonprofit volunteer (Mesa, Gilbert, QC), Y”ES For Higley Students,” chairman (2019-21); and youth sport coach (2012-18).
What are the biggest challenges facing the town? Queen Creek's hypergrowth over the past two decades has left us with layers of challenges that need real attention. When I talk to neighbors — and I've talked to a lot of them — traffic comes up first and fast. Our community deserves to be more informed and involved in finding the fix, not just living with the frustration.
A challenge that hits closer to home for me is what's happening with our youth. The spring break arrests were widely covered, and if you've spent time at QC Marketplace, you already know — kids are everywhere, and not always in a good way. I appreciate the Mayor's Teen Advisory Committee, but we need to reach the broader population of young people. Pushing kids out of shops isn't a solution. We need to keep them active, engaged and feeling like Queen Creek is a place that wants them here.
Then there's something harder to put your finger on — our town's identity. I've asked hundreds of residents what Queen Creek is known for and rarely get the same answer twice. While we're still growing, we have a real opportunity to grow toward something intentional and meaningful — something bigger than shopping and dining. There is so much more to this community than where we are today.
How would you rate the town's infrastructure and what needs immediate attention? Looking at roads, utilities, waste management and municipal facilities together, I'd give Queen Creek a seven out of 10. The most immediate opportunity to move that needle is traffic flow. Congestion hits every corner of town, at all hours, for all kinds of reasons. Just last week I spent 10 minutes covering a tenth of a mile on Riggs at Meridian. That's not unique to me — neighbors across town deal with this daily. It's frustrating, and it's fixable. That's where I'd focus first.
How would you work to strike a balance between growth and maintaining quality of life? Growth in homes and people should also mean growth in what our town offers. The walkable downtown project is a step in the right direction, and I'd push to pair that kind of development with low- or no-cost options for residents and visitors to actually enjoy being in Queen Creek — not just passing through it.
With the town’s period of “hyper growth” over for the foreseeable future, what does the town need to do to remain fiscally conservative yet still meet the needs of the residents? Slowing growth means we have to be smarter with what we have. That starts with genuinely expanding how we gather community input — not just a survey here and there — and making sure residents can see clearly where their tax dollars are going and what's getting done. Transparency and prioritization go hand in hand.
Nick Masse
Nick Masse
Submitted
Age: 45
Employment: Self-employed/own Arizona Pools
Community involvement: I am the organizer of the Queen Creek SXS Christmas Cruise and ex board member for QC Pop Warner.
What are the biggest challenges facing the town? Queen Creek’s biggest challenge right now is managing the success we’ve had.
People keep moving here because it’s a great place to live — but that kind of growth brings pressure. Roads get busier, services get stretched and long-time residents start to feel like things are changing too fast.
On top of that, costs are going up everywhere, and residents want to make sure the town is being smart with their money.
So the challenge is keep what makes Queen Creek special while keeping up with the reality of growth.
How would you rate the town’s infrastructure and what needs immediate attention? We’ve got a strong foundation, but we’re starting to feel the strain in real, everyday ways.
Anyone driving around knows traffic is getting tighter. Especially on roads like Ellsworth, Riggs and Ocotillo. Public safety has to keep up as we expand, and water is always a long-term priority here in Arizona whether people want to talk about it or not.
This isn’t about saying things are broken, it’s about staying ahead of the curve so we don’t end up playing catch up later at a higher cost.
How would you work to strike a balance between growth and maintaining the town’s quality of life? People didn’t move to Queen Creek to feel like they’re living in the middle of Phoenix.
Growth is going to happen, but it has to be the right kind of growth. That means:
Development that actually fits the character of the town.
Making sure infrastructure is in place before neighborhoods fill up.
Protecting open space and that small-town feel people care about
If we’re intentional, growth can improve Queen Creek. If we’re not, it chips away at why people came here in the first place.
With the town’s period of “hyper growth” over for the foreseeable future, what does the town need to do to remain fiscally conservative yet still meet the needs of the residents? We’ve been in a period of rapid growth, but that won’t last forever — and we shouldn’t plan like it will.
Moving forward, Queen Creek needs to stay disciplined:
Focus spending on core services like roads, public safety and infrastructure.
Cut waste and avoid overbuilding things we can’t maintain.
Build strong reserves so we’re ready for whatever comes next.
Support smart economic development that brings in revenue without overloading the system.
Being fiscally conservative doesn’t mean doing nothing — it means doing the right things, at the right time, without overextending the town.
Bryan McClure
Bryan McClure
Submitted
Age: 45
Employment: Investment advisory business owner
Community involvement: Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce; For Our Town Queen Creek; PHX East Valley Partnership, board of directors, school liaison, children’s extracurricular activities; and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
What are the biggest challenges facing the town? Infrastructure, especially transportation and water.
How would you rate the town’s infrastructure and what needs immediate attention? Improving infrastructure is our biggest priority, as evidenced by next year’s budget. We must continue to widen arterial roads and reduce bottlenecks, such as creating a northbound Ellsworth dual left turn lane into Costco. We also need to complete the Harquahala Basin water project and police department headquarters.
How would you work to strike a balance between growth and maintaining the town’s quality of life? Queen Creek is a beautiful community that is known for its rural charm and suburban amenities. As the town continues to grow, I will work hard to preserve our hometown feel while focusing on the following three areas:
Family friendly - We need to provide the best quality of life for our residents. For families to thrive we must continue to construct more roads, water infrastructure and parks/trails.
Support public safety - Supporting our brave first responders that keep our community safe is a top priority. We will support our firefighters and police officers with the right training, equipment and staff to keep Queen Creek residents safe.
Strong economy - Creating a business-friendly environment is important to attracting good-paying jobs and small businesses. We must commit to keeping taxes low and ensuring the town government operates within its means.
With the town’s period of “hyper growth” over for the foreseeable future, what does the town need to do to remain fiscally conservative yet still meet the needs of the residents? We need to continue our fiscally conservative practices, including growth paying for growth, properly funding the town's emergency fund, lowering the property tax rate and operating on a lean budget. Queen Creek's goal to increase its credit rating and become a designated water provider will help offset rising costs and eliminate Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District fees on a resident's property tax bill.
Dawn Oliphant
Dawn Oliphant
Submitted
Age: 53
Employment: Grad Solutions/Smart Schools
Community involvement: Vice President of the American Legion Auxiliary Queen Creek, an organization that supports our military veterans and their families, as well as the youth in our community. Also, a board member on the BiG Will Scallon Fund. The fundraising organization that helps underprivileged youth pay for sports fees and equipment.
What are the biggest challenges facing the town? After many years of rapid growth, the town is navigating through a slowing of revenue. As sales tax revenue slows, the shift from a "growth-funded" model to one focused on long-term sustainability is always being looked at. Additionally, the council always has the supply of water on our minds. Securing a 100-year water designation is our most complex hurdle, requiring massive capital investment in projects like the Harquahala water purchase to ensure we aren't reliant on dwindling groundwater or unpredictable Colorado River allocations.
How would you rate the town’s infrastructure and what needs immediate attention? The town has worked to improve roads and traffic flow spending millions of dollars on roads. The more construction means the better the roads will be when the construction is complete. Immediate attention is focused on widening major arterial corridors and improving north-south connectivity to alleviate bottlenecking. I know it is inconvenient now, but I promise once it is complete the traffic flow will be much better.
How would you work to strike a balance between growth and maintaining the town’s quality of life? To preserve Queen Creek’s high quality of life, the town must treat public safety and recreation as important pillars of the community. The town balances this by expanding the police and fire and medical departments to ensure emergency response times are within industry standards (of course we like them to be better than what the industry dictates), while also building parks to preserve the community's love for the outdoors. These investments ensure that as the population grows, residents don't lose the safe, open spaces that define the town's character. It is about growing "smarter," not just bigger, by prioritizing the rural roots that brought people here in the first place.
With the town’s period of “hyper growth” over for the foreseeable future, what does the town need to do to remain fiscally conservative yet still meet the needs of the residents? As Queen Creek transitions the town had implemented a five-year property tax freeze, lowering rates as home values rise to provide financial certainty for homeowners (and has for the past many years). To remain fiscally conservative, we maintain sales tax from retail and commercial developments rather than one-time construction fees. Strategic investments are also being directed toward water self-sufficiency and infrastructure, such as the Harquahala water project, which ensures long-term resources. Water is expensive but implementing that growth pays for growth ensures the cost is spread to all those who will use the water resource.
Travis Padilla
Travis Padilla
Submitted
Age: 45
Employment: Entrepreneur and investor
Community involvement: QC council member; Municipal Tax Code Commission member; Venture Scouting adviser, Sunday school teacher and overprotective girl-dad and armchair coach of kids sporting events.
What are the biggest challenges facing the town? The town of QC needs to focus more on road improvement and less on parks development along with its excess spending. Our residents clearly tell us in each year’s annual survey that road infrastructure and traffic are the No. 1 concern and I agree, we need to listen to them.
Another concern is our annual budget; we are now spending nearly $20 million per year on parks and recreation, excluding development for new parks. (Editor’s note: Padilla confirmed that he is combining parks and recreation department operating costs with Horseshoe Park & Equestrian Centre operating costs. Horseshoe Park & Equestrian Centre is part of the economic development department. Padilla said Horseshoe Park should be under the parks and recreation department.)
How would you rate the town’s infrastructure and what needs immediate attention? Our roads were not built to handle this level of traffic, but we need to do everything in our power to ensure traffic flows as smoothly as possible. This requires focused investment in the most congested areas, such as increasing the number of lanes, adding turn lanes, and optimizing traffic lights where possible.
How would you work to strike a balance between growth and maintaining the town’s quality of life? My goal is to ensure QC continues to be the most prosperous and safest community for families to continue to thrive, period. We need responsible development as QC continues to grow and ensure we protect the property rights of both newcomers and current residents is key. Listening to residents when they tell us what kind of community they want to live in is a top priority.
With the town’s period of “hyper growth” over for the foreseeable future, what does the town need to do to remain fiscally conservative yet still meet the needs of the residents? As the only incumbent council member to vote “no” on an annual budget, fiscal responsibility is my top priority for Queen Creek.
I will continue to encourage my fellow council members to only vote for budget items that invest in the proper role of government as opposed to overspending in areas that should not be in our purview. Fiscal responsibility is important to Queen Creek as it grows, and we need to ensure our town doesn’t end up like other big cities that have become a runaway fiscal train wreck.
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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