When it comes to housing, education and fire safety, we must have an honest, competent, dedicated person leading the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office. Monies collected as property taxes are disbursed by the Assessor’s office to a variety of critical departments, including fire departments and local cities; more than half goes to local public-school districts.

I retired to Arizona, but I am concerned about the education of children growing up in this fast-paced technical world. Arizona is now number 50 in education in the U.S. Our school systems need substantial funding to give our children the education they will need for the industries that are moving into Arizona. 

We can’t afford to have incompetent assessors who misjudge and mismanage funds, creating a situation where $330 million in property taxes was collected, and then had to be returned to homeowners, depleting the budgets of public schools and critical agencies. As a result of the incumbent assessor and his fellow Republican predecessors, Maricopa County is now facing a severe financial crisis.

I think that Greg Freeman will bring honesty and integrity to the Maricopa County Assessor’s office. Freeman is a responsible professional whose career reflects both integrity and competence. He is committed to public and community service. Freeman currently serves the city of Phoenix honorably as a member of both the Deer Valley and the North Mountain Zoning Commissions. He also is active in the Bell Road Business Alliance and the Black Mountain Community Alliance.

Freeman spent the past decade in real estate, including time as an escrow officer and in commercial property management. He knows the housing industry well. He knows and understands Maricopa County firsthand as a lifelong resident who grew up in Northwest Phoenix and now lives there with his wife and children.

Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.