A Wealth of Opportunities for Goodyear

Goodyear, like the rest of the country, has a challenging agenda ahead of it. We can make it through this protracted downturn by identifying and capturing opportunities. To put ourselves in a position to capitalize on opportunities, our city government must first and foremost cut its cost of doing business without sacrificing jobs or reducing the effectiveness of our public safety programs.

Among my priorities as mayor of Goodyear are opportunities that I strongly believe will grow our economic base and enhance the lifestyle of our citizens.

GOODYEAR AIRPORT
Now is the time to make our municipal airport a focal point for economic development. We must optimize the value of the airport as our major economic development driver. The 4,000 acres adjacent to our airport are intended to provide tens of thousands of high-pay jobs over the following decades. This area is the” long pole in the tent” if we are to satisfy the objective of “live, work, and play” in Goodyear.

EDUCATION
While this is a difficult time for financing education, the universities and the city of Goodyear must collaborate for the schools to successfully navigate through this downturn. Now is the time to lay the groundwork to be a community of not two universities but rather ten. A Claremont-like model has been a success in California and can work for Goodyear.

CITY CENTER
The City Center must proceed with care. My goal is to start construction of a city hall and hopefully a library in 2010, followed by a performing arts center. We need to understand that a performing arts center is integral to our economic development, a focal point for us to mature culturally as a city, and a source of education for our youngsters.

GOODYEAR BALLPARK AND RECREATIONAL COMPLEX
The fractious relationship which developed between private sector partners in the construction of the ballpark has stymied efforts to surround the park and adjacent areas in the city center area with restaurants, hotels, office structures, and other mixed use possibilities. We must effectively market this potential to a broad array of investors and developers. The potential to enhance and broaden our quality of life is enormous and this area’s development must be advanced.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
This is not the time to build more houses but it is the time to agree on future developments. Now is the time to eliminate time consuming and cumbersome requirements on our developers. When these financially pressured elements of our society fail, our city and its people suffer. It is the time to use our baseball complex, our 2010 mall, and our city center to attract not only those who enjoy the day but the night as well.

With your vote, I am ready to serve four more years as your mayor, face the challenges head on, and show the rest of the state and the rest of the country why Goodyear is the All-America city.

Mayor Jim Cavanaugh,
Goodyear