MCC student willing to take on Gilbert’s challenges
Erica Tiffany
Along with five other candidates, MCC political science student Eric Hurley will be running for mayor of Gilbert on March 10.Believing that Gilbert is in need of someone new, Hurley decided that the town needed him to rise up to take on the challenge.
“I’ve been a Gilbert resident for 14 years and I’m ready to move Gilbert forward and make it sustainable,” Hurley said.
He believes that the town’s government is currently unorganized and that the current mayor, Steven Berman, seems to only be interested in his title as mayor.
“He gives a lot of money to organizations in Gilbert like the Boys and Girls Club, which I definitely think is a good thing, but he is also cutting pay raises for the workforce. I think that small cuts can be demoralizing to your workforce and if they can’t support themselves, experienced and needed workers will leave Gilbert to find jobs elsewhere,” Hurley said.
Hurley says that instead of cutting pay raises, he believes that a better alternative would have been fundraisers for the organizations set up by the mayor. He also said that he thinks the mayor should donate more of his time, instead of pulling money out of the town’s general fund.
Since he isn’t running on experience, Hurley says that he only has his ideas and plans to show people that he’s the right man to fill the posistion.
Hurley does say that if he wins, he plans on making Gilbert a more business friendly town, and he would also like Gilbert to host more activities.
“I believe that Gilbert has an image problem. It was recently on Forbes list of the most boring cities, and I think that we need to attract more people,” Hurley said. 21-year-old Hurley said that many people fail to take him seriously because of his young age.
“People can agree with everything I say, and disagree with everything my opponent says, but they might not vote for me because of my age. A lot of people are stuck in their ways but there are also a lot that are optimistic. Either way we need change,” Hurley said.
Hurley sees his age as an advantage, and says that going to school, working, and playing football for Scottsdale Community College simultaneously helped him develop time management skills crucial to the job.
Planning on staying in school if elected, Hurley says he is an excellent multi-tasker and that he would continue taking classes online. If elected, his stint as mayor would even count as an internship towards his graduation.
“I would be able to give Gilbert what they need while continuing my education. I even think I would be able to give more time than the other candidates,” Hurley said.
