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Mayor Spotlight
Name, title & city/town:
Linda Kavanagh, Mayor, Town of Fountain Hills
Year elected to office: 2012
Years served as mayor: One year in office
Hometown: Fountain Hills, Arizona
Town of Fountain Hills
Incorporated: 1989
Population: 22,489 (2010 census)
Elevation: 1,700 ft.
County: Maricopa
Area within Limits: 20.32 sq. mi.
Why did you decide to serve in local government?
I have always been active in the community either as a parent of school children, a town or community service organization
volunteer or a member and board chair of the local Chamber of Commerce. I made the jump to mayor because I eventually
realized that I needed to have a vote on the town council to truly make a difference and affect change.
Faced with a town council growing increasingly divisive, a town government mired in bureaucracy, and a government atmosphere
unfriendly to business, I knew I needed to get involved and I did.
What are the biggest challenges facing your city today?
The lingering financial harm caused by the recession continues to haunt Fountain Hills, while challenges like the recent TPT
tax reform and other items from the legislature that threaten small cities and towns continue to be of concern.
Beyond that, finishing the development of our downtown and providing access to our beautiful desert preserve rank high on my
agenda, as does playing catch-up in the area of road maintenance.
What opportunities do you see for your community?
Landing a developer who could finish developing our downtown is our greatest opportunity. A thriving downtown provides jobs,
goods and services to our residents and tax revenue to our government.
What are you most proud of during your time in office?
I was proud to have been instrumental in having the prime contracting provision of the TPT reform bill removed from the bill,
which protects municipal sales tax revenues. I am also proud of spearheading business-friendly sign ordinance reform in
Fountain Hills. That reform was part of my campaign platform and I delivered.
Why is the League important to cities and towns in Arizona?
Two of the most important things individuals and organizations need to survive and prosper are knowledge and influence and
the League provides both to cities and towns. Government by nature is complex and involved in many different areas of human
endeavor. The information on governing provided by the League to its members is vital.
No municipality is an island unto itself and we are greatly affected by the activities of other government and private
entities, particularly the state. While cities and towns and their leaders do not agree on all policy issues, we have
consensus on many and the League does a good job of communicating and amplifying our concerns and advocating our positions
to others.
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League of Arizona Cities and Towns
1820 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: 602-258-5786
Fax: 602-253-3874
http://www.azleague.org
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