Snowflake Councilman Lynn Johnson and Hunter Lewis will square off in the race for mayor in the Nov. 8 General Election.
Those elected outright to the town council in the primary election are incumbents Kerry Ballard, Stuart Hensley and Byron Lewis, and Allison Perkins.
The two mayoral candidates were asked to provide statements on their candidacy, which follow.
Michael Lynn Johnson
“Snowflake is a town with a bright future. The residents of Snowflake are good people that are full of hope that their representatives will initiate policy and make wise decisions that will benefit the town and the people.
“Over the past years we have suffered an economic downturn that has hurt our local economy and the residents. This has affected every aspect of town function and, subsequently, resident life.
“We need to have fiscal responsibility and budgetary accountability in all the departments in our town. We need to be proactive and not reactive to the policies and programs of the town. Where possible we need to initiate programs that are presented by our town representatives or citizens that would be of benefit to the town and its citizens.
“We need to make the town appealing. We need to have appropriate policy in place that is friendly to new business. We need to have our infrastructure functioning efficiently to optimize opportunities that present themselves. We need to use all available resources and organizations designed to help bring business to our area to increase our economic situation.
“The Town of Snowflake is a great place and the residents are good people. I will be dedicated to the office of mayor and would appreciate your vote.”
Hunter Lewis
I am a sixth generation Snowflake native. I love my hometown. I will work tirelessly to make it even better than it already is.
My focus as mayor will be to grow our economy. Snowflake has a hard time maintaining or improving roads or reopening the pool because we do not have an economy to support these basic functions. For example, Snowflake and Taylor have a combined budget of about $15 million. Contrast that to Show Low who has about the same population as our community but they have a budget over $30 million. It is because they have a tax base. They have revenue being generated from businesses. By no means do I want Snowflake to become Show Low. I prefer Lobos over Cougars any day of the week but it shows that we are disproportionately disadvantaged. I want our town to enjoy a better quality of life and that happens when our roads are paved and when we have a pool or splash pad for our kids and when we have expanded summer programs and other diversions available for our families. This all can happen with a thriving economy. I will strive to bring in new businesses and support existing ones. To bring in new businesses, we need the infrastructure. A large-scale industry park that would run along the rail line northwest of town is a study completed by ADOT that we need to put into action.
“I look forward to serving you and I ask for your vote on Nov. 8. Thank you.”
