Log in

Local Elections

Candidate Q&A: Get to know the people running for Goodyear mayor

Posted 4/26/22

The Independent has sent out a candidate questionnaire as part of our coverage of the ongoing primary race for Goodyear mayor to be held Aug. 2, 2022.

So far, two candidates have tossed their hats …

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor
Local Elections

Candidate Q&A: Get to know the people running for Goodyear mayor

Posted

The Independent has sent out a candidate questionnaire as part of our coverage of the ongoing primary race for Goodyear mayor to be held Aug. 2, 2022.

So far, two candidates have tossed their hats into the ring to lead one of the fastest-growing cities in the country; incumbent Mayor Joe Pizzillo and write-in candidate Carlita Cotton. 

These are preliminary questions, meant to help voters get acquainted with the candidates, their backgrounds, and broad vision for the city of Goodyear. We plan to send out more in-depth questions ahead of our in-person Candidate Forum to be held in late June.  

Both incumbent Mayor Joe Pizzillo and write-in candidate Carlita Cotton received the same questions, and their responses are listed below in alphabetical order. 

Click here to view questionnaire responses from Goodyear City Council candidates

Carlita Cotton, write-in

 Biographical questions:

  1. Name: Carlita L. Cotton
  2. Age and date of birth: 50 years old, Born Nov. 12, 1971
  3. City/town you grew up in: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  4. Number of years you’ve lived in Goodyear: 3 years
  5. Do you have previous political experience? If so, please list prior elected office by term if applicable. ASUA Appropriation Board Director in 2010-11. Intern with Chicano Por La Causa
  6. What do you do for a living? Entrepreneur   
  7. What types of involvement have you had within the community? (Ex: volunteering with a charity, serving on a board, circulating petitions for a local cause you care about, etc) Working with the Homeless population, International City/County Management Association (ICMA) student chapter at Arizona State University, Phi Alpha Delta ΦΑΔ in 2017, Center for Law and Global Affairs Ambassador in 2016-17, Lambda Alpha in 2011, Psi Chi ΨΧ in 2010, Psi Beta ΨΒ in 2010, and Phi Theta Kappa ΦΘΚ in 2010
  8. Family information: Anything you would like to share related to your spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandchildren, pets, etc. This question is OPTIONAL. Declined to answer 
  9. If you have a campaign website, please provide a link here: www.cotton4mayor.com

Short answer questions:

  1. What do you believe is the role and function of a mayor? The mayor is an elected official, which means that the mayor is elected by people all over the city. The mayor is in charge of council meetings and is the leader of the whole city.
  2. Why are you running for mayor and what is the first thing you want voters to know about your campaign?  My philosophy is “Put people first” my priority is to focus on enhancing human health for residents. To foster a new climate of economic opportunity for all residents and leverage public-private partnerships to make the city the best version of Goodyear.
  3. What do you believe are the three most important issues facing the city of Goodyear? Please describe the approach you would take to solve each of these issues if elected mayor. Declined to answer
  4. How do you plan to involve Goodyear residents in the decision-making process at the local level? I will create more committees devoted strictly to resident input, partnerships, and development.  
  5. If you received a $1 million grant to use for the program or project of your choice within the city, how would you use it and why? Revitalize the airport: bring in 2-3 airline companies, build an outdoor mall, roller skating rinks, offer grants (50k) to residents to start a new business, bring more upscale restaurants, more public parks, expand public transportation, build a trolly service 
  6. What neighborhood/part of town do you live in, and why? Name your favorite spots to hang out around town? Las Brisas, Life time fitness, Robeks, Community Center
  7. What is your favorite thing about the city of Goodyear and why? The constant growth, the location, and the people

Joe Pizzillo, incumbent 

Biographical questions:

  1. Name: Joe Pizzillo
  2. Age and date of birth: 69 years old, born Aug. 10, 1952
  3. City/town you grew up in: Ellicott City, Maryland
  4. Number of years you’ve lived in Goodyear: 20 years
  5. Do you have previous political experience? If so, please list prior elected office by term if applicable. Goodyear City Council from 2009 to 2021, Goodyear City Mayor Dec. 17, 2021 to present.
  6. What do you do for a living? I am an Adjunct College Professor at Grand Canyon University and Estrella Mountain Community College, teaching accounting and a variety of business courses. 
  7. What types of involvement have you had within the community? (Ex: volunteering with a charity, serving on a board, circulating petitions for a local cause you care about, etc) I am on the Board of the Southwest Lending Closet Board of Directors since 2009 (an all-volunteer organization lending non-motorized medical equipment free of charge to the public) and a member of the Goodyear PebbleCreek Rotary which performs various charitable activities throughout the Southwest Valley.
  8. Family information: Anything you would like to share related to your spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandchildren, pets, etc. This question is OPTIONAL. Married 47 years to Vickie Pizzillo. We have a son Nicholas, his wife Kristen and granddaughters Sophia and Aubrey. 
  9. If you have a campaign website, please provide a link here: www.joepizzillo.com

Short answer questions:

  1. What do you believe is the role of a mayor? The mayor leads the city with the shared vision of the City Council. The mayor, as the elected leader of the city, represents the city on various regional boards and committees, covering such topics as Preservation of Luke Air Force Base, economic development, pending legislation, transportation, quality of life and the disbursement of area funding. The Goodyear Mayor also works closely with the Southwest Valley Mayors to address regional issues. It is important for the mayor to be visible in the community, receive feedback, to ensure the community’s needs are met.
  2. Why are you running for mayor and what is the first thing you want voters to know about your campaign? As your Mayor, I will continue to build on our successes of the past while working to ensure Goodyear maintains its exceptional quality of life. My focus will be on continuing to attract quality jobs and amenities, promote economic growth in a financially responsible manner and provide quality services, while protecting our neighborhoods from crime and blight.My educational background and experience afford me the ability to address both opportunities and challenges going forward.  I am very proud of our past accomplishments, and as your Mayor I will continue to focus my effort on maintaining Goodyear as a premier community to work, play and to raise our families
  3. What do you believe are the three most important issues facing the city of Goodyear? Please describe the approach you would take to solve each of these issues if elected mayor. The top three challenges facing the City of Goodyear are: 1) Water, 2) Transportation/congestion and 3) Quality Development. As Mayor for the City of Goodyear I will continue to ensure that we meet our State-mandated 100-year assured water supply requirements for each residential and industrial development that wishes to build in our City. As part of the current City Council, we have recently completed a $127M surface water treatment facility that brings to the city, for the first time, our allocations of water from the Central Arizona Project in order to strengthen our capacity. We are working with regional and state water authorities to ensure we continue to be one of the lowest water users in the region. We are seeing the effects of the job growth that has occurred over the past few years and how local roads are becoming harder to travel. As Mayor, I have asked the City Manager and staff, with the support of the rest of City Council, to identify street projects and funding sources that we can immediately begin making changes to the bottlenecks that we see throughout the city. We are currently planning $125M worth of projects over the next two years to address these areas. All projects of this size and scope take time to design and construct but we will move as quickly as possible; all within our current financial means. Finally, as Mayor of Goodyear, we are unable to stop the development of parcels owned by private landholders, however, we are requiring higher design standards, more diversity of housing options and a broad range of businesses and industries so that we do not have “all of our eggs in one basket” when it comes to the type of commercial development we are seeing.
  4. How do you plan to involve Goodyear residents in the decision-making process at the local level? Goodyear residents are regularly engaged in the City’s decision-making processes.  A few examples include involvement in various commissions and committees making recommendations to the City regarding such issues as, water rates, city charter updates, planning and zoning recommendations, general plan update along with participating in the design of the City’s new recreation campus. Our biennial survey of the community helps identify any areas we need to improve service delivery or new service requests to be added.
  5. If you received a $1 million grant to use for the program or project of your choice within the city, how would you use it and why? Typically grants come with restrictions as to where and how the money can be spent.  If the grant was for infrastructure, I would consult with the City Manager and review the City’s capital improvement plan looking for recommendations for road improvements, traffic management projects or residential street refurbishing projects that best serve the community as a whole.
  6. What neighborhood/part of town do you live in, and why? Name your favorite spots to hang out around town? We have lived in the Palm Valley Phase III community for the past 20 years. We like the fact that we are close to a variety of amenities and the movie theatre. We enjoy attending the various City-sponsored holiday events throughout the year and look forward to many events that will be coming to the new City Civic Square opening this summer.
  7. What is your favorite thing about the city of Goodyear and why? What I like best about the city is that we are a community and not just a collection of neighborhoods.  We have a great base of volunteer organizations within the city that step up and give of their talents and time to the city.  They serve throughout the various City departments resulting in an estimated $350,000 savings to the taxpayers.  We have a faith-based community that meets monthly at the city to identify how each organization can pool resources to improve the quality of life for our citizens. These are just a few examples that makes Goodyear a great place to work, play and raise a family.   

What questions do YOU have for the Goodyear mayoral candidates? Let us know by emailing mackley@iniusa.org