Earlier this summer, the Post asked our readers what issues you wanted to hear candidates running for Spring Hill City Council to address leading up to the Nov. 4 election.
Based on that feedback, we developed a five-item questionnaire centering the issues most important to Spring Hill residents.
Each day this week, we’re publishing the candidates’ responses to one question.
Today, we’re publishing candidates’ responses to the following question:
Trust in city hall: Spring Hill has seen a lot of turnover in its governing body over the past four years, most notably following the 2021 mayoral election in which the winning candidate resigned office before even taking it. How do you plan to work to restore residents’ trust not only in the electoral process in Spring Hill but the governing body itself?
Below are the answers the Post received from candidates on this issue:
At-Large
Rodolfo Arevalo
Improving trust in city governance will require providing avenues for citizens to become more aware of the activities and agendas of the city council. I would, therefore, implement the following items:
1. Use social media to inform Spring Hill residents of city issues coming before the City Council.
2. Create annual neighborhood meetings and city forums to discuss critical issues facing the city that affects expenditure of unusually larger amounts of resources.
3. Revise the current citizen participation guidelines, which restricts dialog with citizens about their concerns.
Steven Boswell
Did not provide the Post with a response.
Ivan Delgado
Did not provide the Post with a response.
Michael Grant (incumbent)
Did not provide the Post with a response.
Brian Peel (incumbent)
I believe building trust begins with making good decisions as a current council member. I’ve never had an issue I had to decide about where 100% of the public supported my decision, that never happens. Every decision I make, I give it the proper time, research, and public input that is necessary to make an informed decision. When you approach every decision this way, even most people who disagree can still respect that the decision was given appropriate consideration and professionalism. Engaging with the public is the other way to build public trust. You must be out at community events, interacting with community members, to know what they are concerned about and thinking about. Engagement can happen in many ways, but face to face conversations are always the most effective in my opinion.
At-Large (two-year unexpired term)
Rodolfo Arevalo
Improving trust in city governance will require providing avenues for citizens to become more aware of the activities and agendas of the city council. I would, therefore, implement the following items:
1. Use social media to inform Spring Hill residents of city issues coming before the City Council.
2. Create annual neighborhood meetings and city forums to discuss critical issues facing the city that affects expenditure of unusually larger amounts of resources.
3. Revise the current citizen participation guidelines, which restricts dialog with citizens about their concerns.
James Savage
Did not provide the Post with a response.
Phillip Thron (incumbent)
Did not provide the Post with a response.
