By james art 
By Jackie Rose | Sun City
When it comes to housing, education and fire safety, we must have an honest, competent, dedicated person to lead the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office. Money collected as property taxes is disbursed by the assessor’s office to various critical departments, including fire departments and local cities; more than half go to local public school districts.
I am retired in Arizona, but I am concerned about the education of children growing up in this fast paced, technical world. Arizona is now number 50 in education in the US. Our school systems need significant funding to give our children the education they will need for the industries coming into Arizona.
We cannot afford to have incompetent assessors misjudge and mismanage funds, creating a situation where $330 million in property taxes were collected and then had to be returned to homeowners, depleting public school budgets and critical agencies. As a result of the current assessor and his fellow Republican predecessors, Maricopa County is now facing a severe financial crisis.
I think Greg Freeman will bring honesty and integrity to the Maricopa County office. Freeman is a responsible professional whose career reflects both integrity and competence. He is committed to public and community service. Freeman currently serves the City of Phoenix honorably as a member of both the Deer Valley and North Mountain Zoning Commissions. He is also active in the Bell Road Business Alliance and the Black Mountain Community Alliance.
Freeman has spent the past decade in real estate, including time as an escrow officer and in commercial property management. He knows the housing industry well. He knows and understands Maricopa County firsthand as a lifelong resident who grew up in Northwest Phoenix and now lives there with his wife and children.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcome [email protected].