The race for three Tempe City Council seats up for grabs in the March 12 general election is getting crowed with two more residents filing petition applications, bringing the total number of candidates to six.
The latest entries are Ron Wilson, a retired minister and Navy veteran, and Pam Goronkin, a semi-retired Motorola executive. Already announced are council incumbents Ben Arredondo and Len Copple, and challengers Brett Scott and Gene Ganssle.
Both newly announced candidates have unique reasons for launching their political careers in Tempe.
"I've spent 40 years serving a congregation. For me, this is a logical continuation of my commitment to serving the community," said Wilson.
Wilson, who has a master's degree in divinity from Bangor Theological Seminary, has been a Tempe resident for 13 years and now co-owns Parkville Imports, a Guatemalan import business.
Wilson does not have a campaign platform in place yet but plans to canvass the community, analyzing public opinion.
"I think it's early for a platform as such," Wilson said. "I want to do my research carefully, meet and listen to the citizens and come out with what the issues really are."
Wilson said future issues facing Tempe are balancing the protection of historic neighborhoods with development such as the construction of the Rio Salado, downtown commercial areas and transportation.
Goronkin said her reasons for running for City Council are connected to the recent mayoral recall election and public negativism toward Tempe's elected officials.
"We need some strong leadership to counter the malcontents that would have us believe our city is headed down the wrong path," Goronkin said.
Goronkin, a native Arizonan, came to Tempe in 1969, but over the years, moved to other locations in the Valley. She has been a permanent resident for 11 years.
Goronkin has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix and worked at Motorola for 14 years in engineering, administration and management positions.
Goronkin has also worked on the Tempe Citizens for Transit initiative, served on the Tempe Human Relations Commission and currently is on the steering committee for the Tempe Visual and Performing Arts Center and the City of Tempe Design Review Board.
Reach Victor Allen at victordallen@cs.com.