Don't wait for it to happen. Don't even want it to happen. Just see what does happen.
Vote Ben Quintana for Boise City Council
Submitted by MeAndG on Fri, 10/21/2011 - 5:51pm.
Platform
Dear fellow Boisean,
As your newly elected Boise City Council Member, I will focus on strengthening our local economy and supporting job creation initiatives – key ingredients that will make Boise the most livable city in the country. City leaders have the ability to assist in these efforts by building a great environment that allows businesses and communities to thrive. By working in partnership with key stakeholders, crafting innovative policies and legislation, and planning smart for the future, we can create a better tomorrow.
Through experience, I’ve learned that a small group of hard working citizens can accomplish anything. When people come together, ideas spread and solutions emerge. By working as a team with the City Council members, Mayor and citizens of Boise, I believe we will continue to discover new solutions to our unique challenges and implement plans to strengthen our local economy and create high paying jobs.
Over the years, I’ve spoken to thousands of citizens, businesses, and community leaders and listened to their concerns about our future. I’ve become passionately involved in the ongoing success of our city and want to do everything I can to preserve and enhance the qualities that make Boise unique. Below are just a few of the ideas I’ve developed and gathered by listening to our citizens. As I work to implement our ideas, I encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts on city issues and communicating your vision for a better Boise. This is our city. Let’s make it great.
I will work aggressively, yet diplomatically to strengthen our local economy and support job creation initiatives by:
Attracting new companies to Boise
Developing new and existing companies
Growing local businesses
Turning ideas into reality
Connecting people and pooling resources
Attracting more dollars into and circulating within Boise
In addition to strengthening our local economy, we must also continue working to make Boise the most livable city in the country. To work toward accomplishing this vision, I will focus on:
Building on Boise’s strengths
Branding Boise
Expanding Boise’s public art and cultural diversity
Strengthening our commitment to quality education
Improving our transportation system
Encouraging more leaders
Tapping into new ideas and energy
Yours in service, Ben
Vote Ben Quintana for Boise City Council
PO Box 7734
Boise, ID 83707
Email: ben@ben4boise.com
Cell: 208.850.9713
Twitter: @benquintana
Web: www.ben4boise.com
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These are Ben's ideas. What would you like to see? Share your ideas for Boise below.
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Endorsements
Boise City Council is a non-partisan elected office and Ben is running a non-partisan campaign. Ben has a broad base of support from the surrounding community and is proud to list the following endorsements for his campaign:
(Categories and names listed alphabetically by first name)
Business and Community Leaders:
Arthur F. (Skip) and Esther Oppenheimer
Bill Martin, CEO, Metro Express Car Wash
Brandy Mamizuka, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Micron
Brian Larsen, Partner, Hawley Troxell
Chris Fout, Senior Financial Planner, Vice President, Key Private Bank
Christopher Taylor, President & CEO, Fisher’s Document Systems
Clark Krause
Dennis Doan, Boise Fire Chief
Dennis L. Johnson
Don Bush, Former President (2010-11), Kickstand
Ephraim Greenwall
Eric Bjorkman, Partner, Perkins Coie
Erik Bolinder, Partner, Givens Pursley & Leadership Boise President
George and Bev Harad
George Iliff, Managing Partner, Colliers International
Heidi Bogert Dornier
Holli High Woodings
Jodi LaBrie, CPA and Insurance Consultant, Baxter and Associates
John V. Evans, EVP, D.L. Evans Bank
Jim Kissler, CEO, Norco, Inc
Kristin Bjorkman, Attorney
Kristin Muchow, Vice President, Meeting Systems, Inc
Larry Koomler
Lee Flinn, Executive Director, Conservation Voters for Idaho
Mark Solon, Managing Partner, Highway 12 Ventures
Michael Ballantyne, Managing Partner, Thornton Oliver Keller
Michael Markley, Managing Director, Aquent Studios, 2010/11 Leadership Boise Academy Vice President
Mitch Minnette
Molly Lenty
Monica D. Hopkins
Nicholas G. Miller, Hawley Troxell
Norm Becker
Peter Barton, Partner, Givens Pursely LLP and Leadership Boise Vice President
Peter Oliver, Thornton Oliver Keller
Phil Eastman II
Ray Stark
Rich Raimondi, President, Bishop Kelly High School and Retired Executive, Hewlett-Packard Company
Rick Carpenter
Ronald Rugimbana, LaserJet Worldwide Product Marketing Manager, Hewlett-Packard Company
Sydney Sallabanks, Marketing Manager, Simplot Company
Sylvia Hampel, Owner, Clearview Cleaning
Von Hansen, Vice President & General Manager, Hewlett-Packard Company
Current and Former Elected Officials:
Branden Durst, Former State Representative, District 18, Small business owner & community college instructor
Chuck Winder, State Senator, District 14
Mike Burkett, Former State Senator, District 19, Attorney
Gail Bray, Former Democratic National Committeewoman, State Senator and Assistant Democratic Senate Leader
Gary Raney, Ada County Sheriff
Kathleen Simko, Garden City Council Member
Phylis King, State Representative, District 18, Small business owner
TJ Thomson, Boise City Council Member
Educators:
Mary Olson, MBA Director, George Fox University Boise Campus
Michael (Author and Assistant Professor in Higher Education) & Lana Kroth (Dance Teacher)
Nancy K. Napier, Ph.D., Executive Director, Centre for Creativity & Innovation and Professor of Strategy, Boise State University
Shawn Shepherd, Head of School, Foothills School of Arts & Sciences and 2010 Leadership Boise Academy Vice President
Shikhar Sarin, Ph.D.
Entrepreneurs and Innovators:
Bob Lokken, Founder & CEO, WhiteCloud Analytics
Brett Adler, Former Chair (2010), Boise Young Professionals
Christopher Volk, EnerNOC, Inc
Colbi Ditter, Owner, CMD brandsource
Danielle Snelson, Owner, Joie Events
Dave Romero, Co-Founder, Tsuvo
Derick Ellis, Co-Founder, Tsuvo
Evans Baiya, Innovations Strategist
Faisal Shah, Entrepreneur
J. Glerum, President & Co-Founder, Valitics Inc
Jared Bauer, CTO, Framed Legacy, Inc
Jason Crawforth, Entrepreneur
John Michael Schert, Executive Director/Dancer, Trey McIntyre Project
Jonathon Fishman, Entrepreneur & Acting Chief Operating Officer of Behavior Imaging, Inc
Jim Greer, Owner & President, Business Plans Pros
Karen Meyer, Owner, Handyman Connection
Kristi Saucerman, Founder & CEO, Auction Frogs, LLC
Mason Fuller, CEO, Atlas Frontiers, 2011 SBA National Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Meg Carlson
Peter J. Vomocil, Luminosity Group
Ryan Woodings, Founder and Chief Geek, MetaGeek, LLC
Groups and Organizations:
Ada County Association of REALTORS
Boise Firefighters Union
Conservation Voters for Idaho
Northend.org
Professional Fire Fighters of Idaho
Students:
Adam P. Cuneo, MBA student, George Fox University
Brandie VanOrder, Student and ASBSU President, Boise State University
Emily Walton, Student and ASBSU Secretary of External Communications, Boise State University
Ryan Gregg, Student and ASBSU Assembly Speaker, Boise State University
If you are interested in endorsing Ben, please contact him directly on his cell phone at (208) 850-9713 or his email at Ben@Ben4Boise.com.
BEN QUINTANA
Age: 33
Profession: Former director of public relations and leadership development, Boise Chamber of Commerce (resigned to pursue council seat)
Education: B.A., communication, Boise State; M.A. organizational leadership, George Fox University
Political experience: Has not run for office before (was a finalist for appointment to Boise council vacancy in 2010)
Why are you running?
I love Boise and want to make sure it keeps its charm, safe and family-friendly environment and uniqueness as it continues to evolve and expand. I want to help strengthen our local economy and find new ways to create higher-paying job opportunities for our citizens. I also want to enhance our quality of life.
What are the two biggest issues in Boise?
1. High unemployment and underemployment: We must focus on getting people back to work in new jobs or help them create companies. Access to high-quality education, information and retraining opportunities are critical to the success of our current and future workforce.
2. Lack of high-wage jobs: Many of our largest employers and corporate headquarters have moved out of state or shed jobs over the past few years. Boise continues to struggle to attract enough talent for emerging and high-growth technology businesses.
What’s your opinion of the city’s proposed smoking ban in bars?
I would prefer to see smoking banned. However, as an elected official, I realize my job would be to make decisions based on research and the needs/comments of our citizens, not just my own personal opinion. I’m continuing to listen and learn from smokers and nonsmokers about this issue.
What is an idea you’re eager to share with voters?
We can find creative solutions, better utilize our current resources and leverage our unique strengthens. By increasing learning opportunities, improving access to information and supporting additional retraining programs, we can help our workforce adapt and prepare for new careers in high-demand jobs. I’ve seen this happen in Boise and believe continued success is possible. We must partner to expand these opportunities and plan smart for our future.
We can work toward creating a fund to help strengthen our entrepreneurial ecosystem, incubators, and access to capital for new/emerging start-up companies. A comparison to this idea is the funding vehicle behind the city’s arts and history department. Around 10 years ago, the city implemented a “percent for art” ordinance to invest a percentage of all new capital projects into public art. The program has had great success and has created a public art presence worth over $3.2 million. Creative solutions exist. We must continue to innovate.
Read more: fron the Idaho Statesman