Manfredi: 12 years of service

By Vice Mayor Vincent Manfredi
Aug 31, 2026

Letter to the editor

Editor,

I first joined the Maricopa City Council in 2014. Since then, our city has grown, our challenges have changed, and the responsibilities placed on the council have become much larger. Residents should not have to rely on slogans to decide whether I have done the job. They should be able to examine a public record.

That is why I am beginning this series. Each week, I will focus on a specific area of work, identify what I personally did, recognize what the full council and our partners accomplished, and provide sources residents can review for themselves. If you do not wish to publish each part of the series, I will post them on social media as well.

My service has included regular council duties, two terms as vice mayor, and the performance of mayoral responsibilities during the 2022 leadership transition. I have done a good overall job, which is why our city council again unanimously selected me as vice mayor for 2026. Those titles matter only if they are used to keep the city moving, maintain stability, and represent Maricopa effectively.

Much of my work has taken place outside the council chambers. I have represented Maricopa through Central Arizona Governments, the Pinal Regional Transportation Authority (PRTA), the Rural Transportation Advocacy Council (RTAC), the Arizona League of Cities and Towns transportation committee, and the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) Transportation Policy Committee. Those assignments put Maricopa in the rooms where transportation priorities, project timing, and regional funding are discussed.

I have also remained involved in our community beyond formal council votes. Public education, school funding, youth opportunities, small businesses, and residents’ access to local government have remained priorities. Not all of that work is a City Council accomplishment, and I will not describe it that way. Community work and official council action are different, even when they support the same families.

The same distinction applies to the city’s larger successes. A councilmember can advocate, vote, negotiate, and keep an issue moving. City staff, fellow councilmembers, voters, private employers, regional agencies, and state and federal partners often do the work together. Claims of sole credit usually exclude too many people, which is why I do not make that claim.

Over the coming weeks, I will cover SR 347, alternative transportation routes, budgets and property tax rates, public safety, business development, utility advocacy, major city facilities, and regional representation. I will also discuss what remains unfinished. Growth has created new pressures, and experience is useful only when it is applied to the next problem.

My record is not perfect, and no twelve-year record could be. It is, however, substantial, public, and open to review. I believe residents deserve a campaign based on facts, measurable outcomes, and an honest explanation of who did what.

That is the standard I will use throughout this series. I am asking Maricopa residents to review the record, ask questions, and decide whether that experience should continue on the council.

Council leadership. Regional representation. A public record residents can check.