Home Community P.A.G.E.’s City Council Candidate Interviews: Gary Ekizian (Seat #3)

Pocatello for Accountable Government Entities: Keeping Government Accountable

P.A.G.E.’s City Council Candidate Interviews: Gary Ekizian (Seat #3)

October 14, 2023

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(Pocatello for Accountable Government Entities, October 10, 2023)

*Candidate Questionnaires were emailed to the nine (9) City Council candidates on 09/14/23 inviting participation. We will be posting responses received through 10/09/23 for Seats #1 and #2 beginning today, 10/09/23, and Seat #3 on 10/10/23. Subsequent submissions will be posted as received.

2023 POCATELLO CANDIDATE – GARY EKIZIAN – SEAT #3

1. What motivated you to run for office and how have you prepared for the position?

The seeming lack of transparency by the current city council has motivated me to run for office. My lifetime of work experience and education have prepared me for the position of city council member.

2. What specific experiences and/or qualifications make you the best candidate and why?

It is my belief my background as both a supervisor and manager for over 20 years as well as having been a small business owner with a degree in business management makes me the most qualified candidate. My experience outweighs my education and to me is more valuable than my education. I retired from a career in law enforcement as well as the real estate industry. My experience in real estate has been in two states as either an agent, broker, certified appraiser, and certified home/building inspector. I have managed as few as 2 employees and as many as 800 people and worked with budgets from $20,000 to $10,000,000 annually.

3. What are the primary responsibilities of a City Council member and how will you fulfill each of them? (Please identify at least 2)

Most city council members are responsible for a number of things such as Passing ordinances and resolutions, Regulate land use through zoning laws, Establishing tax rates, Oversight of employee performance, Responding to the needs/complaints of constituents, Provide democratic and accountable government as well as many other things within the city councils purview. To the best of my ability, I will fulfill each of my duties as a city council member with the help and input of the community. This must happen through open, honest, tempered, adult conversation. I will be here to represent the citizens of Pocatello to the best of my ability with transparency by keeping the citizens of Pocatello informed.

4. Are you satisfied with current City of Pocatello government? If yes, why? If no, why not, and what improvements do you propose?

From what I have personally experienced, and conversations I have had with lifelong Pocatello residents, I am not satisfied with the current City of Pocatello government. I propose more communication with and inclusion of the citizens of Pocatello in the decision making processes of city government by having council meetings open to the public.

5. What is your view of City spending and City property taxes?

(Include any specifics like financial policies you agree/disagree with or the City’s prioritization of spending, too much/too little spending, etc.)

Let me start with City property taxes. Not only are they too high, they are way too high, specifically residential properties. For the last 3-5 years we have been in a real estate boom. What inevitably happens after a real estate boom? If you guessed, “A real estate bust,” you guessed correctly. Property taxes are not regulated by the City Council, however, the council can control spending which in turn will reduce the need for taxes. It is essential we do not cut essential services for the safety and security of Pocatello residents, but it is also essential we ferret out wasteful or unnecessary spending. One example which comes to mind is subsidizing an airline. This would fall under wasteful spending. City money should not go to fund a private business.

6. What does “public transparency” mean to you, and what doesn’t it mean in terms of being a potential “public official?”

Public transparency means the books are open for anyone to look at, agendas are publicly posted and the public is allowed to provide comment and input (with reasonable time constraints), and supporting and opposing comments are posted publicly for 30 days in advance of decisions being made. This will allow for reasonable, impartial input from citizens who have elected their council members to serve and represent. Closed meetings are the opposite and go against the welcoming statements on record from the existing council. The only time there should be closed meetings is when it involves disciplinary issues with city employees, elected officials, or personal matters of said individuals (i.e. an illness, death in the family or other personal crisis which the individual does not want to share as a public matter). We still live in a constitutionally governed republic and our citizens should be treated as such.