Joe Gains to seek Madison City Council, Dist. 2 position

MADISON – Joe Gaines has announced his decision to run for Madison City Council, Dist. 2, in the upcoming municipal election on Aug. 25. He will be trying to unseat two-term council member and current city council president Steve Smith, which is running for a third term.

“I chose to run for City Council because I want to restore our community’s voice to Madison City government,” Gaines said. “Our slogan says it all, ‘Your Neighbor, Your Voice.’ I’m a political outsider who wants to change the direction we are headed. As our city has grown our citizens are losing their voice in city government to big business and developers. Our current city council has lost touch with the residents and no longer values our input, which was evidenced by two major decision made by the council during this past term. I want to change that and restore citizen government to Madison City.”

Gaines is a retired Army Officer with 26 years of leadership experience. 

“In my final position in the Army I served as the City Manager (Commander) for the US Army Kwajalein Atoll base in the Republic of the Marshall Islands,” he said. “As the City Manager for this remote and isolated Army base, I was responsible for the planning and execution of all city functions including fire, police, public safety, K-12 schools, hospital, dental clinic, international airports and seaports, customs, utilities, communications networks, aircraft and maritime assets, road networks, housing, warehouses, power grid, retail and fuel storage. Additionally, I served as the senior judicial authority for the city’s 3500 residents, workers and visitors. I directed an annual budget of $230 million in support of both city operations and Army missions, leading a staff of 50 technical professionals in all areas of city management.”

Gaines said he has three main goals if elected. They are:

1.  Smart growth. “Our current political representatives have surrendered our city to special interests and developers. We need more green space, managed growth, infrastructure to match development, and school capacity to match our rapid growth,” he stated.

2. Transparency. “Ensuring the city council keeps our citizens well informed – publicizing and getting input on large capital projects like the new baseball stadium and Town Madison investments prior to committing,” he said.

3. Young people in politics.  “I will form a Youth Engagement Committee (YEC) to motivate and engage young people to become active members of the community, active citizens and voters,” he said.

Gaines brands himself as a poilitical outsider. “I will not take donations from special interest groups, political action committees, or builders and developers,” he said. “As a new member of the city council I will never gamble with the city’s money.”

To find more infrmation about Joe Gaines’ campaign, go to www.voteforjoegainesdistrict2.com.