Council candidate: Holly Grigaitis, moved to Cottonwood area in 1997
Age: 52. “I think that’s old enough to know better, and young enough to remember working three $6 an hour jobs to make ends meet starting out.”
| Editor’s Note |
|---|
| Holly Grigaitis has declined to clarify her residency; as reported in a story on May 1. On her nomination papers, Holly Grigaitis listed her “actual residence address” as 17 N. 14th St. No. 3, Cottonwood, a mobile home owned by Kenzie Properties LLC, for which she is listed as a manager, according to the Arizona Corporation Commission, but gave her mailing address as 12250 E. Serenity Lane in Cornville — approximately four miles east of Cottonwood and outside city limits — which is the location of a property she has owned since 2007, and which is also listed as the address of her other business, Options & Opportunities. The ACC lists Grigaitis and Kenneth Svercl as co-managers of Kenzie Properties LLC, who both reside at 12250 E. Serenity Lane in Cornville. A Cottonwood Journal Extra reporter visited 17 14th St. No. 3 and spoke on video to a tenant at that address, who confirmed that Grigaitis does not live there and that the tenant is renting from “Ken.” When reached by phone April 25, she said, “I don’t think where I live is any of your business. Go look up what the definition of residence is.” According to the Arizona Secretary of State, a “residential address” is “where you live.” Grigaitis subsequently hung up without answering the question about whether she lives in Cottonwood or lives in Cornville. City-specific qualifications require that a candidate “be 18 years or more on or before the time of filing of the nomination papers,” have the “ability to speak, write and read the English language” and have “city residency for a period of one year preceding the date of the election,” which is July 30, 2023, for the July 30, 2024 election. |
| Grigaitis also declined to be photographed. |
Current or past profession: Real estate brokerage, rehabilitation and redevelopment. “During the course of my career, I have helped more than 1,000 families acquire their version of the American Dream, while providing below market, pet-friendly rental units to hundreds of local families throughout our valley. I am most proud of the revitalization of the defunct Mesquite Springs subdivision off 6th Street. If local policy does not reverse course, I fear this will be Cottonwood’s last true affordable homes project.”
Q: Why are you qualified to serve on council?
A: “I’ve made an excellent living managing assets — for my family, the federal government, big banks and countless other investors. My career has always been maximizing the value and potential of an investment, while minimizing losses, risk and cost to my business and my clients simultaneously. In other words, my job was protecting people’s money, property, and rights — and I’m darn good at it. I believe that is precisely the skill set the voters of Cottonwood need right now, and precisely why my character is under attack. Really, now. Who cares where I sleep at night? City officials, newspaper editors or laws don’t decide where we call home or where we want our vote to count. We do.”
Q: How should the city bring more affordable housing into the area, and balance the growth of businesses and new residents?
A: “They should immediately stop trying — because they don’t realize how they created the problem and continue to make it worse. Rules, regulation and red tape add an average of 42% to the cost of every home across America. Government needs to get out of the way, and let the private sector do what it does best — create options and opportunities for people, and products or services they want and can afford to buy.”
Q: What is your vision for economic development in Cottonwood?
A: “See above. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.”
Q: How should the city change events to reflect the city’s changing demographics?
A: “A far more important question to ask is how changing demographics will change us. We will soon experience a major generational shift as Gen-X seeks to retire alongside boomers. Housing costs will continue to skyrocket because new occupants coming across wide open borders outpace new housing units 1 to 10. The push for ‘green’ energy will continue to raise the cost of energy, which raises the cost of everything that is produced with energy. Storm clouds gather on the horizon and we are ill-prepared.”
Q: How will you rebuild public trust and confidence in Cottonwood City Council?
A: “First, I think it’s critical for voters to know there is no such thing as a nonpartisan race. Every local race is highly manipulated by party operatives, on both sides, and this race is no different. Over the years many Democrats, socialists and communists became overnight Republicans or “fiscally conservative independents” in order to get a few more votes from the unaware. That’s all it takes. A few more votes. If they don’t openly tell you their party affiliation or inclinations, they’re hiding their true intentions. Second, I will work diligently to end yearly budgets built on fiction and fairy dust and go to great lengths to ensure the people’s money is spent wisely and prudently. I think those two items will be a real big help towards getting the city back on track.”
Cottonwood City Council Election
Mayoral candidates (one four-year seat):
- Michael Mathews, challenger
- Ann Shaw, challenger
Council candidates (three four-year seats)
- Felicia Coates, challenger
- Holly Grigaitis, challenger* [*residency in city limits remains in question]
- Helaine Kurot, incumbent
- Bob Marks, challenger
- Lindsay Masten, challenger
- Joy Mosley, challenger
- Heather Piper White, challenger
- Bill Tinnin, challenger
