Quezada has made some really good decisions so far. For instance, his campaign postcard is brilliant:
Other times, he’s faltered a bit, as do all new candidates. Quezada has an active business and a wife and family, sometimes he seems like he needs to be better prepared at forums. Every new candidate find certain topics daunting. Where to start? It takes time to learn all the details and the history of the issues.
Quezada grew up in Prescott. This is his home town. He met his wife here in the 2nd grade. He feels passionate about Prescott, and he wants to give back to the community he loves.
Quezada provided the script for his statement to CopperState News. We republish his statement here (including his notes to himself, his capitalization of words and sentences), not as an endorsement*, but as a glimpse into a hometown guy that will be around serving Prescott for the long term - whether or not he wins an election.
Hello My Name, is Grant Quezada.
I am a native son from Prescott I am at 15 years of military service in the Army with 8 spent in special operations and 6 combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
I hold a Top-Secret security clearance and have served at the highest level of Operations our Country operates at.
I am part of the first and only generation whose entire military careers have been spent at war, 21 years of combat in multiple theaters. Never Before, and God willing, never again will that need to happen.
[BREATH]
ALL THAT TO SAY I AM A DIME A DOZEN.
[Pause]
I have friends sitting in this audience that gave and sacrificed far more for our freedoms than I ever did: Airforce Special Operations, Navy Seals, Marine Force Recon and MARSOC, Army Green Berets, Rangers and Delta Force Operators, Soldiers, sailors, airmen. Some of these men and women have 20,30 years of service with up to16 combat deployments under their belts in order to keep our country safe.
Thank you for your service!
We are a GENERATION OF WARRIORS who have returned home, TO SERVE AGAIN, inside our community. I am grateful for the opportunity to be here today.
[BREATH]
I am here to tell you what I see happening, and how we as a Republican Party, and more importantly as a Community, need to move forward effectively and with the best interest for all in mind.
[BREATH]
My Generation did not return home in order to lose our Country to outside threats or influences, and like President Lincoln said, “…if we are to be destroyed it will be from within...”
We may not be able to influence change at national or a state level at all times, but what we can and should do is focus on what is in front of us: Our Great Town!
Prescott and our region is under attack at all levels, from reconstructing our history, to the reeducation of our children, to the special interest groups like Prescott Indivisible, who have strong national ties to BLM and other Marxist organizations that seek to destroy our way of life.
We have to address this head on! It is time for all of us to choose a side and step into the ring to fight for our community.
I ask you to join me!!
Regarding water and growth
Those are issues that were around before any of us were here, to be honest with all of you I wish I had the foresight back in the mid 80s to shut the door when I got here, and I am sure some some of you out there thought the same in 78, and 69, and 54 but we all know that is a silly notion and one that will never happen.
Managed growth and strategic growth – I hear those words a lot.
Our town is set to grow apparently to around 80K or so and we should find other communities we want to emulate that have gotten it right, and are at that level currently, and we look to them for influence on how to do this properly. If they have 3 hospitals, we probably need three hospitals; if they have a certain number of police, fire, infrastructure, education, schools, well that’s what we need to do. We need to grow with Wisdom and Perpetuity in mind for the generations that follow us.
Water, is always an issue and there are a lot of smarter, passionate people who have insights into what is the best for the region. This issue will always be present for us to stay focused on, and the best thing we can do is remove our egos and self interests out of the equations and work together as a team regionally.
A simple question for all of us: Can any of you name a city in the last 100 years that has ran out of water in the western United States? Anybody?
[PAUSE]
We as a country and a people are the most innovative and creative problem solvers in the world and we are where we are because we always find the solutions needed to continue to thrive as a nation.
Save the Dells
It is encouraging to me that we have a group like this that cares about our area and wants to call on our citizens to be active in our regional assets.
Now we are moving closer to an agreement that has been worked on by all parties.
I LOOK FORWARD TO, AND I ENCOURAGE, the SAVE THE DELLS GROUP to refocus on and prioritize using all the momentum and money they have raised to partner with us, the community, and perhaps purchase, and/or invest in what they love into bringing shared value and experience to the Dells. How cool would it be for them as an organization to share in and participate with our city by donating financially to the betterment of our town like so many other private citizens and groups have done and continue to do in Prescott. They have a loud voice and a healthy following and now they have the opportunity to give back. I can't wait to work with them!
Prescott is Family Focused, our values are Community and Care.
To remained grounded, Fun Loving and Engaging as a City, we need to continue healthy dialogue and love of one another and our city.
My number one focus with all of this is to constantly remind us as Citizens of Prescott, not to lose site of who we actually are. Our core values, morals, ethics, character and integrity. We should all be working with each other toward a better Prescott but that only happens when we truly believe the best in ourselves and others.
There is plenty of Opportunity and Hope in our Future and we need people that are proactive problem solvers, that can slow down, think, process and more importantly, Listen and act where needed.
And ideally have the Maturity and Humility to get out of their own way and focus on lifting others up around them.
I am Grant Quezada
Please vote for me.
