Steve Vaus has the Right Vision for Poway
Residents of Poway have an exciting choice for mayor in this November’s election. City Councilman Steve Vaus is challenging the status quo in Poway’s municipal government by challenging incumbent Mayor Don Higginson, a 28 year veteran of City Hall, in this fall’s election.
Mr. Vaus has a clear vision for Poway to become a regional leader in quality of life and entrepreneurism for San Diego County. He thinks that is achievable if government were a willing partner with citizens and business rather than an obstacle. When asked about his goals for the City, Mr. Vaus said, “Poway is in good shape, but we could be a great city. We’ve been stuck in same place for a while, but with energetic leadership and leadership that gets the government out of the way, we can become the place where people want live, visit, and start businesses.”
A business owner and longtime marketing executive now in his first term on the Poway City Council, Mr. Vaus has the experience needed to lead Poway and achieve his vision. An example of Mr. Vaus’ creative approach to problem solving is the Poway Secret Service, a community based volunteer program launched by Mr. Vaus that uses text alerts to notify participating citizens of problems in their area, and crowdsources volunteers to respond, all without any government involvement or tax dollars allocated. Mr. Vaus also believes his marketing experience will benefit the City if he is elected Mayor. “One of Poway’s biggest challenges is a marketing challenge, we need to tell our story and reach out to business about why they should consider Poway.”
Broadening the tax base by making Poway more friendly to business will be important in the years to come as the City experiences greater fiscal pressure. As Mr. Vaus outlined the challenge, “Our revenues are increasing at 2% while salaries and pensions are increasing at 5%. We need to expand our revenue opportunities, not through new taxes or fees but by increasing the tax pie.” To achieve this, Mr. Vaus anticipates more efforts like his recent move to repeal Poway’s home occupation permit fee. Mr. Vaus lost that vote on the council, but expects to continue the fight to eliminate red tape and better enable Poway’s citizens to navigate their government. “I want Poway to be a city that encourages entrepreneurship. I want that citizen that starts a business at their kitchen table to be successful.”
Mr. Vaus is the right person to lead the City of Poway going forward. He has the right experience, mindset, and vision. He is transparent and accessible, a truly rare public servant that posts his personal cell phone on his webpage. Most importantly, he understands the proper role of municipal government. In his words, “Too often municipal government says no, I want Poway’s government to say yes, to build bridges to people, not barricades.”