Key Facts
Background
Raymond Grim is the owner of Raymond E. Grim Agency LLC, an insurance agency [3]. He is also a former pastor, Government Affairs Committee Chairperson for the Surprise Regional Chamber of Commerce [2]. As Chairperson, he worked with the City of Surprise to establish a new sign ordinance that was a compromise between businesses and the city’s appearance. He was later awarded Member of the Year by the chamber and he continued to strengthen relations between the city and businesses. He also created the Business 4 Ed challenge, an initiative where local business owners were encouraged to support and adopt a teacher, school, or classroom and pay for school supplies. Grim was also a part of the Parks and Recreation committee for the City of Surprise, where he helped expand days of service of a local library, and listened to citizens’ concerns over park maintenance [1].
Key Issues
Budget
Grim supports investing more funds into roads and traffic systems. He also doesn’t plan on increasing the city’s sales tax of 8.5% or property taxes unless a hard pressing issue arises and there becomes an apparent need [1].
Infrastructure
Grim wants to increase road infrastructure within the city and get ahead of developers and expand current roadways to reduce traffic. He also wants to expand the city’s parks and recreation with a river walk area in the city center along with attracting restaurants and entertainment within the area [1]. He would also like to see a better trail system connectivity between communities for those who get out and walk, or hike and bike [4].
Economy
Grim supports increasing businesses in Surprise so less citizens have to commute to other cities to work. He wants to provide the Economic Department with more information and resources needed to find businesses that would stimulate Surprise. He also wants to allocate more land for businesses. Grim is also hoping for the city center to be a location for tech headquarters [1].
Public Safety
Raymond Grim says that he “backs the blue” and that the police are a huge contributor to Surprise’s safety. Grim wants to support the police department with greater funding and properly training and equipping the fire department [1].
Housing
Grim believes that the only way to ensure affordable housing is to create opportunities for the market to correct itself. He believes that it is significant that developers keep up with demand, while not overloading the city’s resources [5].
Endorsements
No endorsements could be found.