- Ron Drake
Ron Drake (born 1957,
Chicago, Illinois ) is an Arizona businessman and politician. He was Mayor ofAvondale, Arizona from 2001 to 2006 and an unsuccessful candidate for Congress.Education and background
Drake holds a
B.S. fromNorthern Illinois University and is a member of the Southwest Valley Chamber of Commerce and the West Valley Arts Council. He is also a member of the Maricopa County Association of Governments and its Transportation Policy Committee. He is employed as a manager withQwest Communications .Drake also has two children, the oldest Ronny and the youngest, Rachel.
Mayor of Avondale
Drake served as Mayor of
Avondale, Arizona from 2001 to 2006. Drake focused on economic development, transforming the city into a "a go-go hub of business" according to the Arizona Republic. [http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0830wed2-30.html] Money Magazine calculated that job growth in Avondale from 2000-2005 was 54.3 percent, the third highest of any city in the country over that time period. [http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/top25s/jobgrowth.html]Campaign for congress
Drake was the Republican nominee for
U.S. Congress inArizona's 7th congressional district . He unsuccessfully challenged incumbent DemocratRaul Grijalva in the 2006 mid-term election. On Election Day he garnered approximately 36% of the vote, which was in line with previous Republican showings in this overwhelmingly Democratic district. [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006//pages/results/states/AZ/index.html]External links
* [http://www.drake4congress.com Ron Drake's campaign site]
* [http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=MAZ36829 Ron Drake on Project Vote Smate]
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