Incumbent Jim Woodward said he is seeking re-election as an at-large representative to the Englewood City Council to continue to work on a number of issues he feels are important to the community and its residents.

“I have dedicated my time and effort to serving the community since I was appointed to the city council and I want to continue that effort,” he said. “I have worked hard to establish a good regional cooperation with surrounding communities and I feel that needs to go forward.”

Woodward was born, raised and graduated from high school in Minot, N.D. He continued his education in psychology and human services first at Minot State University and, about 1969, moved to the Denver area and transferred to Metropolitan State College.

Prior to graduation, he decided psychology wasn’t for him and, as a result of his job, eventually decided to go into real estate. He got his real estate license in the late 1970s and concentrated on commercial property, particularly office buildings and property management. He went into semi-retirement in 2003 and put the profession on the shelf in 2005.

He said, since coming onto the council he has sought to promote a long-term budgeting process instead of just the year-to-year method and he feels there is a move in that direction.

“Also, in my term as mayor and mayor pro tem, the council has sought to promote lease and development of the city-owned property in Douglas County,” he said. “That is important as a long-term revenue source. I feel these and other issues are important and I am seeking reelection to continue working in the best interest of the city in those areas.”

Woodward said he feels his experience working with commercial real estate is an asset to the city council as is the fact he has experience preparing budgets for large companies.

“I also have the experience from owning my own business so I feel I bring a common-sense approach and responsible style to establishing a budget not just for this year but for the future years as well,” he said. “I also feel I understand the process of evaluating information and what it means to make hard decisions.”

Like most other candidates, Woodward said finances are the No. 1 issue facing the city in the coming years.

He said the immediate challenge is to establish a balanced budget and to do it with the goal of sustaining the city finances so that no services will have to be reduced or cut.

He emphasized the city needs to continue efforts promoting the lease and development of of the city-owned property as a revenue that could bring $2.5 to $4 million a year to Englewood for many years to come.

The incumbent said, if reelected, he wants to continue to promote and expand programs for the city’s youth and its seniors.

“We also need to continue to support use of renewal energy in housing and businesses as well as city facilities,” he said. “I want to keep working to retain our businesses and bring new businesses into our community.”

Woodward said he is very involved with serving the community as a member of the city council and, for him, it is virtually a full-time job. He said that is something he wants to continue and the number one item on his agenda is working for the community and ways to make it a better place to live, work and play for Englewood residents.