Elk Grove Mayor Announces His Resignation
ELK GROVE (CBS) - After five years as mayor and another five on city council, Gary Davis is done.
Why is the mayor choosing to walk away after being so instrumental in elk grove's success?
This announcement even took those in his office by surprise. The man who spent 10 years working to turn Elk Grove around says it's time for him to go.
The city 10 years ago was in the midst of chaos. That's how Mayor Gary Davis described Elk Grove in 2006 just six years after it incorporated.
"Ten years ago, Elk Grove had high fees, bureaucratic processes -- this was not a fun place to do business," he said.
He says residents were getting angry, there were few jobs and growth was going unchecked.
"We're going to start by listening," he said.
One of the first things he did was to bring back customer service, reaching out to businesses.
"We knocked on the door, cold called and said Elk Grove is open for business, and we want you," he said.
And businesses responded.
"We've attracted Sutter Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, California North State University, and RC Manufacturing has made a commitment to come and bring 2,500 jobs," he said.
But he says the biggest change had to do with the way the city connected with residents as it grew from 65,000 to 167,000 people in just a short time.
"With the growth has come diversity and we are the seventh-most diversified city in the U.S. and our diversity isn't pocketed. It's integrated," he said.
Now he says it's time to pass the baton to the next mayor and spend time on some other pressing issues.
"I've already committed to my daughter that I'm going to be at her swim meets…as a timer," he said.
He also says he wants to be there for his son's boy scout activities. He says he's still not sure what he'll do professionally.