Liesemeyer Pulls Papers for City Council Seat on First Day

Matt Liesemeyer has served on the Menifee Planning Commission for five years.

Matt Liesemeyer, currently chair of the Menifee Planning Commission, Monday pulled papers to run for the Menifee City Council seat representing District 2.

Liesemeyer announced on June 13 his intention to run for City Council and made it official on Monday, the first day candidates could take out application papers at City Hall. Candidates have until Aug. 8 to return completed applications for the Nov. 4 elections.

Calling upon his experience as a planning commissioner during the critical first few years of Menifee's incorporation, Liesemeyer said one of his priorities is the kind of development that will keep tax dollars in Menifee while preserving the area's rural feel.

"The bottom line is to find creative ways to bring in sales tax revenue and keep the money local," said Liesemeyer, 36 and a 13-year resident of Menifee. "There are areas where development makes sense to capture tax dollars that are being lost to other cities, but we should do this while keeping Menifee's attractive rural environment."

Liesemeyer has also attended many community meetings in Quail Valley, which faces challenges regarding sewage and other rural factors in the west part of town. District 2, now represented by Tom Fuhrman, includes much rural land that made up the original town site of Menifee -- in addition to land projected for a Super Walmart and another huge commercial and retail center at Haun and Scott Roads.

"Many of us are working very hard to make a good life for ourselves in a down economy, and I think we need to be able to rely on our city leadership to do the right thing for the people," Liesemeyer said when he first announced his candidacy last month. "It should never be too hard to know what's going on in the place you call home. We want to trust that we can have a voice and we want to know our voices are being heard."