As most of you know, I was honored to be elected as the Chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday, January 7.

My priorities for 2015 include making County government more open and accessible, which began by making Board meetings available to the public real-time. The Board meeting was truly historic, as it marked the first time a Board meeting was available to the public via live online broadcasting.

Additional priorities include delivering a balanced budget and tackling an antiquated personnel system, all while continuing to remain focused on delivering and even improving, quality government services to our community.

Read the Press Release and Chairman’s Address or watch the nomination proceeding and Chairman's address from the Board meeting.

I was interviewed by The Arizona Republic, where I further discussed my priorities for the coming year. Please read the “Into the mind: Steve Chucri” interview on The Arizona Republic’s website.

Below are some highlights from the last quarter of 2014.

I look forward to serving the citizens of Maricopa County, as Chairman, in 2015.

The County Supervisors passed a measure calling for the construction of a $640,000 McDowell Road Bike Lane project near east Mesa.

East Valley cyclists will soon enjoy a scenic ride on new bike lanes to be installed Spring 2015 by Maricopa County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) along McDowell Road between 76th Street/Sossaman Road and Usery Pass Road.

This is a wonderful safety enhancement for both motorists and the many cyclists that use this road regularly. The project is part of a comprehensive strategy to enhance and expand our bike lane network with the goal of connecting Maricopa County’s Regional Parks.

The new eastern segment of McDowell Road bike lanes provide a missing link in the existing regional bike lane network and will connect McDowell Road bike lanes to Usery Pass Road bike lanes. When complete, the added shoulders will provide approximately 2.5 miles of new bicycle lane in each direction along McDowell Road between 76th Street/Sossaman Road and Usery Pass Road bike lanes.

The combination of the bike lane/dirt roadway shoulder paving project is also part of MCDOT’s dust mitigation program to help Maricopa County’s overall efforts to reduce airborne dust and bring the County in compliance with federal and county air-quality standards.

Thanks to a grant from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, 2-1-1 Arizona services will receive a boost in support. 2-1-1 Arizona provides a valuable service to my constituents. I’m pleased that this grant will assist in connecting not only the citizens of my district, but all of Maricopa County as well, to the community services available to them.

Community Information and Referral Services (CIR) was designated in 2010 to provide statewide 2-1-1 dialing services for Arizona. In 2011, CIR activated 2-1-1 services, becoming the last state in the nation to do so. In its three short years of existence, 2-1-1 Arizona has fulfilled on average 1.3 million service requests annually, connecting Arizonans to vital community services.

2-1-1 Arizona is available to the state of Arizona by simply dialing 2-1-1 to connect people to programs available including community, health and human, nonprofit, faith-based, and government services.  The majority of the funding will be used to support 2-1-1 direct services and website access through www.211Arizona.org.

I had the opportunity to speak at the Grand Opening of the Marc Community Resources Freestone Rehabilitation Center. The Marc Center is an integral part of Mesa, a point of pride, and will always hold a special place in the lives of the residents and the community. Maricopa County assembled and united our community resources in order to support the capital campaign for this important expansion. I applaud the Marc Community Center for their work since 1957 and was honored to participate in this wonderful event.

In November, I participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Zenefits. I am thrilled about the opportunity this company brings, along with an impressive number of jobs and growth potential. There have been several tech companies that have expanded from California to Greater Phoenix, adding thousands of jobs over the last 12 months. These tech jobs are exactly the type of jobs we want to build an economy around.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is committed to the care and well-being of the pet population within our community. A task force of citizens with diverse backgrounds are currently reviewing several areas of the operation in order to develop productive, implementable recommendations to the Board of Supervisors.

The initial meeting of the task force was held October 28, 2014. From this meeting, three subcommittees were formed. Since not all interested citizens can directly participate, this site was created to post the meeting notes, presentations, and agendas. Citizens are encouraged to review and submit comments and feedback, which will be provided to the members throughout the process.

For more information visit: www.CitizensForPets.org.

October is Keep Maricopa County Beautiful Month. I spent time with a family that adopted a road in front of their home - honoring their son, Jay Kowalzyk. Adopt a Highway volunteers have successfully partnered to clean county roadways and improve traffic safety for almost 25 years. Thank you to all community volunteers that build civic pride.

I was honored to deliver closing remarks at the 2014 Air Quality Conference hosted by the Arizona Manufacturers Council and the Maricopa County Air Quality Department. I discussed a few of the noteworthy air quality successes we had in 2014. The dust permit application form was streamlined from 43 pages to seven and is now available online. This change eliminated duplication and added convenience for both business and staff. Additionally, the permit processing time frames were reduced from 12 days to one and annual fees are now accepted online.

All of these measures help keep the air clean by eliminating vehicle miles and air pollution. I look forward to continuing to work with our stakeholders in a collaborative and efficient way to address air quality.

Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman was unanimously elected by his colleagues as president of the County Supervisors Association (CSA).

As CSA President, Supervisor Hickman will serve on the 2015 Executive Committee, helping to develop plans and implement strategies for strengthening Arizona counties in state and federal policymaking. He will serve alongside former CSA President and Graham County Supervisor Jim Palmer, First Vice President and Coconino County Supervisor Mandy Metzger, Second Vice President and Gila County Supervisor Tommie Cline Martin, Third Vice President and Pinal County Supervisor Anthony Smith, and Immediate Past President and Yuma County Supervisor Lenore Stuart.

The official transition and passing of the gavel from Supervisor Jim Palmer to Supervisor Hickman took place on November 20th at the CSA headquarters in Phoenix.