by 
Mila Besich-Lira is a candidate for Superior Mayor.
By now you have probably received your early ballot or will be making your plans to head to the polls on August 30th. The upcoming Mayor and Council election is critical to the future of Superior; this next council will be faced with many challenges as well as opportunities. It is important that we elect leaders who will serve with respect, ethics, energy and integrity.
As a member of our local Optimist Club, I live by our creed. One of the points in our creed says, “Forget the mistakes of the past and move on the greater achievements of the future.” We must move away from repeating the negative scenarios of the past. If we are going to move Superior forward, we must elect leaders who are able to accept the challenges of leading a community with a positive attitude.
In this era of negative campaigning we rarely hear how a candidate will make a difference when elected. As the Mayor, I will work with our staff, town council and community to implement the following strategies:
• Creation of a citizen’s budget oversight committee. Utilizing the knowledge of our business community, residents and staff, this committee would assist with researching ways we can increase revenues to the Town of Superior and find other cost savings that will help to improve our town services and local economy.
• Together, we will set a vision and strategic plan for the town that will address our needs for growth, economic development and infrastructure improvement. We will utilize some existing plans along with revising others for the town, such as the housing study completed by the Central Arizona Governments, the pavement improvement plan, airport master plan and waste water treatment plant improvement plan. These plans along with utilizing council work sessions and retreats will aid us in developing a priority list and a budget that will move these plans into reality.
• We will continue to invest and improve on our public safety services to ensure the safety of our residents and those visiting our community. This means ensuring that our budget adequately covers staffing, equipment and training for all of our first responders serving in our police and fire departments. This will require maximizing our Emergency Services Agreement by leveraging those resources for additional grant funds.
• We will continue to build community pride by working with our local and regional groups and organizations to market and promote Superior as a great place to live, work, play and locate businesses. As we are marketing our community, there is much work to be done to help spruce up Superior. Together we can all pitch in to clean up our community and help our neighbors as well.
• In order to develop a well-rounded community, we must develop programs and services for all residents. Our library, swimming pool and senior center all provide important services to Superior residents. We will find ways to increase activities and better serve our community. Retaining and attracting youth is critical to our future success. I plan to implement a youth council which will further develop young leaders and ensure that the voice of our youth is heard, especially as we make decisions that will impact their future. We can utilize our community partners to fund programs throughout the community for recreation, education and job training. This will require a strong partnership with the business community and non-profits, our local school district and community college.
All of these strategic ideas are possible for Superior and each of these items are contingent upon the Town maintaining a balanced budget, using our Highway User Revenue Funds appropriately and completing all of the past due audits and staying in audit compliance. Over the past eight months while serving on the town council, I along with Vice Mayor Olga Lopez and Councilmembers Michael Alonzo and Steve Estatico voted to hire a competent Town Manager and we fully supported and approved plans to implement new financial controls and monitoring at town hall. Our Town Manager, Todd Pryor has been instrumental in improving our relationship with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the Arizona Auditor General. With his diligence we were able to avoid hefty fines to ADEQ and soon we may be able to re-open our transfer station. He has also been able to provide the Auditor General with a contingency plan preventing them from imposing additional reprimands or penalties to the Town. While these are great accomplishments, there is still much work to be done.
If you want to see continued success and improvement in Superior, I am asking for your vote and support to be Superior’s next Mayor. I am asking you to vote for council members who will be dedicated to the people of Superior in moving these plans forward. There are three vacant council seats in the upcoming election; you have four excellent choices in Bruce Armitage, Olga Lopez, Vanessa Navarrette and Bill Vogler.
It is up to you the voters, to exercise your voting rights and elect the candidates who will work towards the betterment of our community’s future!
Sincerely,
/s/ Mila Besich-Lira
Your Candidate for Mayor of Superior
#MilaForMayor
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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