Published on August 17, 2022
During last night's regular City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Manfredi and the rest of the elected officials selected Councilmember Nancy Smith to become the new Mayor of Maricopa, serving for the next 2 years. Mayor Smith was sworn in at the end of the regular meeting with her husband, former Mayor Anthony Smith holding the bible as she recited the oath. After being selected and sworn in, Mayor Smith shared these words:
I’m honored that my fellow council members have trusted me with the duties and responsibilities of the mayor position. It has been my privilege to serve as a Councilmember, a position for which I have immense respect and I look forward to continuing to serve alongside of my colleagues moving forward. Likewise, I share an enormous respect for the office of Mayor and will serve in this role with the same high level of energy and attention. I am, of course, a different person than our previous mayor, Christian Price (for one thing I’m not nearly as tall as he), and I will surely bring a unique perspective and style to the role. However, I assure you, our passion for seeing Maricopa thrive is the same. Since the day I moved to Maricopa 19 years ago, I have had a passion for this community. I have seen Maricopa grow from its roots of a small, historic town to the growing and flourishing city we know today. My goals for Maricopa don’t change as Mayor. I will work endlessly to improve transportation (with a laser focus on SR347), continue growing our economic strength with businesses that our residents need, focus on bringing in high paying jobs, ensuring public safety, having a balanced and responsible budget, lowering property taxes and insisting on a high quality of life. I believe our entire city council is aligned in desiring all of these elements as well. In the spirit of always moving Maricopa forward, I’ve created a 100 Day Plan that I will share in the near future. At the beginning of this year, your city council, city manager and staff stated a strategic theme of an “Maricopa Elevated”. As your mayor, I’m fully committed to working with council and city staff to seeing this become our reality. I’ve been asked several times what it feels like to be the first woman mayor in the City of Maricopa. Being a female mayor really doesn’t change anything regarding the work we do. However, if this role brings hope to a young woman that she can accomplish great things, then I am humbled and honored to be that role model. In fact, I’ve been honored to actually have been that role model twice in the past. I was the first woman to graduate with an Electronic Technology degree from my college. Also, I was the first woman to be hired as an Electronic Technician by Motorola Government Electronics Division. Over the years, I’ve had the great joy and opportunity to speak with women’s groups, minority groups, business leaders, youth and young adults sharing my story regarding the hope that you can achieve your goals regardless of obstacles and challenges that cross your path. In this new role as mayor, I’m highly motivated to ensure every moment as your mayor is focused on bringing us a brighter future. Thank you for your support. Mayor Nancy Smith, City of Maricopa