San Luis candidate profile: Riedel says business experience makes her best choice

Editor's note: Four candidates for San Luis city council are profiled below. Similar profiles of the remaining four candidates will appear in Monday's edition of The Sun.

SAN LUIS, Ariz. - Nieves Riedel says her parents' determination to make a difference in people's lives during the Cesar Chavez era made her the woman she is today.

And her experience in business as owner of Riedel Construction for 12 years makes her the best choice for a city council seat in Tuesday's primary election, she says.

She is one of six candidates for three council seats. Another seat is being contested by two candidates in a recall election that will appear on the same ballot.

Riedel, 54, was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and emigrated at 12 with her parents. She has been a resident of San Luis for three years and has lived in Yuma County since 1966.

She said her parents took part in labor strikes that Chavez led in the 1960s for farm workers' rights in California.

'When you see people struggling and you see your parents trying to make a difference, then you become involved.'

Riedel said she has much to offer residents as the owner of a multimillion-dollar construction business in San Luis.

'When you're in the business position that I'm in and with what I'm doing, I have a lot to offer. The same way I built a million-dollar company from nothing is the same way that I am going to apply myself to work for the betterment of this community when talking about infrastructure and jobs.'

Riedel said if elected, she will work to bring jobs to San Luis. 'Economic development is the backbone of any community. (It) brings jobs, and if you have jobs for the people, some of the social economic problems we have here would be lesser.'

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Jacob Lopez can be reached at jlopez@yumasun.com or 539-6872.