Supervisor Stuart announces intent to run for a fourth term

Incumbent Lenore Stuart has officially announced her re-election bid for the District 1 Yuma County Board of Supervisors seat.

“I have been honored to serve the residents of District 1,” said Stuart, who has represented the district since 2000. “And I hope to have the opportunity to continue serving them in the future.”

Stuart said she has worked diligently to improve services to all residents and listed the new library buildings as her proudest accomplishment while sitting on the board of supervisors.

“When I first (started) on the board, not everybody had computers or access to technology so we really needed new libraries and expanded library service to every community within the county,” she said. “It was something I really worked hard on with a lot of other good people along the way and now both students and others in the community have that access to computers and the information they need.”

Another of her accomplishments that Stuart ranks near the top of her list is the B&C Colonia sewage project.

“The first year I was in office, I had a group of ladies who needed help approach me and tell me that I had to go and see the condition of the area where they lived,” she said. “It took five years just to collect the signatures necessary for the project to begin. It wasn't an easy one, but the sewage conditions were so bad and the (people) there were in such desperation that something had to be done and I would do the same thing today if I had to.”

In addition to her role on the board of supervisors, Stuart also serves as president-elect of the County Supervisors Association of Arizona and has used her position to lobby the legislature on issues important to our area.

“With economy the way it's been, I've had to lobby hard ... so we can keep our funds here and not allow the legislature to come and grab our money when they need to balance their budget,” she said. “It's going to take a while for the economy to improve so we will still need to fight to keep the money that we have so we can continue to maintain the services we have and avoid making cuts or raising taxes.”

Darren DaRonco can be reached at (928) 539-6857 or ddaronco@yumasun.com. You can follow him on twitter @YSDarrend or on Facebook at www.faceboook.com/YSDarrenD.