Leslie McClendon is Yuma’s new deputy mayor after a unanimous vote by the City Council.
After thanking Karen Watts for serving as deputy mayor during the last year, Mayor Doug Nicholls nominated McClendon during the Jan. 6 meeting.
The council also voted on other appointments to city boards and committees, both of council members and citizens.
This will be McClendon’s 11th year as a council member. She previously served on council for eight years, from 2008 to 2015, and returned to the council in 2018.
“I am excited to be deputy mayor this year. I know Yuma has had its challenges, but as council we have been able to get through them professionally and efficiently,” McClendon said.
“I am proud to live in Yuma, and I am excited to move forward in this coming year and work on the City of Yuma’s strategic plan and help plan for the future of Yuma’s growth,” she added.
McClendon is the group sales manager for Visit Yuma and has been in the tourism business for more than 38 years, “so as you can see, tourism in Yuma is very important to me,” she said.
McClendon was born and raised in Yuma and graduated from Yuma High School. She also attended Arizona Western College where she studied business management.
She has been married to Bob McClendon Jr. for 35 years. They raised four children and now enjoy 12 grandchildren.
She is a member of Fort Yuma Rotary Club and Women in Business and has served several years on the Amberly’s Place Board of Directors and Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp. Board of Directors.
OTHER APPOINTMENTS
The council also unanimously approved the following appointments of council members:
Nicholls to the GYEDC Executive Board
Councilman Chris Morris to the GYEDC Board of Directors
Councilman Gary Knight to the Greater Yuma Port Authority
Councilman Mike Shelton to the Western Arizona Council of Governments Executive Board and Council on Aging and Yuma Fire and Police Public Safety Boards
Councilwoman Ema Lea Shoop to the WACOG Yuma County Advisory Board
Knight, Watts and McClendon to the Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Board
In addition, the council approved the reappointments of the following citizens to various city boards and commissions:
Juan Leal Rubio to the Design and Historic Review Commission
Sharon Kramer to the Merit System Board
Liz Laster, J. Glendon Moss and James Allen to the Housing Authority of the City of Yuma (HACY)
Sandra Anthony to the Building Advisory Board
Michael Christensen to the Parks, Arts and Recreation Commission (PARC)
Sharon Merz and Sandra Nevels to the Residential Advisory and Appeals Board
The terms for these reappointments expire on Dec. 31, 2025.
