Yuma Mayor running for re-election

Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls’ position along with three other council seats and a presiding municipal court judge are up for grabs this fall.

“I think it’s been a very healthy four years. I think we’ve done a lot of great things as a community,” Nicholls said reflecting on his term.

Among those opening council positions, Deputy Mayor Gary Knight, Gary Wright and Bill Craft’s terms are ending. Nicholls and Knight have said they plan on running for re-election.

“I’d like to be able to continue some of the things we’ve started and haven’t got finished yet,” said Knight.

Nicholls said he wants to continue his work to improve Yuma’s economy.

During Yuma’s last city council meeting, City Manager Greg Wilkinson said, Yuma’s job growth has increased by 6.8 percent.

“We want stronger relationships with our communities and other cities and county. That’s been important. We also have worked on a lot of job creation,” said Nicholls.

Nicholls said he hopes to foster more relationships to build a stronger economy.

“We’ve made a lot of headway especially with our economic development and our relationships. I just want to see them through,” said Nicholls.

As far as projects go, the mayor said he’s glad the community came together to save the Kennedy Pool.

“We’ve had a lot of community members step up and we’ve nurtured some of those relationships to fund that [Kennedy Pool] and not have to close the pool for the summer,” said Nicholls.

Nicholls said he also would like to see a “Yuma University” in the future.

If you would like to run for a council position you can pick up an election packet at City Hall.

The primary election will take place August 29.