Clifton Mayor Luis Montoya is seen here next to a portrait of Clifton Train Depot in the Town Council chambers.
FILE PHOTO
“It’s been long enough. It’s time for someone else to take over the reins,” said Luis Montoya, 75, after announcing his plans to step down as mayor on Thursday.
Montoya assumed the mayorship from the previous mayor who passed away in 2018. Montoya had been vice mayor of Clifton since 2016 and was first elected to the town council in 2012. Before his work on the council, he was the superintendent of Clifton Unified School District for 23 years. He’d been employed as the Clifton High School principal for two years and retired from the school administration in 2002.
Although he intends to step down as mayor, Montoya said he will stay on the council and be a voice of support and serve the town for the remaining two years of his term. There is no ill-will among the council, Montoya said, adding he wanted to reassure everyone that there is nothing wrong. However, he wants the council to learn the duties and responsibilities of mayorship from first-hand experience.
“I think it would be nice to transition out of the role as mayor,” he said.
Upcoming projects
Montoya said one of the projects he is proud of and supports is the construction of the Clifton Wastewater Treatment Plant. Currently, the town is in the last phase of the project. So far, the town has secured the funding and received a partial loan and grant through the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona.
Years ago, the town’s wastewater treatment plant failed, Montoya said. This could have left the town scrambling to find a way out of the situation. Fortunately, Freeport McMoRan stepped up, treating the water and using the resulting treated water for mining purposes.
“We aren’t charged a fee, but we also don’t get any money for the water,” he said, “It’s a trade-off.”
When the Clifton Wastewater Treatment Plant is in full production, Montoya said the town will have zero discharge. The sewage ponds will never be used, and any solids will be taken away.
Legacy
The town of Clifton is in a unique situation. It is hard for it to retain employees because one of the highest-paying employers in the state is located next door, Montoya said.
Clifton Mayor Luis Montoya is shown here during a June 2021 Town Council meeting.
FILE PHOTO
“We have to compete with our neighbor for employees,” he said.
One of his first initiatives was to figure out a way to have the town retain employees, even though the mine was so close. The only way he could do that was to raise wages.
“We still can’t pay what they pay in Morenci,” he said, “but city worker salaries are now competitive. We still have some ways to go, but we're making in-roads and recruiting good people.”
Tough times
Negotiating the hurdles of the pandemic was one of the biggest challenges Montoya faced as mayor, he said.
“We had such a safety concern for our community," he said. "I’m really happy we had the partnerships we had, and we relied on the communities and governments to do what we thought was best to keep our community safe. We did the best we could.”
Clifton was one of the first towns in the state to mandate masks, Montoya said. Also, local businesses that didn’t comply with the mask mandate had to close down for a time. The challenges of the pandemic continue to be a difficulty today, he said.
What makes a good mayor?
“Be committed to service,” Montoya said. “Be committed to have a love and interest in the community. It’s not just a title.”
There is a lot of work that goes into the role of mayor, especially in rural communities, he said. He respects younger mayors who aren’t retired or who own a business and have to work at a regular job.
“You have to have true commitment. It has to be beyond title, but a true commitment of service and love for your community.”
What’s next
“I will continue. But I’m not a young chicken. I’m at the end of my career and life,” he said. “I hope to relax a little bit, have some mud squish between my toes, the sun on my back, and enjoy my last few years.”