DID WE JUST MEET ARIZONA'S NEXT GOVERNOR?

posted by Michael Chihak

An interview we did for a future Arizona Week uncovered Flagstaff's worst-kept secret: that Mayor Sara Presler is a superstar.

While those in Flag know about Presler, we didn't, and we assume many others south f the Mogollon Rim don't either. Here's a brief look.

We spent just an hour or so with the two-term mayor and were impressed with her political savvy, her knowledge of the convention and visitor business that makes Flagstaff business tick and how to keep it ticking.

She also showed the smarts to let business take the lead in Flagstaff's downtown redevelopment. She was so proud of it that she didn't hesitate to take yours truly for a stroll through downtown before the formal interview. Then, in the interview, she plugged it shamelessly.

Presler is 31, a lawyer and the first woman and the youngest person ever elected Flagstaff mayor. She was 28 when first elected in 2008. She is in the last year of her second two-year term and has already announced she won't run for a third term.

Flagstaff elections are nonpartisan, but Presler says "everyone knows" that she is a Democrat.

Sara Presler is someone to watch in Arizona. If she wants it, she could have a bright political futute.