The Prescott Valley Town Council on December 19 selected three finalists from 11 applicants to interview for the seat vacated by the resignation of Council member Roger Kinsinger. The Council will interview the finalists during a public meeting on Wednesday, December 21 at 10 a.m. in Council Chambers at the Prescott Valley Public Library.

After interviews, Council will go into Executive Session to discuss and evaluate the applicants. Afterwards, Council will reconvene into Regular Session to consider and potentially vote to appoint one of the finalists to fill the vacant seat for a term ending December 2024. The three finalists are:

John Gorman: Gorman is a 6-year resident of Prescott Valley and has attended the Town Citizen’s Academy. He has spent more than 30 years in newspaper management and five years in education. He has served as a Personnel Board member for the Town of Prescott Valley. Gorman said he feels quality jobs are important for high school students to be able to live and work in Prescott Valley after they graduate. Primary and specialized medical care are also concerns. The Council Strategic Plan and the updated General Plan 2034, he said, appear to offer realistic solutions to issues such as commercial growth, affordable housing, manufacturing jobs, quantity, and quality of water, managed residential growth, infrastructure, and health care.

Lucy Leyva: Leyva is a 22-year resident and Prescott Valley business owner who ran as a write-in candidate in the last local election. She also has attended the Town’s Citizen’s Academy. Leyva said clear and open communication is critical for the public to understand local issues. As a mother of two teens, Leyva said activities for young people, such as the proposed YMCA, are a priority. She said the Council should be conservative in its decisions to not overextend community resources while still building to meet the needs of growth. She wants to see Prescott Valley maintain its small-town atmosphere. Leyva said she wants to be a role model to her children, to other women and small business owners in the area.

Eric Tetreault: Tetreault has lived in Prescott Valley for 20 years, working in aeronautical science. He is a youth baseball and football coach. Tetreault said Prescott Valley arguably has become the epicenter of Central Arizona, and has extensive room for managed growth and infrastructure improvements. He is a proponent of managed growth, which will enhance quality of life, and water conservation with use of frequent and respected water studies to best understand the Town’s impact. The qualities most valued by area residents, he said, are conservative values, a welcoming community, economic benefits, and overall natural beauty, and these values must be maintained at all costs.

The Council interviews will be livestreamed on the Prescott Valley Town Government Facebook page and on You Tube at www.youtube.com/@PrescottValley1, or on the Town’s website at www.prescottvalley-az.gov/423/PV-TV---Channel-1056.