Phoenix City Council selects Laura Pastor to serve as vice mayor for second time

PHOENIX — Laura Pastor will once again serve as Phoenix’s vice mayor, marking the second time in her eight-year career on the council that she has been selected for the role.

“I am humbled that my colleagues have selected me to serve as vice mayor for a second time,” Pastor, a Phoenix native, said in a press release.

“It is my intention to further my commitment of service to my community. I pledge to fulfill my duties as vice mayor while continuing to serve the people of District 4.”

The Phoenix City Council elected Pastor to the position during the Wednesday afternoon meeting, replacing councilmember Carlos Garcia. The council must select a new vice mayor each year per the city’s municipal code.

Pastor, a graduate of St. Mary’s High School and Arizona State University, was elected to the council in 2013 and won a second term in 2017.

She is the current chair of the economic development subcommittee and also serves on the transportation, infrastructure and planning subcommittee.

Pastor has an extensive background in education, being a former teacher in the Roosevelt and Isaac elementary school districts and a current member of the Phoenix Union High School District Governing Board.

She is also the community liaison at Phoenix College, previously serving as the director of early outreach at the college as well as at South Mountain Community College.

Councilmember Debra Stark originally nominated Ann O’Brien for the role, with Jim Waring seconding the motion. O’Brien declined and instead nominated Stark.

A vote for Stark to serve as vice mayor failed 6-3, and a subsequent vote for O’Brien to fill the role also failed 5-4.

The vote for Pastor passed 8-1, with Waring being the only no vote.

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