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Mesa City Council Appoints Heredia To Replace Winkle In District 3

By Jimmy Jenkins
Published: Thursday, September 28, 2017 - 12:51pm
Updated: Thursday, September 28, 2017 - 1:02pm
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(Photo courtesy of Mesa)
Franciso Heredia is sworn in as the new council member representing disctrict 3 in Mesa

The Mesa City Council has appointed a replacement for Ryan Winkle in the city’s third district.

Mesa received 33 applications for the District 3 once held by Winkle. The former councilman was convicted of DUI and served time in the county jail. The council decided through a disciplinary hearing that Winkle violated the city charter and unanimously voted to remove him from office.

On Thursday the remaining members of the council interviewed five finalists for the job. Applicants were asked about their involvement in the community and their thoughts on policies taken by the council in the past.

The council voted 5 to 1 to appoint Francisco Heredia to the seat. Heredia is a community relations manager at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. He said he would promote Mesa’s educational institutions while he serves as an advocate for the city.

"Mesa has the largest school district in the state. Mesa has the largest community college in the state. Those are really great assets you have to promote those assets across the region and across the country," Heredia said.

Heredia also said he would look for ways to support small businesses. He specifically said he was interested in working to bring vitality back to the Fiesta business district in Mesa.

Heredia said a council member’s role is to create a feedback loop of information and ideas and to facilitate personal conversations with the constituents.

Heredia will serve as District 3 representative until the next election next year on Aug. 28.