For several months Dr. Michael Gomez walked the streets and knocked on doors of the Douglas community each evening during his mayoral candidacy.

Michael Gomez, mayor-elected for Douglas.

On March 11, the hard work paid off. He was elected Mayor of Douglas over three other candidates.

“I was stunned when I was told that I was elected. ‘Is it real,’ I asked myself?” Gomez said. “I didn’t sleep that night, but I appreciate the Douglas community for sending the mandate that they want me to provide results.”

Gomez realized that although the hard work of the campaigning was over, the real work is still to come.

When he was still campaigning, he said he was told by many members of the community that one of the top priorities is for the city to clean up the alleys.

City cleanliness has been an important issue not only for all the mayoral candidates but also for many members of the community.

“I think there are ways to redirect city funds that can help clean up the alleys,” he said.

In terms of redirecting city funds, Gomez said there are many projects that are worthy of consideration, but in the end he will let the community decide what the most important issues are to be addressed.

“Does the community want a youth center, does it want new curbing and streets?” he said. “It’s up the community to decide what they want.”

As for youth activities, Gomez said there is a big need for them, especially for teenagers. He said he would like to see teens more involved with the community.

He also emphasized that there is a big need for adult volunteers for a variety of programs such as soccer, Little League and other programs.

“When you get involved, it just makes the community better,” he said.

And getting the community involved is important to Gomez. He plans to move the city council meetings later in the evenings so that more people can attend and participate in the proceedings of city government.

He also wants Douglas to be more involved in the Douglas Port of Entry expansion project. He said there are many things the public is not aware that involves the project. For one thing, he said the area around the port creates a lot of air pollution, which hangs like a brown haze over the city.

But overall he wants the community to decide where the new port will be located.

Gomez compared community participation to taking one small step. Each small step that one takes accumulates to many steps in the end, and therefore can lead to accomplished goals.

He has also given a lot of thought about the Douglas economy.

“I do have a plan for the economy, but I’d rather discuss it first with the city council,” he said. “I want their input on my plan before I present it to the public.”

His economic plan is as important as getting Douglas out of isolation, he said.

In many important meetings, there was little to no Douglas representation such as at the Border Mayors Conference, the League of Cities, or the Arizona-Mexico Commission.

In using his ‘one step at a time’ comparison, he said that Douglas will have to take small steps in order to arrive at the greater goals and achievements.