By BRIENNE GREEN

In 1998, Daniel Reyes, a local small business owner and lifelong Artesia resident, took on the title of Mayor of Artesia.

This March, he will be attempting to retain that office, running as the incumbent in the Artesia mayoral election.

Reyes was born and raised in Artesia and is a graduate of Artesia High School. Before becoming mayor, he worked as a meat cutter at Furr’s Supermarket and owned and operated a downtown business.

He and his wife, Josie, a secretary at AHS, have five children, Monica, Jason, Amy, Jamie and Anna.

If re-elected, Reyes’ primary concerns will be continued efforts on the part of Artesia’s youth and economic development.

"We will continue to work with our youth and continue to work to provide for them," he says.

"We will also work more diligently to improve economic development in our community."

Reyes believes Artesia’s primary concern at the moment is also for the youth.

"We want to deal more with the drug issue that is affecting our youth and that is always of great importance to the community."

Looking back on his term, Reyes feels his greatest accomplishment was the unification of Artesia’s City Council.

"Being able to get everyone to work together and bring unity and trust back to our local city council was an important and effective step," he says.

He is proudest, however, of certain long-standing community concerns that were resolved during his term.

"The waste-water treatment plan and the water system partnership with FLETC – those plans had been in the works for a number of years, and we were finally able to move forward on them."

In the future, Reyes hopes to continue Artesia’s recent trend of growth and development.

"I think we’ve made great progress," he says. "We just want to continue to improve our infrastructure and impact our economy base, and continue to partner with entities like the schools and FLETC to provide professional and adequate service for our community and its citizens."

Reyes says he hopes to be given the chance to continue to work on the issues which affect our city and its future.

"My dedication and experience has proven my commitment to serve all citizens fairly, to make common sense decisions, and to respect other’s views and ideas," says Reyes.