KINGMAN – Newly elected Kingman City council members Keith Walker and Cherish Sammeli are excited about beginning their four year terms next week. Walker left the council in 2012 and returns with mostly new faces at City Hall.
“I know the council ropes, but it’s all new people down there,” Walker said. “It’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve with new players but I’m ready to jump in.”
Sammeli said she is making adjustments to create time for issue study and council meetings. “I feel like I have some upcoming lat Tuesday evenings in my future,” she chuckled.
Sammeli charges into office with enthusiasm and positivity.
“That’s how I live my life and that’s how I want to be part of the city council, all for the greater good,” Sammeli said.
Walker said he wants to make sure that the Rancho Santa Fe and Kingman Crossing Interstate 40 interchange projects keep moving forward. Other priorities, he said, include water sustainability and better maintenance of the city street network.
“I’m here to help serve the people of Kingman and make sure we’re growing in the right direction and I look forward to serving,” Walker said.
Sammeli believes her extensive professional and civic involvements provide foundation for her understanding of community issues and that her preparation makes her more seasoned than a freshman council member might otherwise be.
“It’s going to take me just a minute to get my feet beneath me and then I am not shy when it comes to introducing some ideas I might have,” Sammeli said. She said she wants constituents to know that her door and her mind are both open.
“Just because I have an opinion on an issue or a project, doesn’t mean I only see things that way,” Sammeli said. “I am not inflexible. If you have a better way. If you have some points to bring to my attention, I would love to listen.”
Citizens will be able to reach Sammeli and Walker through email addresses that will be available on the city website. They also welcome calls to their cell phones; Walker (727-2211) and Sammeli (377-0808).
Dave Hawkins
