SAFFORD – The City of Safford has selected Eric Bejarano as its new Assistant City Manager.
He is tentatively set to begin his duties July 29.
“I’m honored to be offered this opportunity to serve Safford and its citizens,” Bejarano said. “I love this community and look forward to serving it in this new capacity. I truly look forward to bringing my energy, experience, and strengths to the city to help ensure that Safford continues to be a great place to live, work, and visit.”
City Manager John Cassella and the city’s search committee reviewed all the candidates over a two-month period.
“We are thrilled to bring Mr. Bejarano on as our next assistant city manager. We had a strong group of candidates, but his keen understanding of Safford’s current key issues and his deep experience in our community and throughout southeastern Arizona makes him a great fit to help lead the organization,” Cassella said.
Bejarano’s most recent post was as director of the Eastern Arizona College Small Business Development Center in Thatcher, serving Graham, Gila, and Greenlee counties. Last year, he was honored with the 2023 Spirit of Excellence recognition for Small Business Development Centers statewide.
“The City of Safford made an excellent choice appointing Eric Bejarano as assistant city manager. He has done an amazing job for us, and we wish him and the City of Safford all the best. At EAC’s Small Business Development Center, we are fortunate to have two other outstanding individuals who will continue supporting our clients and ensure the Center doesn’t miss a beat as we begin the process to select a new director. We will take our time and be strategic in selecting the right person to fill the director position, ensuring our community and small businesses continue to receive the highest level of service,” said Keith Alexander, EAC’s chief government relations officer.
Prior to his time at Eastern Arizona College, he was the business/area manager for Air Methods in southern and central Arizona and western New Mexico for eight years. He has served as an associate faculty for the University of Phoenix in Tucson and as an independent instructor for Tucson Medical Center/GEICO in Tucson. He is also an independent instructor for the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, providing child passenger safety courses in the Gila Valley.
Bejarano retired as a motorcycle patrol officer from the Tucson Police Department in 2014. Before his law enforcement career, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps for six years as a telecommunications center watch supervisor (Sgt/E-5). He holds a master’s degree in counseling/human relations and a bachelor’s degree in justice systems policy and planning from the Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He will complete his doctorate in organizational leadership from Liberty University in December of 2025. He is also a Safford Lion and a member of the Safford Rotary Club. Additionally, Bejarano serves on the boards for the Graham County Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties.
The city selected SGR to assist in conducting the extensive search that resulted in an impressive candidate pool. SGR is an executive recruitment firm based in Keller, Texas, specializing in recruiting, assessing, and developing innovative, collaborative, and authentic leaders for local governments. SGR’s proprietary recruitment and vetting process produced an incredibly strong field of candidates. The city received 38 applications from candidates in 16 states and two countries.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 11:58 a.m. Tuesday, July 2, 2024, to add the comments from Keith Alexander at EAC.
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