By Nolan Madden In a special meeting held Tuesday evening, Mayor Bobby Tyler and the Holbrook City Council heard statements from qualified candidates who applied to fill the council vacancy created by the Jan. 7 resignation of Myron Maxwell. The approved pool of applicants initially included Armando Aguilera, former Holbrook mayor and councilman Jeff Hill, Earl Kester Sr. and Frank Lucero. Aguilera submitted a letter of interest to the council at its Jan. 12 meeting, but informed City Clerk Cher Reyes on Jan. 25 of his decision not to apply for the post at this time. Hill withdrew his request for the seat on Monday, stating that, while he would have liked to have been considered, his current work and family schedules prevent him from serving at this time. Lucero spoke first in the presentations, introducing himself as a 52-year resident of Holbrook, moving to the city with his parents, who operated a store here in 1964. He related operating his own retail business as a teenager in 1965, completing high school in Winslow, and graduating with majors in corrections and sociology, and a minor in business management. He held multiple positions within the Navajo County Probation Department, retiring after 35 years of service. “I am here because, in the past, I have tried to get people who I thought could think and had integrity to run for the council, but who never would. So finally I said that I will give it a shot,” Lucero said. “I want to see Holbrook prosper. I can see a big problem coming up in 3½ to four years, depending on the implementation, where Holbrook would lose $800,000 out of its budget. “At this point, I don’t see anybody doing anything as far as long-term planning, which was something that I learned while working for other organizations. I think that something needs to be done. “I like Holbrook, I’m still here, and I’d like to see it prosper. It’s something we all have to do and, unfortunately, we can’t seem to get anybody off their duff to do it,” he concluded. Kester introduced himself to the council as a transplanted resident of the city, moving to Holbrook from Pennsylvania in 1977. “Holbrook is my home, and I want to see Holbrook prosper. I work well with others,” he noted, referencing his roles as Exalted Ruler of the Holbrook Elks Lodge and foreman of the Navajo County Automotive Services Department, and community contributions as a member of the Route 66 Gear Heads car club. “We have done things for the community, we continue to do things for the community, and I want to continue to do so. I am good at analyzing and fixing problems,” Kester said. “I see Holbrook as a tourist town, and I want to keep working toward that point. I see the Pony Express as being 10 times as big an event; we could have a month-long celebration with the Pony Express. “I think I am the most qualified person for this position. I thank you for this time and opportunity, and I would appreciate your vote,” he concluded. Tyler replied on the behalf of the council, expressing thanks to the applicants for their presentations. “Over the last couple of years, we have looked things over and tried to determine in what direction the city is going, and we are moving in a good direction,” said Tyler. “One of the things we are looking at in a candidate is ‘Are you going to be available? Are you going to be available to the city manager? Are you a team player?,’ because in the direction that we are going in, communication will be key. “Just because you may vote yea or nay on something doesn’t mean that you are selling yourself. It’s for the betterment of the community. That’s how we have to vote, and that’s what we have to look at, so this will be a hard choice for us,” said the mayor. The council ultimately cast votes by paper ballot, with Councilmen Tim Dixon and C.J. Wischmann voting for Lucero, and Mayor Tyler, Vice Mayor Wade Carlisle, Councilwoman Francie Payne and Councilman Richard Peterson voting for Kester. Tyler thanked Lucero again for his application, and encouraged him to run during the next council election in the spring of 2017. Lucero replied, “We’ll see.” Also approved during the meeting was payment of claims for Jan. 7-27 in the amount of $194,559.