MILLS, Wyo. — Tuesday marked a day of change in Mills, as Leah Juarez was officially sworn in as the city’s newest mayor. Additionally, Cherie Butcher and Tim Sutherland took their seats as the newest members of the Mills City Council.
Juarez, who is replacing outgoing mayor Seth Coleman, earned her seat by receiving 60.43% of the vote in the November election.
“It’s an exciting feeling, but it’s the culmination of three years of hard work,” Juarez said when officially stepping into the role. “I’m looking forward to working alongside each of our departments and helping them be even better.”
Juarez said she knows there is going to be a learning period, with half the council and the mayor all new to city government, and that working with department heads will be key to getting everyone up to speed quickly.
“The great thing is, we have great department heads who have taken charge and helped lead the city over the years,” she said. “We’re extremely lucky to have them here in Mills, and because of them we’re in good hands.”
Butcher said there are a number of things she’s looking forward to working on, including the city’s water system, fire department, and postal service.
“I’m excited to see some change in the town of Mills, and I’m hoping to help bring about some positive change,” Butcher said with a smile.
For Sutherland, the most important thing is to listen to what the city’s residents want.
“It’s going to be all new and different. I’m looking forward to listening to the people and finding out what they want to do,” he said. “I represent them.”
In Coleman’s outgoing remarks, read to the public by City Attorney Pat Holscher, the outgoing mayor reflected on some of his proudest achievements in his time first as a councilmember and later as the mayor. Among the accomplishments he pointed to were codifying the town’s municipal code and changing the method through which ordinances are passed.
“I learned that the Mills town code, as it was then called, had not been codified since the 1960s, so a large number of ordinances that had passed in the intervening 50 years never made their way into an organized code,” Holscher read from Coleman’s statement.
Coleman also offered pieces of advice to Juarez. He encouraged her to remain steadfast even in the face of criticism from the public. He also said the city’s leaders should strive to work with the other local governments throughout Natrona County while always putting Mills first.
“We have viewed Mills as a friend of business and a sibling of our sister towns and cities, all of whom are endeavoring to advance the interest of our residents and our overall community,” Holscher read. “But as a little sister city, for example, of a larger one to our east, we have to remember we are all adult siblings and Mills’ interest — and that of its citizens — is, at the end of the day, Mills alone.”
