Sophia Saldana File Photo/EAC: Eric Bejarano of EAC’s SBDC was recently honored with the distinguished Spirit of Excellence Award. On Monday, Bejarano was announced as the new Safford Assistant City Manager.
Contributed Article/Courtesy City of Safford
SAFFORD – The City of Safford has selected Eric Bejarano as its new Assistant City Manager. 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.
Before 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, Eric serves on the boards for the Graham County Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties.
“I’m honored to be offered this opportunity to serve Safford and its citizens,” said Bejarano. “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!”
Safford City Manager John Cassella and the city’s search committee reviewed all the candidates over two months. “We are thrilled to bring Mr. Bejarano on as our next Assistant City Manager,” Cassella said. “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.”
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.
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