The Tusayan Town Council has made it official. Craig Sanderson is now town’s  mayor following the unexpected departure of Greg Bryan. He officially took office January 1^st.

Sanderson tells the Watchdog at this point he is seriously considering seeking reelection as mayor in 2016. That decision will create some complications. Because of a new voter approved ordinance, any councilmember who wants to become Mayor must resign from the council unless they are in the last year of their term. That means Sanderson would have to resign in order to run for Mayor. The primary election is in August and Sanderson would have to resign no later than June 1^st.

Sanderson said, “I would like to consider the same direction (as Greg Bryan). I don’t really have any new agendas. He invited me aboard years ago. The momentum is there and I’ll keep it moving forward.”

Sanderson was originally appointed to the council following the resignation of Cecily Maniaci. He later won reelection.

Sanderson says his top priority will be affordable housing. To that end, the pace of the town’s efforts to create a housing authority have slowed to a crawl. Despite numerous executive sessions and false starts, the Town Council has yet to approve the formation of a housing authority. The council did say the emphasis will be on owner occupied as opposed to rental housing. Such a decision could price many Tusayan residents out of the market.