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Suzanne Azar (née Schmeck, born 1946) is a politician, aviator and former mayor of El Paso, Texas. Azar was the first woman to serve as mayor in El Paso. Azar lives in Central El Paso. She is also a flight instructor and owner of a fixed-base operator and flight school; and is a member of the women pilots' organization, the Ninety-Nines. Azar has been inducted into the El Paso Women's Hall of Fame.

Biography

Azar was born in Bay City, Michigan in 1946 and as a young person was a member of the Civil Air Patrol. She moved to El Paso in 1970 and attended the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).

Azar was sworn into office as mayor of El Paso in 1989. During her campaign, she was called a "cheerleader" by her opponent, and Azar turned the intended insult to "her advantage, campaigning with pom poms and calling herself an unabashed cheerleader for El Paso". She won the campaign for mayor with a 65% majority vote.

References

1. ^ Garcia, Vicente; Pinon, Tony; Rasmussen, Aaron; Coons, Heather (2009). "Suzie Azar Still Reaches for the Sky" (PDF). EPCC Borderlands. 27. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
2. ^ "Where are They Now? Former El Paso Mayors Stay Busy and Out of Politics, Mostly". El Paso Inc. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
3. "Getting to Know Suzanne Azar". SAFE Pilots. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
4. Crowder, David (13 June 1989). "El Paso 1st Woman Mayor Takes Oath". El Paso Times. Retrieved 9 July 2016 – via Tales From the Morgue.
5. Weatherford, Doris (2012). Women in American Politics: History and Milestones. Sage. p. 255. ISBN 9781608710072.

External links

• Suzie Azar on her life experiences (video)

• 1946 births
• Mayors of El Paso, Texas
• Politicians from Bay City, Michigan
• University of Texas at El Paso alumni
• Living people
• Women mayors of places in Texas
• American women aviators
• Aviators from Texas
• American women flight instructors
• American flight instructors
• 20th-century mayors of places in Texas
• 21st-century American women