Suzanne Azar (''née'' Schmeck, born 1946) is a politician, aviator and former mayor of

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

. Azar was the first woman to serve as mayor in

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

. Azar lives in

Central El Paso Central El Paso is part of the city of El Paso, Texas, and contains some of the city's oldest and most historic neighborhoods. Located in the heart of the city, it is home to approximately 130,000 people. Development of central El Paso s ...

. She is also a

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

and owner of a

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down, and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction ...

and

flight school Flight training is a course of study used when learning to aviator, pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted un ...

; and is a member of the women pilots' organization, the

Ninety-Nines The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, also known as The 99s, is an international organization that provides networking, mentoring, and flight scholarship opportunities to recreational and professional female pilots. Foun ...

. Azar has been inducted into the El Paso Women's Hall of Fame.

Biography

Azar was born in

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city in Bay County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 32,661 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located just upriver from the Saginaw Bay on the Saginaw River. It is the princip ...

in 1946 and as a young person was a member of the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered, federally supported Nonprofit corporation, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliaries, auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CA ...

. She moved to El Paso in 1970 and attended the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public university, public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the Univers ...

(UTEP). Azar was sworn into office as mayor of

in 1989. During her campaign, she was called a "

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...

" by her opponent, and Azar turned the intended insult to "her advantage, campaigning with

pom poms Pom or POM may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Pom (comics) (1919–2014), a Belgian comic strip writer and artist * Baby Pom, a fictional character in the British television programme ''Fimbles'' * Pom, a character in the video game ''Them's F ...

and calling herself an unabashed cheerleader for El Paso". She won the campaign for mayor with a 65% majority vote.

References

External links

Suzie Azar on her life experiences
(video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Azar, Suzie 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