Todd Pryor
By James Hodl | CooperArea.com
Superior Fire Chief Todd Pryor, who has been co-serving as Superior Town Manager with Police Chief David Neuss for the past three months, has been provisionally appointed as full-time Town Manager by the Town Council.
Pending negotiations over salary and benefits, Pryor, who has headed the Superior Fire Department since 2008, will succeed Margaret Gaston as Town Manager. Gaston resigned in January following revelations that town government hadn’t caught eight withdrawals totaling $2,300 from a town debit card by Mayor Jayme Valenzuela allegedly for personal use. Because of the scandal, the positions of Town Clerk and Financial Director also are currently vacant.
The decision to appoint Pryor came at the April 14 Town Council meeting that was long on agenda but short on Council members. Only a bare quorum of four members (Vice Mayor Olga Lopez and Council members Michael Alonzo, Mila Besich-Lira and Stephen Estatico) were present. Among the absent was Mayor Valenzuela, recall petitions for whom were filed at Superior Town Hall three days earlier.
