Bio
Monica Gates was sworn in and seated June 7, 2004 as the new Mayor for the City of Kingman. Monica previously served on the Kingman City Council from 2000-2004.
Monica hails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. By the age of 18, she had completed two years of college, earning her A.A Degree in Liberal Arts from Broward Community College in Florida. She moved to Tempe to continue her education at A.S.U.
On one of her trips to Kingman to visit family, she met her future husband, Mike. She soon moved to Kingman to take a job in hotel administration working for Summit Hotel Management at the Kingman Holiday Inn. During that time, Monica also explored a career in education as a substitute elementary school teacher during the day, and worked for Summit Hotel Management at nights. Hotel management won out. Over a span of the next ten years she worked in Kingman or commuted from Kingman to manage hotels in Mesa and Bullhead City.
Monica gave up hotel management to become a business owner, wife and mother. Monica and her husband Mike own a general construction company. Mike runs the company, while Monica does the bookkeeping for the business. She is also owner/manager of the two Super Suds Laundromats in town. The couple have two children - Melissa age 3 1/2 and Matthew age 8. As the children are older now, Monica feels like she can now get involved in what has always been one of her great interests - political science. She keeps up on current events and feels now is the time to get involved in community government.
Monica, a talented flautist, was offered a musical scholarship to the University of Hawaii. While she enjoys camping with her family, Monica admits her true passion is gardening and maintaining her fish ponds, and is a proud graduate of the Master Gardener Class. Monica can often be seen riding her bicycle around the neighborhood with her children, or curled up reading a good book. She reads either for her own enjoyment or to Melissa and Matthew and says, "Reading sets a good example for the children."
Monica believes "We're really fortunate to live in Kingman; it's a great place to raise children." After having lived in the big city, "Kingman feels safe. We have a real sense of neighborhood here." Monica went on to state that "Kingman is ideally located. You can jump in the car and drive to events in the big city and then return to the small town environment of Kingman. It's the best of both worlds." |
