EDS: Cronkite School students profiled candidates for Phoenix City Council and the Maricopa County sheriff race. You can find all the profiles here. 

By Kayla Christenson
Special for Cronkite News

‘The American dream’

Ayensa Millan, running for Phoenix City Council District 3, was born in Caborca, Sonora, Mexico, and raised by a single mother. Millan moved to Phoenix when she was 16 years old and graduated high school at the top of her class. After high school, she received a full ride scholarship to Arizona State University and graduated with dual degrees in political science and psychology. Millan returned to ASU to pursue a law degree and formed her own law firm, Cima Law Group, which specializes in immigration, personal injury and criminal defense.

Millan has lived in District 3 for 10 years and in Phoenix for 20 years and has served as a pro-tem justice of the peace in Maricopa County. Currently, she is the chair of Children’s Action Alliance and the chair of the Education Community Committee for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Hispanic Ambassadors Council. She has recently been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Arizona-Mexico Commission, promoting cross-border collaboration and economic development.

“The American Dream” is an important part of Millan’s plan for Phoenix residents. Because of her background, she wants each Phoenix resident to have the opportunity to achieve their own dreams.

Public-private partnerships

District 3 sits in north Phoenix, from Sunnyslope to Moon Valley and out to Stonecreek Golf Course. Millan believes her district “offers some of the last attainable communities for young families looking to plant their roots. However, that dream is becoming more difficult as our middle class continues to feel the squeeze with the rising cost of living.”

Millan also believes the top priorities for the city are addressing aging infrastructure, inclusivity, making housing more affordable and helping the unhoused population. She said she plans to address these priorities by creating partnerships with local, state and federal governments as well as constituents in the public and private sectors.

“Through my personal experiences as a small business owner, I have learned to build something from nothing,” Millan said. “That happens through having tough conversations bringing diverse opinions and looking at things from not only the micro level but the macro level.”

Monthly council meetings are an opportunity for council members to talk with the mayor about their districts.

“Having the opportunity to meet folks that wouldn’t necessarily align with my own ideologies and having those tough conversations but at the end of the day we’re having them because when we have a common goal,” Millan said.

Millan’s opponent, Debra Stark, serves as the vice mayor and represents District 3. Stark has been a part of the planning team on low-income housing projects as well as building shelters in the district. One of Stark’s top priorities aligns with Millan’s: addressing homelessness. She said unaffordable housing and the homeless population is a national issue that needs to be addressed by Congress, not only city districts.

“I feel like my district is starting to change a lot and that is something I want to be a part of,” Millan said. “I want to advocate for my community, no matter how small the issue might seem.”

Millan said she feels she has been advocating for others since she was a child. Growing up with a single mother and little brother, she was put in tough situations where decisions had to be made.

“That really shaped who I became, at the same time it made me very resilient. It made me a fighter and it made me a person that wants to do things for the right reasons, even if sometimes it’s not the popular thing to do,” Millan said.

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