The Art Box - Episode 29 - Meet Mesquite Mayor Al Litman

Join us for the much anticipated release of our interview with the mayor of our thriving small town Mayor Al Litman. We chat about his leadership through Covid, city growth, new industries, affordable housing, the STEAM Center, the coming First Fridays, his passions and of course we talk Art.  Mayor Litman hails originally from Duluth, Minnesota and moved to Los Angeles following graduation from the University of Minnesota where he received his Bachelor of Science in History and Political Science.   Mayor Litman entered the Army in 1965 and served in Vietnam with the First Calvary Division Artillery where he received a Bronze Star for Valor and the Air Metal for flying in numerous helicopter flights. Following his military service, Mayor Litman taught public school for the Los Angeles Unified School District before teaching in Simi Valley California for 15 years.   He taught and directed programs for special needs students, specializing in the mildly mentally retarded, as well as developing driver education and training for the deaf and hard of hearing, and other disabilities.   In addition to his work with the public schools, he was an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University, teaching in the Graduate School of Education and Psychology and also completed his Masters of Science in Administration and Supervision and his Doctoral work in Institutional Management. In 1984, he left education and founded an automobile service company until retiring and moved to Maui, Hawaii in 1994.   After a brief retirement, he opened a small practice in Child and Family Psychotherapy as well as providing Autism consulting for the State of Hawaii public schools retiring again in 2004 moved to Mesquite. Since relocating to Mesquite, Mayor Litman has taught Psychology at the College of Southern Nevada, became active in veteran’s affairs, directed the Veterans Day parade for fourteen years and continues to conduct the annual Veterans Day and Memorial Day programs.   He was responsible for bringing the Vietnam Wall That Heals to Mesquite in 2010, and was a founder of the Mesquite Veterans Center.   In 2011, he was elected to a two-year term on the Mesquite City Council; being re-elected in 2013. On May 14, 2014, Councilman Litman was appointed Mayor and was elected to a four-year term in 2016, and again, a four-year term in 2020. In his spare time, he works out frequently at the City Recreation Center and has taught spin classes for many years. Mayor Litman has been married to Phyllis for 56 years.