Big turn out for Councilman Bob Tyler Meet 'n' Greet

RIO RANCHO — It was a big turnout for District 3 Councilor Bob Tyler on Saturday at Mountain View Park as he and Mayor Gregg Hull hosted a City Councilor Meet ‘n’ Greet event.

This is the second-to-last Meet 'n' Greet in a series of public events set up by the mayor’s office to help Rio Ranchoans get to know their city councilors.

Tyler was shaking hands and chatting with his constituents, his patented Cleveland High School Baseball hat marking his movements from one group of Rio Ranchoans to another. He was all smiles, and community members were able to easily approach the veteran council member, now in his sixth year (of eight).

“What I really like about this ... it’s successful and it’s about getting out there and meeting with all the folks, seeing everyone face-to-face,” said Tyler, a retired law enforcement officer with more than 25 years of experience. “People can come up to me and say, ‘Hey, I'm glad I voted for you,’ or ‘Hey, I need this,’ or ‘I’d like to see this.’ I’ve gotten three or four ideas just talking to people about things we might be able to do in the future.”

Tyler was elected as District 3 City Councilor in March 2018 to a four-year term. He was re-elected to a four-year term in April 2022.

The second-term councilman isn’t just a veteran of community service, he's also a United States Navy veteran. After he served his country, he worked as a vice president and operations manager in the banking industry. Today, in addition to being a city councilor, Tyler is an assistant baseball coach at CHS (hence his trademark Storm hat).

The event, which ran from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., had booths from Rio Rancho Public Libraries, the Rio Rancho Police Department, Rio Rancho Fire and Rescue, public works (streets and right-of-way division), the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), as well as a bouncy house and mountains of ice cream for the kids — and the young-at-heart.

“Just so you know, I’m very competitive,” Tyler said with a wink. “And we’ve given away the most ice cream at this (Meet ‘n’ Greet) event. So, I’m a winner.”

A thumbs-up from a city worker at the ice cream booth confirmed Tyler’s claims.

Tyler’s Meet ‘n’ Greet was the next in a series of such events hosted by the mayor’s office.

“It was a great turnout. We’ve been seeing a lot of positive turnouts on these ‘Meet with the Councilor’ events,” said Hull. “I think it’s a new trend that we’re going to be setting going forward in the future. It’s a positive way for people to come in and interact with their city councilor and interact with the staff members who actually operate the city.

“Everyone was well represented here today, and it gave the community a cool understanding of how the city works,” Hull added.

The final Meet ‘n’ Greet event of the summer is for District 2 Councilor Jeremy Lenentine from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at Havasu Park, 3535 Havasu Falls St. NE.