Alberto Gutier, who worked for decades in Arizona politics, died Saturday.

Gutier served as director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for more than 20 years before retiring in November 2022. Gutier worked alongside seven Arizona governors, from Bruce Babbitt to Doug Ducey.

ABC15 spoke with Gutier in October 2023 following his retirement. Listen to it in the player above.

Born in Cuba, Gutier came to the United States in the late 1950s as a student at the University of Florida. He returned to Cuba soon after, accepting a job with Cubana Airlines, where he was later transferred to New York.

Gutier and his wife became U.S. citizens in 1966. But it was in 1964 that Gutier first heard of an Arizona senator who led him and his family to move to Phoenix.

“My wife and I went to the opening speech for the Barry Goldwater Committee Project. I still have some of the brochures from the Barry Goldwater Committee Project for President of the United States. So when I came to Arizona in 1968 , I was a Goldwater guy,” Gutier told ABC15 in 2023.

Gutier quickly immersed himself in the Arizona political scene, serving as a Republican Party committeeman for 50 years.

He was a delegate to five national conventions, sergeant-at-arms of the Arizona Republican Party for 11 terms, and a 2016 Arizona presidential elector.

Former Governor Doug Ducey sent the following statement:

“Alberto was one of a kind: a devoted husband and father, a proud American and a public servant who loved America and Arizona. Alberto lived the American dream and was so proud of it. Angela and I pray for Miryam and all family. We are grateful to have called Alberto a friend.