Earlier this year, current Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton announced his campaign for the United States House of Representatives in District 9. While he hasn’t decided when he will be stepping down, a number of mayoral candidates have already launched campaigns. The mayoral race is a non-partisan election.
Here’s a list of the confirmed candidates and their stances on important Phoenix issues:
Kate Gallego, District 8 City Councilwoman, Democrat
Gallego has served on the Phoenix City Council since 2013. Her experience focuses on transportation and infrastructure improvements. With prior training as the strategic planning and economic developer for the Salt River Project, her time as councilwoman helped improve safety in neighborhoods and the condition of public transportation. She has developed partnerships with Arizona State University and University of Arizona as well as helped to lead expansions of the Phoenix Biomedical campus. Gallego announced her candidacy a week after Mayor Stanton announced his running for Congress. If Gallego is elected, she would be the second woman to serve as mayor in Phoenix.
Related article: Kate Gallego declares mayoral candidacy
Daniel Valenzuela, District 5 City Councilman, Democrat
Daniel Valenzuela has served as Phoenix City Councilman since 2012 and was previously a Glendale firefighter for 15 years. He hopes to strengthen neighborhoods as well as continuing to focus on health and education, like he has as councilman. Valenzuela also serves as a chairman on the Downtown Aviation and Innovation Subcommittee where he has expressed his support for historic preservation funding. He hopes to get the council back on track and gear its focus away from national issues and onto matters more pertinent to Phoenix. If elected, Valenzuela would be the first Latino mayor of Phoenix.
Related article: Daniel Valenzuela leverages public safety background in race for mayor
Moses Sanchez, Former Tempe Union Governing Board member, Republican
Over the past ten years, Moses Sanchez has taught micro and macroeconomics courses at South Mountain Community College and was elected to the Tempe Union High School District Governing Board in 2012. As a migrant from Panama and a former Navy veteran, Sanchez is entering the mayoral race as an outsider who has never run for city office. In a Phoenix New Times article, Sanchez said he hopes to put Phoenix families first and “shake up the status quo.” Sanchez, like Valenzuela, would be the first Latino mayor.
Related article: Small businessman joins mayoral race
Nicholas Sarwark, Chairman of the Libertarian National Committee, Libertarian
As the current owner of family business Sarwark Consolidated Auto Sales, Nicholas Sarwark wants to restore leadership to the city of Phoenix and make it a place for people to achieve the American Dream. Sarwark is a Phoenix native and has a law degree earned in Washington D.C. He served as a public defender in Denver, Colorado, before returning to Phoenix in 2014 to take over the family business. Sarwark is in the midst of his second term as chairman for the Libertarian National Committee. He hopes to balance Phoenix’s budget without raising taxes in addition to tackling the mounting pension debt problem.
Related article: Libertarian National Committee Chair joins Phoenix mayoral race
Prior Candidates:
Tim Seay:
Phx Soul reported on May 30 that Tim Seay officially joined the race for mayor, throwing his hat in just a week before the June 8 qualification deadline. According to a press release, Seay serves as president and CEO of several non-profit organizations, and is Most Honorable Grand Master of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge Free & Accepted Masons of Arizona.
Related article: Freemason and businessman Tim Seay joins Phoenix mayoral race
Michael Lafferty, businessman, Independent
As the founder of both Lafferty Development and Lafferty Electric, Michael Lafferty has made a name for himself in the Phoenix business sector. With 34 years of experience in the business area, Lafferty is entering the mayoral race as a political outsider. His campaign has sparked some questions amongst voters due to his lack of a campaign website and social media accounts. Because of this, voters have not been able to gain a clear idea of his stance in the mayoral race, but in a recent Downtown Devil interview, he said one of his goals is to promote downtown Phoenix’s growth. He dropped out June 1, according to the Arizona Republic.
Related article: Phoenix businessman and mayoral candidate hopes to fuel downtown growth
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect that Michael Lafferty and Tim Seay have left the race.
Contact the reporter at smedwar7@asu.edu.
Sara Edwards was the executive editor of Downtown Devil. She is a graduate student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Sara has additional bylines in Phoenix New Times, West Valley View, L.A. Downtown News and Boardwalk Times.
Sara is also the co-secretary for the Multicultural Student Journalists Coalition.
