Gilbert Mayor Brigette Peterson has decided not to run for re-election this year.
Peterson, who will turn 60 this year, is dropping out of the race to spend more time with her family, she told the Gilbert Independent, but will serve out her term, which will end in early January 2025.
“It hit me that my grandson's going to be 15 months old in a couple of weeks, and I don't think I've seen him 15 times,” she said. “And grandparents have issues where their grandkids lived out of state. Mine lives in Surprise, and I just don't have time because of my schedule to get out to visit with them.”
Peterson said she made the decision last week, though she had been considering it for about a month.
“From the time that I actually went in and pulled papers (to run), I was considering it, but I at least wanted to get the process started because I knew that I would fall too far behind if I didn't,” she said.
Her decision leaves two announced candidates running: Vice Mayor Scott Anderson and political neophyte Shane Krauser. Peterson said she is not endorsing a candidate at this time.
Peterson served on the Gilbert Planning Commission for 14 years before being elected to Gilbert Town Council in 2014. She was vice mayor in 2018.
She served on council from January 2015 until March 31, 2020, when she resigned to run for mayor after Jenn Daniels announced she would not seek re-election. She advanced to the general election after coming in second at the primary in August, but easily won election in the general that November over Matt Nielsen, 56.6%-42.7%.
Her term as mayor frequently has been marked by storms of criticism, but Peterson said she hopes her last year will see a more unified council.
“I would love that,” she said. “I don't know that it's all completely within my control. I think that we all need to agree that we're moving forward as a council. I've been serving this community for over two decades and never had the issues that I've seen the past couple of years.”
In her final year as mayor, Peterson said she will be focused on some important decisions looming for the community as it sets its course for the future.
“This is going to be a year of some very difficult conversations and decisions that are going to have to be made,” she said. “We're looking at, for example, the (system development fees) increases, and we're talking about water rates and a potential bond later on this year. So it's going to be a lot of conversations about the vision of the community from the council's perspective, but we're going to need to get feedback from the residents.”
Peterson said she is unsure if she may serve the community in the future in some capacity. Her husband has not retired yet, so plans are up in the air, but she will take time to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary next year with a trip somewhere, spend time with her family and grandson and do extra reading.
“I love serving this community,” she said. “It has been an honor to serve this community, and I give it 110% every single day.”
We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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