Kevin Hartke’s running for state House District 13 representative.
If he wins, and one of his former fellow Chandler City Council members wins the mayor’s seat, the two would switch places.
“I’m 100% in,” Hartke told Independent Newsmedia. “I’m reaching out to some supporters and have filed a statement of interest.”
Hartke, who will run as a Republican, said he feels called to lead and is approaching the end of his second and final term as Chandler mayor, the seat he won in 2018.
Jeff Weninger, co-owner of several East Valley restaurants and one of the two current LD13 representatives, has filed a statement of interest with the city of Chandler to run for mayor. A Republican, Weninger said, on his social media, he's “committed to returning innovation and transparency to our city.”
If Weninger vacates his LD13 seat, both state House seats will be open, as Rep. Julie Willoughby, a Republican, has filed a statement of interest for the lone LD13 state Senate seat held by term-limited J.D. Mesnard.
Term limits have been a major topic in Chandler through the late spring and early summer. Hartke initially took out paperwork to run for the council seat he held before running for mayor, as he had gone directly between those two offices when he won the 2018 mayor’s race.
But City Attorney Kelly Schwab said the city charter is ambiguous about whether a council member or mayor can run for the other office at the end of a second term, rather than taking two years off in between.
After an executive session and a lengthy public, council and attorney input at both a late-May regular and June 1 special meeting, council voted to put a 16-year cap on mayor and council service, as a proposed charter amendment, on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Passage of that amendment would not only add weight to the practice Hartke and other council members have been doing for years in running for mayor in the last year of a second term, it would pave the way for the lone councilor whose second term is up in 2026 — Matt Orlando — to run for mayor.
Also, Hartke said, the lawsuit by his 2022 opponent, Ruth Jones, who claimed Hartke shouldn’t have been eligible to run for his first term as mayor in 2018, has been dismissed.
“There was simply nothing there,” Hartke said of the lawsuit.
Hartke said counter to Weninger, he believes transparency has been a strong point of his administration, pointing out there was a citizens’ committee for the proposed $475 million bond that ended up on the Nov. 4 ballot and another committee tasked with reviewing the charter this year for potential amendments.
Also drawing recent scrutiny was interim city manager hiring process after Josh Wright put in his notice in May to leave that position and the city. After two executive sessions, council emerged in a regular meeting with a contract to pay John Pombier $30,000 per month in appointing him acting city manager.
Councilmember Jennifer Hawkins said she believed Pombier’s hiring process could have had more public input and served more public interests. Hartke said that process was transparent, but ideally would have involved interviewing more people.
“There’s nothing non-transparent,” Hartke said. “It will become more so, that I see. I think the results will speak for themselves.”
Important dates on the Arizona Legislature election calendar include the beginning of filing period for nomination papers, petitions, and financial disclosure on March 7 and the April 6 deadline for turning in petition signatures.
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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