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A former Arizona State Senator announced Tuesday morning that he will run for mayor of Glendale in 2024.
Paul Boyer served as a Republican member of the Senate representing District 20, which includes much of Glendale and north Phoenix, from 2019 to 2023. He opted not to run for reelection, and instead is turning his political focus toward the mayoral post of Arizona’s sixth largest city.
The Glendale resident and junior high school teacher previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019, including serving as House and Senate education committee chair.
“Glendale residents recently voted down city bonds for parks, streets, and infrastructure improvements. The year before, residents voted down a proposed pay raise for the mayor and council by a landslide,” Boyer shared in a statement to the Independent. “Residents are clearly unhappy with something and someone – the leaders of our city. It’s sad to see city leadership and our residents at such variance with each other.”
He hopes to unseat incumbent Jerry Weiers, who has served as Glendale’s mayor for 10 years and will run for reelection when his current term ends in December of 2024.
“Absolutely,” the mayor said Tuesday morning. “Oddly enough 10 years ago when I came on, as bad as everything was I felt like I could make a difference in the city. I certainly have done that, but we’re not done. We’ve got some more things we’re working on.”
Weiers was elected Glendale mayor in 2012 and assumed office in January 2013. Prior to that he served four consecutive terms in the Arizona House of Representatives, representing Arizona’s 12th District.
Boyer named Weiers directly in his statement launching his campaign.
“It’s time to remove the largest source of contempt for Glendale residents – our mayor – and start anew with leadership that serves others in word and deed,” he stated.
Weiers says he’ll fight for his seat.
“I won’t take Paul lightly, but Paul’s got a huge uphill battle,” Weiers said. “I’m not going to give it to him, he’s gonna have to take it from me.”
Three other Glendale city councilmembers will see their seats open next year. The current terms of Vice Mayor Joyce Clark (Yucca District), Ian Hugh (Cactus District) and Ray Malnar (Sahuaro District) end in 2024.
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We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Steve Stockmar has been with the Independent Newsmedia team since 2017. An NAU alum and Peoria resident, Steve’s community journalism pursuits focus mostly on arts & culture, education, and profiles of neighbors making a difference. In his spare time Steve plays in a vintage baseball league using uniforms and rules from the 1860s, and also acts (badly) in community theater. In addition, he has an unhealthy obsession with baseball and the Chicago Cubs.
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