Meet the 2024 candidates for mayor of Mesa

This year Mesa voters will select from among five candidates for mayor. Below are bios of each who met the April 1 filing deadline and will appear on the primary ballot.

Mark Freeman

Mesa Councilmember and Mayoral Candidate Mark Freeman.

(City of Mesa)

Mark Freeman has represented Mesa District 1 since he was elected in 2016 and now seeks the office of the mayor.

Freeman’s roots run deep in Mesa. His ancestor Charles Crismon was one of the city’s founding fathers, and Freeman’s family has been farming in the Valley since 1878.

Freeman, who preaches family values, has lived in Mesa for more than 60 years. He has a wife, three children and eight grandchildren. Freeman’s oldest son is currently a captain in the U.S. Air Force.

Freeman served as vice mayor from January 2019 to January 2021. For 31 years, Freeman served as a captain paramedic on the Mesa Fire and Medical Department.

He spent 12 years on the Mesa Board of Adjustment as well as the Lehi area board president, and was involved with the Maricopa County and Arizona Farm Bureau organizations for many years. He is currently in his fourth term on the National League of Cities Public Safety & Crime Prevention committee.

Ryan Winkle

Mesa Mayoral Candidate Ryan Winkle

(Ryan Winkle for Mesa)

Winkle, who has a dual degree from Arizona State University and an MBA from Wilkes, was elected to the Mesa City Council in 2016 and took office in January 2017. Winkle was arrested for a DUI four months after taking office and would be removed via unanimous vote in August 2017.

Winkle currently does community work with his nonprofit that helps businesses and neighborhoods in low to moderate income census tracts build upward mobility.

Winkle is also the chair of the Arizona Asian Chamber of Commerce and executive director of the Arizona Fair Housing Center. He has a wife and two children.

Carey Davis

Former San Bernardino Mayor Carey Davis

(City of San Bernardino)

Carey Davis comes to Mesa from California with previous governing experience as he served as the 28th mayor of San Bernardino from 2014 to 2018.

Davis has been a Mesa resident since 2019. A certified public accountant, Davis has publicly criticized the city of Mesa in the past for what he deemed as overspending. Davis advocated against the city increasing its spending on personnel.

Davis has a bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and an MBA from Cal State in San Bernardino. He is married with four children. This is the first time he has run for office in Arizona in any capacity.

Scott Neely

Mesa Mayoral candidate and small business owner Scott Neely

(Scott Neely 4 Mesa Mayor)

Scott Neely is a small business owner who is running for mayor of Mesa.

Neely ran for governor of Arizona in 2022 but did not make it past the primary.

During his gubernatorial campaign, Neely, who does not have a political background, emphasized his “dirt to boardroom” approach when it came to representing Arizona.

During said campaign, Neely criticized Arizona’s policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically the closure of small business and mask mandates. Neely also advocated for building the Arizona border wall and increasing funding for Arizona school systems.

Key issues for Neely include increased education funding,  increased police staffing and opposition  to the light rail expansion.

Scott Smith

Former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith.

(Scott Smith for Mesa)

Previously serving as the 38th mayor of Mesa from 2008 to 2014, Scott Smith hopes to assume that position once again.

Born in Tucson, Smith has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University and an MBA and law degree from Arizona State University.

In addition to serving as mayor of Mesa, Smith also ran for governor of Arizona in 2014, although he was unsuccessful.

Smith was the 71st president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors from 2013 to 2014. He served as CEO of Valley Metro from 2016 until his resignation in 2022. Smith has a wife, Kim, and three children.