Peoria Councilmember Bill Patena, who represents the Ironwood District, has decided not to run for reelection in 2024.
He announced the decision after submitting a statement of interest to the city, but only a couple weeks before candidate signatures were due April 1 for the upcoming council election, which is scheduled for July 30.
In a statement sent to Peoria Independent, Patena said he has been on the city council for 12 years and feels it is time for him to move on and get some new and fresh ideas to keep Peoria moving forward.
“Honestly, I have truly enjoyed my time on city council. It was aways my desire to be able to give back to the city that I live in and dearly love. During my 12 years, I feel I have accomplished that and I am proud of my time on council,” Patena said in the statement. “Please know that my decision is not politically motivated and has nothing to do with the current administration.”
The Ironwood District covers about 9 square miles and is home to many residential developments, including Westbrook Village and the Parkridge communities. It is also home to the Peoria Sports Complex and surrounding P83 entertainment district.
Patena was first elected in November 2012, and was reelected for two additional terms in 2016 and 2020.
He has focused on maintaining healthy neighborhoods and community issues. He is the veteran liaison to the council and works with the Veterans Memorial Board and veteran community.
Prior to serving on the council, Patena spent the past 18 years of his professional career with the city as the Neighborhood Services Manager.
During that time, he managed the Dial-a-Ride, public housing, community development block grants and Neighborhood Pride programs, according to the city website.
He has also worked to help mentally and physically challenged children and adults, and was the program director for United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona where he was responsible for a wide variety of programming for children and adults.
Patena steps down as the city of Peoria ramps up for its council election, which has other open seats for the Mesquite and Willow districts. Rick Stokes has put in a statement of interest for the Ironwood District.
Matt Bullock, Thomas Bottorf, Rodney Emery and Laura Page have put in statements of interest for the Mesquite District to run for Councilmember Brad Shafer’s seat, who announced he will not run for reelection in 2024.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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