Tempe City Council gains 2 new members, vice mayor

By Madeline Bates
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The Tempe City Council has sworn in Arlene Chin, Bobby Nichols and Brooke St. George and voted for Arlene Chin to be the city’s vice mayor.

The Tempe Council Chambers in the basement of Tempe City Hall were packed with residents, supporters and local politicians to witness the change.

“To quote Councilmember Doreen Garlid,” Councilmember St. George said during her speech “It takes a village to raise a councilmember, and Tempe is that village.”

The ceremony included a swearing-in of all three council members and comments from the other members of council.

Nichols, an outspoken member of the Democratic Socialists of America, swore in with many of the Phoenix DSA members in the crowd and his fiancé holding his late sister’s Bible as he took an oath to the city for the next four years.

“I ran as a proud democratic socialist and I am proud to be a democratic socialist,” Nichols said following his oath.

St. George invited many people, but said she was most excited for her mother and son to stand with her while she swore in.

“Shout out to my son who will be 18 on the Fourth of July. And yes, he is already preregistered to vote,” she said in a comedic but heartfelt speech following her oath.  

Both Nichols and St. George said that they were excited to support Chin as the vice mayor and that she was deserving of the role.

Chin recused herself from the vote, but accepted the unanimous support and became vice mayor. She also gave a speech after her oath thanking her family, campaign staff, and the residents of Tempe.

“To all of the residents, thank for supporting this daughter of Tempe. You have helped shape our city and strengthen our democracy,” Chin said.

Madeline Bates
Reporter | Tempe/East Phoenix

mbates@iniusa.org

Meet Madeline

Madeline Bates joined Independent Newsmedia in 2025 as a Phoenix/Tempe reporter. Before graduating college, she spent a semester in Washington as a Congressional reporter in the first 100 days of the second Trump administration. But local news is where her heart is. She is excited to be in Phoenix full time and exploring new parts of the city (as long as they have AC).  

Community: After living in East Phoenix for two years, she fell in love with Paradise Valley, Mesa, Tempe, and everywhere in between. She recently discovered the beauty of the South Mountain Reserve and hopes to continue exploring should the weather comply.

Education: Madeline has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and a certificate in Political History and Leadership.

Random Fact: She is a self-taught nail tech. No, she cannot do your nails.

Hobbies: Hiking (when its not 100 degrees), fiction writing, cooking, baking and trying new coffee shops.