Mesa City Council chambers.|| Facebook
Maritza Dominguez
Arizona Republic
In less than one year, Mesa Mayor John Giles, who is term-limited after 10 years in the role, will hand the keys to someone new following the August 2024 primary election.
Councilmember Mark Freeman, who represents north-central Mesa, became the first candidate to formally announce his campaign, with a kickoff event on Tuesday afternoon.
“Mesa is changing around us, but we can manage it. It just takes a steady hand at the wheel,” Freeman says in the campaign video he debuted at the event.
Mesa Mayor John Giles speaks during his State of the City address on Feb. 7, 2023, at the Mesa Convention Center.
Former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith and Mesa resident Cary Davis, a former San Bernardino, California, mayor, have filed statements of interest to run for mayor.
The three men will need to file nomination petitions with 1,000 signatures to the city clerk to get their names on the ballot by the April 8, 2024, deadline.
Voters will make their choice on Aug. 6 during the primary election, and if a runoff is needed, they will head back to the polls on Nov. 5, 2024.
The early political action previews what could become a more hotly contested race than usual in Mesa. In 2014, Giles faced one opponent. The 2016 race was uncontested, and the 2020 mayor’s election also saw one challenger.
Here are the three candidates who are eyeing the mayoral seat.
