By Connor Van Ligten | Independent Newsmedia
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
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
Ryan Winkle is a former Mesa council member who is seeking the office of mayor.
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.
