Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.
You know it’s really political season when candidates file their first Candidate Committee Financial Report. These reports hit the Glendale City Clerk’s office on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. All of my information can be obtained on this city website: https://docs.glendaleaz.com/WebLink/CustomSearch.aspx?SearchName=Elections&cr=1 . Click on the type of report you wish to view and then click on the name of the candidate committee. Typically, there isn’t too much to see in these first reports. That’s because until these self-proposed candidates file their nominating petitions with registered voters’ signatures in early March they are not legally candidates until those nominating petitions are received by the Glendale City Clerk. The first step for any would-be candidate is to file a Statement of Organization which formally creates a Candidate Committee that can collect contributions and pay expenses. Here is a list of candidates to date and the positions they seek:
- The current Mayor, Jerry Weiers, filed his Mayoral Candidate Committee on May 2, 2022. The filing lists Weiers as Chairperson of the committee and Michael W. Law as the Treasurer.
- Paul Boyer filed his Mayoral Candidate Committee on February 2, 2023. His filing lists himself as Chairperson and Treasurer.
- Current Councilmember Jamie Aldama filed his Mayoral Candidate Committee on May 16, 2023. His filing lists himself as Chairperson and Treasurer.
- Patty Ortega filed her Yucca district Candidate Committee on February 27, 2023, and lists herself as Chairperson and Treasurer. She has since dropped out from the race and is no longer a candidate.
- Lupe Encinas filed her Yucca district Candidate Committee on March 1, 2023, and lists her Chair as Natalie Stahl and her Treasurer as Jody Serey.
- Diana Guzman filed her Yucca district Candidate Committee on September 5, 2023, and lists herself as Chair and Treasurer.
- Current Councilmember Ray Malnar filed his Sahuaro district Candidate Committee on September 25, 2023. He lists himself as Chair and Treasurer. As of this date he is running unopposed.
- Current Councilmember Ian Hugh filed his Cactus district Candidate Committee on January 16, 2024. He lists himself as Chair and his wife, Sharon, as Treasurer. As of Tuesday, January 16, 2024, Jose Conchas has picked up a packet of information for running but has not filed a Statement of Organization.
This blog will focus on the Mayoral Candidates, how much money they have raised to date, who their large contributors are and what expenses they have incurred. The next blog will focus on the City Council candidates.
Mayor Jerry Weiers, the incumbent, is the gorilla in the room. He has raised $234,885.79 with $34,418.75 coming from his last election cycle. To date he has spent $24,907.33 leaving him with a hefty war chest of $209,978.45. Those contributors who gave the maximum amount of $6,550 are:
- Louis Sands IV, CEO of Sands Chevrolet
- Beverly Petty, CFO of Avanti Glass
- Jerry Petty, CEO of Avanti Glass
- Mark Meyer, Partner of AZ Organics
- James Lamon, CEO, self-employed
- Francis Tesmer, CEO of Rolf’s Global
- Dustin Petty, COO of Avanti Window Products
- John Crow, CEO of Century 21 Northwest
- Maurice Tanner, CEO of M.R. Tanner
- Julian Petty, Manager of Avanti Window Products
- Jogn Zyadet, Construction, no employer listed
- Rania Zyadet, homemaker
- Ed Bailey, Maven Strategic Partners
- Jerry Reinsdorf, CEO of Chicago White Sox
These Political Action Committees (PACs) have contributed:
- Republic Services, Inc. PAC
- Cemex Inc. Employees PAC
- Valley Partnership Action Committee
- Southwest Gas AZ PAC
- Pinnacle West PAC
- Salt River Project PAC
- Surprise Firefighters PAC
His largest expenses to date have been:
- Bilstein Consulting, $14,465.00 for petition signature gathering
- NextGen, LLC, $6,000.00 for opposition research
- Grassroots Partners, $1,742.14 for website and business cards
The only rumor or speculation that has come to my attention is that Mayor Weiers may receive endorsements from Public Safety organizations. The other is that he is not done raising money for his campaign and we can expect to see his war chest grow.
Next up is Paul Boyer, Mayoral candidate. He has raised $26,432.36 with $2,357.12 coming from his last election cycle for state senator. To date he has spent $9,528.48 leaving him with a balance of $16,761.41. No contributor gave the maximum amount although some have come close. Here are some of his largest contributors:
- Elaine Scruggs, Retired, former Mayor of Glendale
- Yvonne and David Knaack, retired, former Glendale City Councilmember
- Charles and Lorraine Zomak, downtown Glendale business owners
- Mark Burdick, Fire Chief, Arizona Fire & Medical Authority, former mayoral candidate
- Andrew Kunasek, Principal, Arizona Strategies
- Robert and Janeen Knockenhauer, requested information not provided
- Jane Short, requested information not provided
- Gary Sherwood, Consultant for ?
- Tom Cole, Former Fire Union, current Glendale Planning Commission member
- Al and Nancy Lennox, retired
- Gerald and Susan Bernstein, retired
- Bruce Heatwole, retired
- Tom Shannon, Fire Chief, City of Scottsdale
- Mario Diaz, Govt. Relations, Mario E. Diaz & Associates
- Mike Gardner, Consultant, Policy 48
- Patrick Cantelme, Retired, former Fire Union President
- Robert Heidt, former President & CEO, Glendale Chamber
- Coit Burner, Owner, Bears & More, downtown Glendale
- Ed Bailey, Managing Partner, VCP Funding
No contributions have been received from Political Action Committees.
His largest expenditures to date have been:
- BW Creative Agency, $4,000.00 for website
- Campaign Sidekick, $2,475.00 for voter and walk lists
- 923 Consulting, $1,500.00 for consulting
Rumors and/or speculation that have come to my attention are that those who have worked with him professionally don’t like him very much. As you will see, he and Aldama seemed to have split the downtown Glendale support between them. Someone who attended an event in the Cholla district relayed that Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff introduced Paul Boyer “as the next Mayor of Glendale.” As of this date she has not endorsed Mayor Weiers. FYI: Boyer couldn’t even get the date right for submission of his financial report, using “2/16/2024” instead of 1/16/2024.
Finally, current Councilmember Jamie Aldama, Mayoral Candidate. He has raised $83,668.12 with $16,197.12 coming from his last election cycle. To date he has spent $18,975.43 leaving him with a balance of $64,692.69.
There is one contribution of the maximum ($6,550) by Brian Gallimore, Construction, WSP. Some of his more notable contributors are:
- Robert Heidt, former President & CEO, Glendale Chamber
- Richard Vangelisti, Real Estate Investment, downtown Glendale
- Carlos Arellano, Self-Employed ?
- Maria Brunner, former Chair of Glendale Chamber
- Guillermo Gonzalez, Operator, Gonzalez Asphalt
- Ron Short, Retired, Glendale Historical Society
- Alice Roach, Retired
- Haithern Haddad, Owner, Best Quality Construction
- Bill Scheel, Self-Employed ?
- Rudy and Soledad Molina, Self-Employed?
He received one Political Action Committee contribution from the UFCW PAC.
His greatest expenses to date have been:
- $8,000.00 for consulting
- $7,036.00 for consulting
Rumors and/or speculation that have come to my attention are just who will claim the support of those downtown shop owners that have a history of being disgruntled with anything the city does? Everyone is wondering just when Aldama will resign as Councilmember to officially run for Mayor. Word is he seems to be relying on two communities of interest to finance his campaign—the Hispanic community and the construction community. Beyond those two groups his support base is pretty thin.
Next up—a look at council candidates campaign committee filings.
© Joyce Clark, 2023
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