John Giles (mayor)
John Giles | |
---|---|
![]() Giles in 2024 | |
40th Mayor of Mesa | |
Assumed office September 18, 2014 | |
Preceded by | Scott Smith Alex Finter (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | 1959 or 1960 (age 63–64) Mesa, Arizona, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Children | 5 |
Education | Brigham Young University (BA) Arizona State University, Tempe (JD) |
John C. Giles (born 1959 or 1960) is an American politician serving as the 40th mayor of Mesa, Arizona.[1] A Republican, Giles previously served as a member of the Mesa City Council from 1996 to 2000. Giles was elected mayor of Mesa in a 2014 special election following the resignation of Mayor Scott Smith.
Early life and career
[edit]Giles was born in Mesa, Arizona. He graduated from Westwood High School in 1978. He attended Brigham Young University, graduating with a political science degree in 1984. Giles received his JD from Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law in 1987.
Giles works as a lawyer with the firm Giles & Dickson.[2] Giles was the president of the East Valley Bar Association from 1992 until 1993.[3]
Political career
[edit]Giles was elected to the Mesa City Council in 1996, serving until 2000, including a term as vice mayor from 1998 until 2000.[4]
Following Mayor Scott Smith's resignation in 2014, Giles was elected mayor in a special election, for a term lasting until 2017.[5] He was sworn in on September 18, 2014.[6][7] Giles is a registered Republican, although the position of mayor is officially nonpartisan.
In 2016, Giles was reelected to a full four-year term, which lasted until 2021.[8] He was again reelected in 2020 and began his second full term in January 2021.[9]
As mayor, Giles led the adoption of a city-wide non-discrimination ordinance[10] and climate action plan.[11]
In 2024, Giles opposed bipartisan Arizona state legislation to increase housing supply in the state amid a housing shortage.[12][13] The legislation proposed to remove red tape by restricting the abilities of Arizona cities from mandating home owners associations, minimum home sizes, and community amenities.[12] Giles argued that "silencing our neighborhoods is not the solution to the housing crisis."[12]
Giles endorsed Democrat Mark Kelly over Republican Blake Masters in the 2022 U.S. Senate election.[14] The Arizona Republican Party censured Giles over his endorsement of Kelly.[15] He endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election over Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.[16] He and former Arizona representative Robin Shaw are co-chairing the state chapter of Republicans for Harris.[17] He spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention on August 20.[18]
Personal life
[edit]Giles and his wife, Dawn, have five children and eight grandchildren.[1] Giles is a marathoner and triathlete who has completed two full Ironman competitions, twenty marathons, and four Boston Marathons.[19]
Electoral history
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | John Giles (incumbent) | 60,473 | 66.25 | |
Nonpartisan | Verl Farnsworth | 30,452 | 33.36 | |
Write-in | Write-ins | 357 | 0.39 | |
Total votes | 91,282 | 100.00 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | John Giles | 53,273 | 99.01% | |
Write-in | Write-ins | 353 | 0.99% | |
Total votes | 53,808 | 100.0% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | John Giles | 33,177 | 72.7% | |
Nonpartisan | Danny Ray | 12,483 | 27.3% | |
Total votes | 45,660 | 100.0% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | John Giles | 17,426 | 23.2% | |
Nonpartisan | T. Farrell Jensen | 15,949 | 21.2% | |
Nonpartisan | Dennis Kavanaugh | 13,481 | 17.9% | |
Nonpartisan | Lillian Wilkinson | 10,407 | 13.8% | |
Nonpartisan | Dana B. Harper | 10,053 | 13.4% | |
Nonpartisan | David Molina | 7,831 | 10.4% | |
Total votes | 75,147 | 100.0% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | John Giles | 14,392 | 15.8% | |
Nonpartisan | T. Farrell Jensen | 11,861 | 13.1% | |
Nonpartisan | Lillian Wilkinson | 10,885 | 12.0% | |
Nonpartisan | David Molina | 10,070 | 11.1% | |
Nonpartisan | Dennis Kavanaugh | 9,848 | 10.8% | |
Nonpartisan | Dana B. Harper | 9,635 | 10.6% | |
Nonpartisan | Michael D. Whiting | 9,196 | 10.1% | |
Nonpartisan | Manuel Cortez | 5,873 | 6.5% | |
Nonpartisan | David A. Wier | 5,403 | 6.0% | |
Nonpartisan | John Robie | 6,639 | 4.0% | |
Total votes | 90,802 | 100.0% |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Mayor John Giles | City of Mesa". www.mesaaz.gov. Archived from the original on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ "Mayor John Giles". City of Mesa. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- ^ "John C. Giles, Attorney". Giles & Dickson. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "Mayor John Giles". City of Mesa, Arizona. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ Brodie, Mark (September 19, 2014). "John Giles Elected Mayor Of Mesa". KJZZ. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ Godfrey, Trevor (September 20, 2014). "Mesa mayor Giles officially sworn into office". East Valley Tribune. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ Polletta, Maria; Leavitt, Parker (September 19, 2014). "John Giles sworn in as Mesa's 40th mayor". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "Mayor John Giles". NDC Academy. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ Steinbach, Alison. "Mesa Mayor John Giles leads in reelection bid, while Julie Spilsbury could unseat Councilmember Jeremy Whittaker". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
- ^ "The Arizona Republic". The Arizona Republic. (subscription required)
- ^ "The Arizona Republic". The Arizona Republic. (subscription required)
- ^ a b c "Phoenix-area mayors blast controversial housing bill they say would 'silence our neighborhoods'". Az Central. 2024.
- ^ "Mesa mayor calls affordable housing measure 'deeply flawed' - Daily Independent". The Daily Independent at YourValley.net. 2024-03-16.
- ^ "Multiple GOP mayors, business owners backing Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly". KTAR.com. 2022-07-17. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
- ^ Basnet, Neetish (July 26, 2022). "GOP censures Mesa lawmaker, Mayor Giles". The Mesa Tribune. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
- ^ Giles, John. "Why, as a Republican mayor, I support Kamala Harris over Trump". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
- ^ "Republicans For Harris: Mesa mayor, former Arizona lawmaker co-chairing local chapter". FOX 10 Phoenix. 2024-08-05. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
- ^ "Republican Mayor John Giles feels more at "home" with the Democratic party". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
- ^ "Mayor John Giles | City of Mesa". www.mesaaz.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
- ^ "Mayoral election in Mesa, Arizona (2020)". Ballotpedia.
- ^ "MRC 20160830 E August 30, 2016 Summary Report MARICOPA COUNTYFINAL OFFICIAL RESULTS" (PDF). Maricopa County Recorder. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- ^ "Mesa, AZ Mayor - Special Election 2014". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "Mesa, AZ City Council At Large 1996". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ "Mesa, AZ City Council At Large Primary 1996". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Campaign website
- Mayoral website (Archived 2015-04-19 at the Wayback Machine)
- John Giles at Ballotpedia
- Appearances on C-SPAN