Stanton Set To Resign To Run

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton announced on Monday that he will resign as mayor next week. Stanton is a congressional candidate and Arizona has a resign to run law.

Stanton’s resignation will be effective on Tuesday, May 29.

Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio hailed the announcement in a Facebook post:

In less than one week, Phoenix will finally focus on the priorities our citizens have been demanding: more police and a permanent fix for our crumbling roads. There has not been one single meeting this year at the city of Phoenix focused on fixing our roads and hiring more police to protect our families.

I have been working with Councilwoman Thelda Williams and others to put together and advance a plan that will take monies from light rail expansion and put it into hiring more police and fixing our roads.

Our roads are in shambles, our police are understaffed and response times are suffering. These are the core functions of local government, and it’s time to refocus our energy and resources on delivering the basic services our citizens need. We don’t need to spend $10 million studying garbage, pay over $200,000 for a guy to do some plagiarizing, the dole out millions more every year on lobbying and memberships. We don’t need an overpriced streetcar expansion when the single greatest “achievement” of the current system is spreading crime throughout the city.

With new leadership, it is time to truly move Phoenix forward by refocusing on the most basic responsibilities of local government. It’s unfortunate that we’ve had to wait this long to get back to the basics of good government, but I am hopeful that the time for Phoenix to take on our challenges and once again be reborn from the ashes is at hand.

Vice Mayor Thelda Williams will assume the role as interim mayor. A special election must be held to replace Stantocan be held.

The election could be held in May, August or November 2018, depending on when the City calls for an election.