Former State Legislator Paul Boyer, who spent much of his legislative career doing battle with the City of Glendale, announced he was running for Mayor of the West Valley city. Today’s announcement sets up a campaign clash with incumbent Mayor Jerry Weiers, and possibly City Councilman Jaime Aldama, who is also considering a run.
Boyer has been expected to run for years, and rumors about an impending campaign picked up after Boyer threw in the towel on his 2022 re-election in the face of bad polling numbers. In his announcement, Boyer went after Mayor Weiers in personal fashion, giving voters a taste of what they should expect for the next 18 months.
“It’s time to remove the largest source of contempt for Glendale residents – our mayor – and start anew with leadership that serves others in word and deed,” Boyer stated.
While Boyer has been elected to office a number of times representing part of Glendale, some political observers think his name ID may come with baggage.
“Democrats hated Boyer because of his attacks on public education and his support for Trump and the election audit, and Republicans hated Boyer because of his attacks on other Republicans and the way he flip-flopped on election integrity efforts in the middle of the fight, so maybe he’s smart to find a non-partisan race where voters won’t know as much of his history?” remarked one Glendale insider.
For his part, Mayor Weiers welcomed Boyer to the race with an admonition to refrain from negative politics and a challenge to offer a more positive vision.
“Glendale has overcome some remarkable challenges and is one of Arizona’s great success stories, with growth, new jobs, a balanced budget, no new taxes or tax increases for years, a completed roads program, and outstanding contracts for our police and fire departments. If Paul believes he can improve on that record, he should make his case for it. But targeting Glendale as he has for so many years, is the wrong way to win the support of our great people.” said Weiers in a statement.
Boyer has been positioning for the race for Mayor for several years, as noted in a prior ADI story:
State Senator Paul Boyer Trashes Glendale City Officials For Following The Law He Sponsored