Phoenix City Council

The Phoenix City Council is the governing body of the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The council is made up of nine members, including a mayor and eight council members representing individual districts. While the mayor is elected in a citywide election, city council members are elected by votes only in the districts they represent, with both the mayor and council members serving four year terms.^[1]

Phoenix City Council
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Founded	1948
Leadership
Mayor	Kate Gallego (D) since March 2019
Vice Mayor	Debra Stark (D) since January 2024
Public Safety Committee Chair	Ann O’Brien (R)
Structure
Seats	9
Political groups	3 Officially nonpartisan   Democratic (5)   Republican (3)   Independent (1)

The current mayor of Phoenix is Kate Gallego, a Democrat, who won the seat after defeating her former fellow-council member, Daniel Valenzuela in a run-off election in March 2019.^[2] In setting city policy and passing rules and regulations, the mayor and city council members each have equal voting power.^[1]

History

Before 1948, the city of Phoenix was governed by commission. In 1948, the system was changed to a city council with a mayor selected in a run-off election in non-partisan elections. In 1982, the election system was changed so that councilors represented districts.^[3]

Members

Mayor Kate Gallego

District map of the council, effective from 2013 to 2024^[4][5]
(Interactive version)

District	Council Members	Party (officially nonpartisan)
Mayor	Kate Gallego	Democratic
District 1	Ann O'Brien	Republican
District 2	Jim Waring	Republican
District 3	Debra Stark	Democratic
District 4	Laura Pastor	Democratic
District 5	Betty Guardado	Democratic
District 6	Kevin Robinson	Independent
District 7	Carlos Galindo-Elvira	Democratic
District 8	Kesha Hodge Washington	Democratic

References

1. "Official Site of the City of Phoenix – About the Phoenix City Council". Phoenix.gov. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
2. "Latest numbers: Kate Gallego wins big in race for Phoenix mayor". azcentral. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
3. Dilworth, Richard (2011). Cities in American Political History. Sage Publications. p. 608. ISBN 978-0872899117. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
4. "City of Phoenix - Council Districts" (PDF). City of Phoenix. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 31, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
5. Bowling, Joshua; Seely, Taylor (August 27, 2021). "4 Phoenix-area cities are undergoing redistricting to keep up with growth. Here's what it could mean for you". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved October 15, 2022.