What are the Gilbert mayor and council races about? What to know before you vote – AZCentral

Opinion: Gilbert has a hotly contested mayor race, three council seats and a general plan before voters in the Aug. 4 primary election. Here's what to know.

Gilbert mayor candidates (from left) Brigette Peterson, Matt Nielsen and Lynne King Smith.(Photo: file photo)

Gilbert politics are generally divided between two camps: The conservatives, who are backed by state legislators, and the moderates, who are backed by those who historically ran town government.

If you wanted to oversimplify it, you could say the Aug. 4 primary roughly follows those lines.

But theres a lot more nuance to the mayor and councilraces. Heres what to know:

No matter who wins, the mayor and council will look a lot different next year. Depending on the outcome of the election, only one member Aimee Yentes could remain in office.

Mayor Jenn Daniels isnt running again. Neither is Councilman Jared Taylor. Vice Mayor Scott Anderson also is up for re-election.

Even more of a shakeup occurred this spring when Eddie Cook resigned to fill an appointment as county assessor, Brigette Peterson resigned to run for mayor and Jordan Ray resigned to run for justice of the peace.

That set up a politically contentious process that drew a surprisingly robust 105 applicants. Bill Spence was appointed to fill Cooks seat, which still has two years left on his term, while Yung Koprowski and Scott September were later appointed to fill Petersons and Rays seats.

They arent facing election this year.

But the amount of turnover has perked up both sides,who see this election as a bid to solidifytheir influence.

There are three candidates technically four, if you count write-in candidate Joshua Lipscomb running for mayor.

Matt Nielsen is executive vice president of a charter school management company and founder ofthe Educational Freedom Institute, a charter school think tank. He has criticized the growth of town government during the pandemic and called for increased personal responsibility instead of government solutions.

Nielsen is running with council candidates Laurin Hendrix and Tyler Hudgins, and his endorsements include conservative state Reps. Warren Petersen and Travis Grantham, council members Yentes and Taylor and the socially conservative Center for Arizona Policy Action.

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Brigette Peterson is a community volunteer. She served on the planning commission for 14 years and was elected to the council in 2014. She has said she intends to serve as a full-time mayor and that her top priority is to ensure businesses remain stable despite pandemic uncertainty.

Peterson counts moderate formercouncil members Ben Cooper, Les Presmyk and Don Skousen among her endorsements, as well as the Gilbert police and fire unions.

Most of the attacks in this campaign have involved Nielsen and Peterson. But theres a third candidate on the ballotwho has amassed a giant war chest more than her opponents combined, with a slew of individual contributions.

Lynne King Smith is CEO of a ticketing software business who started a co-working space targeted toward women in downtown Gilbert. She also counts business growth and recovery among her top priorities.

King Smiths endorsements include former Gilbert Mayor Cynthia Dunham, Howard Morrison, the creator of Morrison Ranch, and former Gilbert school board member Adelaida Severson.

Its possible, given their priorities, that King Smith and Peterson may split the moderate vote in Gilbert.

There are four candidates running for two four-year seats.

Scott Anderson is the sole incumbent. He was a longtime Gilbert planning director who helped found the Riparian Preserve. He was elected to the Town Council in 2016 and has support from former Mayor Cynthia Dunham, former Vice Mayor Larry Morrison and the Gilbert police and fire unions.

Tyler Hudgins runs a social media consulting business and has chaired the downtown redevelopment commission. He is running with mayoral candidate Matt Nielsen and has collected more cash than his council opponents.

Bus Obayomi is an immigrant and program manager at a technology company who has said he was motivated to run, in part, to bridge cultures and welcome those who dont feel welcome in Gilbert. Former councilman Victor Petersen ranks among his supporters.

Kathy Tilque recently retired as the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce president and CEO after two decades at the helm. She has support from former Mayor John Lewis, former council members Ben Cooper and Don Skousen and Gilbert police and fire unions.

Arguably, Tilque could be considered a favorite of the moderate camp and Hudgins of the conservatives, but its harder to draw the lines on Anderson and Obayomi, who have reached out to members of both camps.

There are two candidates on the ballot for the two-year seat, plus two write-ins: Ronaldo Ruiz and Garrett Glover.

Laurin Hendrix is a conservative former lawmaker who now serves on the Maricopa County Community College District board. His tenure as board presidentwas a rocky one, as he and his colleagues battled the faculty. Hendrix is running on mayoral candidate Matt Nielsens slate and has the support of conservative council members Aimee Yentes and Jared Taylor.

Bill Spence was appointed to the seat in March. He is a retired Navy lieutenant commander and serves on the parks and veterans advisory committees. Spences endorsements include moderate former council members Ben Cooper and John Sentz, Gilbert school board member Jill Humpherys and the Gilbert police and fire unions.

Gilberts general plan is on the ballot. The plan must be adopted by voters every 10 years and is supposed to help guide development decisions a critical document, given that the town is expected to developthe last of its last major vacant parcels by 2030.

The version before voters will be in effect for the final decade until that happens.

Virtually every candidate touts smart growth and additional job growthas priorities. There has been huge interest during this electionin previous development decisions, including a 2018 vote on a controversialCity Gateapartment complex that the developer eventually withdrew.

The latest generalplan does not take any radical turns from whats alreadyin place, but for the first time it organizes what kind of development should go where around three major themes: Community, opportunity and connectivity.

It is an attempt to recognizethat many planning decisions including housing, business development, transportation and recreation are interconnected.

Yet the plan has largely flown under the radar: It received no arguments for or against it.

Reach Allhands at joanna.allhands@arizonarepublic.com. On Twitter: @joannaallhands.

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What are the Gilbert mayor and council races about? What to know before you vote - AZCentral