Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers is a husband, father, grandfather and devoted public servant who has spent his adult life owning and operating successful businesses, volunteering with non-profit organizations, and serving his community through public service. He and his wife Sandy have been married for 33 years and have lived in Arizona since 1966. Together, they have one daughter and two grandsons. A battle with cancer as a young man gave Mayor Weiers an outlook on life, focused on service, creative problem solving, and enjoying life to the fullest. It is with these values that he diligently serves as Mayor of Glendale every day.

Since taking office in January 2013, Mayor Weiers has actively worked to bring new economic and community activity to Glendale. In just his first year, Mayor Weiers helped the city obtain more than a million dollars in grants for public safety and local non-profit groups, established an annual event to help military veterans, and welcomed many new businesses to Glendale as the City strives to be the most business friendly community in Arizona.

Prior to taking office in Glendale, Mayor Weiers served four terms in the Arizona State Legislature. During that time, he chaired the Natural Resources, Military Affairs and Public Safety, and Rules Committees. Mayor Weiers also served Arizona on the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Military Sustainability Task Force.

Throughout his life, Mayor Weiers has been devoted to serving his community. His long and impressive record has earned him recognition for his work on behalf of sportsmen, motorcyclists, and military veterans groups, to name a few.

Mayor Weiers is also an accomplished pilot as well as a member of the Civil Air Patrol with over two decades of flying experience. He owns a hangar and flies out of his home base at the Glendale Airport.

John Giles was elected the 40th Mayor of Mesa, Arizona in August, 2014. Giles earned degrees from Brigham Young University in Political Science and Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. He has managed his own law firm in downtown Mesa for more than 20 years.

In 1996, Giles was elected to the Mesa City Council and from 1998 to 2000, he served as Vice Mayor. After his service on the City Council, he remained active in the community and served on 25 boards and committees. Giles has been very involved in interfaith relations throughout the Phoenix-metro area, including serving on the Board of the Arizona Interfaith Movement. As Mayor, he serves on numerous local and regional boards and committees.

Born and raised in Mesa, he graduated from Westwood High School in 1978. Giles is an active marathoner and triathlete who has completed two full Ironman competitions, 20 marathons and four Boston Marathons. In 2013, he was named “Mesa Man of the Year.” Giles and his wife Dawn have been married for more than thirty years. They have five children and five grandchildren.

Kenneth N. Weise was appointed Mayor in June 2014. Prior to his mayoral appointment, he served as an Avondale City Council Member beginning in January 2006 when he was initially appointed to a vacant council seat. He was subsequently elected to the City Council in September 2007 and, during his tenure, served as Avondale’s Vice Mayor from 2008 to 2010.

Mayor Weise currently serves on the National League of Cities Community and Economic Development Committee, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) Regional Council, Chair of the MAG Transportation Policy Committee, member of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s Board of Directors and the Southwest Valley Chamber’s Board of Directors. A true public servant, he has also served on several other committees including the Charter Review Committee, the Contributions Assistance Council Subcommittee and as Chair of the Western Maricopa Enterprise Zone (WMEZ). As a strong supporter of education and youth, Mayor Weise is currently a member of the Arizona Mayors Education Roundtable. Mayor Weise is a current member of the National League of Cities (NLC) and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.

Mayor Weise is a Corporate Sales Manager for the Wigwam Resort and previously served on the Board of Elders at Trinity Lutheran Church. He volunteers for various organizations and feels strongly about giving back to his community. He studied Business Administration at Moraine Valley College in Illinois. He and his wife, Shari, have two daughters and have called Avondale home since 1995.

Les is currently starting his third term as the Mayor of Carefree. This followed serving as the Vice Mayor. Prior to being elected to the Town Council, Les served on the Carefree Planning and Zoning Commission.

During Les’s prior working career, he worked for both Procter & Gamble and the Pillsbury Company in marketing and promotion. Following this experience, Les worked in marketing and long range planning assignments at Glendinning Companies, the largest promotional services firm in the United States.

Les was one of the founders of and Managing Partner of a marketing and promotion services firm, the Connecticut Consulting Group, that within ten years grew to be the 5th largest in the United States. This firm was acquired by a leading New York based advertising agency in 1989, Darcy Masius Benton & Bowles. During his marketing and long-range planning career, Les worked with for 160 companies in an agency/consulting role, either developing assignments directly or supervising others. Long term clients Les worked with included NFL Properties, Marriott, IBM, Coca Cola, Shell Oil, Kodak, RalstonPurina, Frito Lay, Kimberly Clark and Quaker State.

Les is a Director Emeritus of New Pathways for Youth (formerly Greater

Phoenix Youth at Risk), having served as Chairman of the Program Content & Structure and Strategic Planning Committees

Les is a member of the Paradise Valley Community College Advisory Council

Les was President of the Boulders Homeowners Association

Les was very active with Cornell University for fourteen years (1996-2010) interfacing with and evaluating over 4,000 MBA students serving as one of two outside “judges” for their MBA entrepreneurial studies program

Les has also worked with several local charities in the marketing and planning areas. These have included St. Vincent de, Paul, Banner Hospice and the Scottsdale Cultural Council.

Les earned both a BA (1965) and a MA (1967) from Arizona State University, and he and his wife, Mary, have resided at the Boulders in Carefree, Arizona, since 1996.

Mayor Kevin Hartke has lived in Chandler since 1985. Although he began his tenure on City Council in January of 2011, he also served for a year as an interim Councilmember in 2008. He continues to serve as Lead Pastor at Trinity Christian Fellowship in Chandler where he has worked since 1985. Kevin has a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from University of Missouri, Columbia; and a Master's degree in Theology with Fuller Theological Seminary.

Kevin is involved extensively in the state and Chandler community. He currently serves regionally as the Co-chair of the Continuum of Care Regional Committee to End Homelessness for the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG). Kevin serves as a board member on three other regional boards as well: MAG’s Economic Development Committee, the Valley’s Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA) and the Valley Metro Light rail. Kevin is also the statewide director of a nonprofit organization, For Our City. For Our City is a collaborative effort of government, business, nonprofit and faith leaders gathered to find solutions for needs in a community.

In Chandler, Kevin volunteers with several organizations. He serves on the board of the Desert Cancer Foundation of Arizona (DCFA), helps with American Cancer Society, serves as a member of the Public Policy Committee with the Chandler Chamber of Commerce and with the Downtown Chandler Community Partnership (DCCP). He is a literacy advocate that reads weekly to 6th graders at Galveston Elementary School with BookPALS. Kevin has volunteered at Galveston for the past 11 years.

In the City of Chandler, his past service had included being a commissioner on the Planning and Zoning Commission, chairman of Human Relations Commission, chairman of the 2010 Complete Count Committee, member of a previous Charter Revision Committee and an ex official member of Chandler Airport Commission. He is currently active with Chandler's two Sister Cities, Tullamore, Ireland; and Tainan, Taiwan.

He also has served on the executive board of the Chandler Coalition On Youth Substance Abuse (CCYSA), coached soccer for the YMCA, organized citywide community volunteer efforts and helped organize and lead Chandler’s first traditional neighborhood association, Arrowhead Meadows. Regionally, Kevin’s past service has included a Governor’s commission on Faith and Communities and a Congressional Committee on Faith and Neighborhoods.

Kevin has been married to Lynne for more than 35 years. They have four children: Nathan, Aleah, Katelyn and Zachary and three grandchildren, Micah, Madelynn and Benjamin.

Since being elected to the Phoenix City Council in 2013, Kate Gallego's entrepreneurial spirit and extensive economic development knowledge have helped transform Phoenix's economy and revitalize the city's transportation system. Kate's proven track record includes leading the campaign to pass Phoenix's citywide transportation plan and spearheading the successful Phoenix Equal Pay Ordinance.

Kate is passionate about building a Phoenix that works for everybody. She led the effort for the city to partner with AARP to better serve older adults. She has worked with Councilwoman Debra Stark to support more young people entering the construction workforce, and Kate has championed innovative partnerships with ASU and the University of Arizona. Kate Gallego believes that everyone should have access to cutting edge medical care, and she has been the city council lead on expanding Phoenix's biomedical campus.

A strong proponent of investing in the infrastructure that Phoenix needs to grow, Kate is a member of the bi-partisan coalition Building America's Future. Her work on infrastructure has earned recognition from Women in Transportation and Friends of Transit. Her work on equity issues has earned her the recognition of the "Courage" Award from the Girl Scouts Cactus-Pine Council, Elected Official of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers Arizona Chapter, and the Rising Leader Award from the Anti-Defamation League. AZ Business Magazine named her as one of the most influential women in business.

Prior to being elected, Kate worked on Strategic Planning and Economic Development for Salt River Project. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard University and earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2015 the Wharton School of Business named her in its "40 Under 40" list. She is the proud mom of Michael Gallego.

Mayor Anna Tovar was elected to the Tolleson City Council in 2016. Developing regional partnership and collaborating with local and state elected officials to advocate for her constituency is one of her top priorities. A lifelong Arizona resident, Mayor Tovar was a teacher for five years, and served on the Tolleson City Council for seven and a half years and was Vice Mayor for two years until she joined the House of Representatives in 2009. In 2009, she became Senator Tovar and served as the District 19 representative for Avondale, Tolleson and West Phoenix until January of 2015.

As a former Tolleson teacher and mother, she understood the issues demanding immediate attention such as schools, infrastructure needs, affordable healthcare, and building a strong economy and worked rigorously to address those matter at a state level. As Senator Tovar she developed a well-earned reputation as a legislator who fought for the dignity of underserved people. In 2011, she championed the effort to restore funding for nearly 100 patients on the transplant list after funding for the program was lost saving many lives.

During her time at the state she was member of the Senate Judiciary, Senate Appropriations, Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Joint Committee on Capital Review. She served as Senate Minority Leader and Latino Caucus Chair. During her time as Senator Tovar she worked as a Campaign Director for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She fundraised to find a cure for cancer and to assist cancer patients. As a two time cancer survivor, Mayor Tovar is passionate to help find a cure for cancer.

Throughout her career at the state, she knew one day she would return to her hometown Tolleson and once again serve as a local elected official. She is proud of her roots in Tolleson, Arizona, proud to be a product of the public school system and proud to have given back as a teacher, mentor and leader in her community. Mayor Tovar and her husband have been married for 20 years and have two wonderful sons.