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Mesa, Arizona
| Mesa, Arizona | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Mesa
Mark Freeman | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2024 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2028 |
| Last city council election: | 2025 |
| Next city council election: | 2026 |
| City council seats: | 7[1] |
| City website | |
| Composition data | |
| Population: | 504,258 |
| Race: | White 65.7% African American 4.2% Asian 2.6% Native American 2.7% Pacific Islander 0.4% Multiple 12.3% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic or Latino origin 27.3% |
| Median household income: | $78,779 |
| High school graduation rate: | 91% |
| College graduation rate: | 31.5% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 census and 2023 ACS data. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. | |
| Related Mesa offices | |
| Arizona Congressional Delegation Arizona State Legislature Arizona state executive offices | |
Mesa is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona. The city's population was 504,258 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also: Council-manager government
The city of Mesa utilizes a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council, which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body, appoints an executive called a city manager to oversee the city's day-to-day operations.[2]
Mayor
The mayor is a member of the city council. He or she presides over council meetings and official city ceremonies. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[3]
The current Mayor of Mesa is Mark Freeman (nonpartisan). Freeman assumed office in 2025.
City manager
The city manager is the city's chief administrative officer. The responsibilities of the city manager include overseeing the city's day-to-day operations, planning and implementing the city's operating budget, and appointing departmental directors and other senior-level positions.[2][4]
City council
The Mesa City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for approving and adopting the city budget, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[3]
The city council is made up of seven members, including the mayor. While the mayor is elected at large, the other six members are elected by the city's six districts.[3]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in Mesa, Arizona.
Mayoral partisanship
Mesa has a Republican mayor. As of December 2025, 66 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 23 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, three are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2024
The city of Mesa, Arizona, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled for July 30, 2024. The filing deadline for this election was April 1, 2024.
2022
- See also: City elections in Mesa, Arizona (2022)
The city of Mesa, Arizona, held general elections for city council on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for August 2, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was April 4, 2022.
2020
The city of Mesa, Arizona, held general elections for mayor and city council districts 1, 2, and 3 on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for August 4, 2020. The filing deadline for this election was April 6, 2020.
2018
The city of Mesa, Arizona, held general elections for city council on November 6, 2018. The primary was on August 28, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was May 30, 2018.
2016
The city of Mesa, Arizona, held elections for mayor and city council on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on August 30, 2016. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 1, 2016. Three of the six city council seats were up for election.[5]
2014
- See also: Mesa, Arizona municipal elections, 2014.
Elections for the mayor and city council of Mesa, Arizona, were scheduled to take place on November 4, 2014. A primary election took place on August 26, 2014. The deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 28, 2014.[6] In addition to the office of the mayor, three council seats were up for election.
The office of the mayor and District 6 were open seats. In districts 4 and 5, incumbents Chris Glover and David Luna ran for re-election. Glover ran unopposed.
In the primary election for mayor, John Giles defeated Danny Ray. In the District 5 primary, David Luna defeated Robert Cluff. In the District 6 primary, Kevin Thompson defeated Trevor Hansen. Because each of these primary winners won a majority of the vote, the general election for mayor and city council scheduled for November 4, 2014, was canceled.[7]
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for Mesa | |
|---|---|
| Mesa | |
| Population | 504,258 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 141 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 69.7% |
| Black/African American | 4.4% |
| Asian | 2.4% |
| Native American | 2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% |
| Other (single race) | 6.9% |
| Multiple | 14.3% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 26.6% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 91% |
| College graduation rate | 31.5% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $78,779 |
| Persons below poverty level | 10.5% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 through June 30 of the next year. The city's Office of Management and Budget (OMB), under the oversight of the city manager, develops the budget. The city manager will submit a balanced budget to the city council for review. The city council will adopt a tentative budget and ask the public for input in the budget process. The city council may adopt revisions and then approve a final budget.[8][9]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[10]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[11] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[12] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[10]
Mesa, Arizona, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
Mesa City Plaza Building
20 E. Main Street
Mesa, AZ 85201
Phone: 480-644-2388
City Clerk's office
Mesa City Plaza Building
20 E. Main Street, Suite 150
Mesa, AZ 85201
Phone: 480-644-2099
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
- See also: Maricopa County, Arizona ballot measures
The city of Mesa is in Maricopa County. A list of ballot measures in Maricopa County is available here.
Noteworthy events
2025: Recall effort for city council member
An election to recall District 2 City Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury took place on November 4, 2025, in Mesa, Arizona. [13] Dorean Taylor defeated Spilsbury 52.6%-47.4%.[14]
The recall effort began on January 30, 2025, when Mesa resident JoAnne Robbins filed a recall petition. The grounds given in the petition for the recall effort include Spilsbury's votes in favor of changing a hotel into the site of Mesa's Off the Streets transitional housing program, increasing city council salaries, and increasing utility rates.[15]
Ahead of the recall vote, Spilsbury said, "I took these votes because I believed they were in the best interests of the City and my constituents, and I stand by my decisions." She has also said, "It’s unfortunate that the special interest group behind this effort is willing to waste hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to run a special election in an attempt to overturn the will of the voters just months after I was resoundingly reelected."[16]
Taylor completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. In her response, she said her priorities included "investing in better roads, eliminating traffic congestion, and reducing your commute times," reducing the cost of Mesa City government, and "fostering long-term solutions, support, and enhanced community outreach programs" to address homelessness.
On October 28, 2025, Politico reported that Turning Point USA, the nonprofit organization that Charlie Kirk founded in 2012, helped collect signatures in support of the recall effort, sent texts and emails opposing Spilsbury, and canvased against Spilsbury leading up to the election.[17] Before the election, Politico's Riya Misra wrote, "the outcomes of [Turning Point's] charge against Spilsbury may determine the staying power of Kirk’s legacy, and just how much TPUSA’s influence will shape the future of the party."[18] Ahead of the election, Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point's chief operating officer, criticized Spilsbury, a Republican, for endorsing Kamala Harris (D) in the 2024 presidential election.[19]
During a July 2024 city council meeting, Spilsbury said, "We do not serve a party; we serve the people of Mesa. ... That's how I've approached every vote, every decision and every congregation: with the goal of doing what’s right for our entire community regardless of political affiliation.”[20]
Taylor, also a Republican, said, "I think party affiliation is important when you're running for anything, because everyone will have a bias no matter which party they’re in... I think it’s important to tell that to your voters so that if they don't talk to you, they kind of have an idea of which way you're going to vote.”[21]
Recall organizers needed to collect 3,070 valid signatures to trigger a recall election. Of the signatures that were collected, 3,858 were found to be valid. The filing deadline for candidates interested in running in the recall election was September 5, 2025.[15][22]
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Mesa, following the death of George Floyd.
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Mesa, Arizona, as a city or county that did not prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[23]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The mayor is included in this number as one of the city council members.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 City of Mesa, "Organizational Chart," accessed August 21, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 City of Mesa, "Mayor & City Council," accessed August 21, 2014
- ↑ City of Mesa, "City Manager," accessed October 30, 2014
- ↑ City of Mesa Clerk, "Election Information," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ Maricopa County, "2014 Election Calendar," accessed May 14, 2014
- ↑ Maricopa County Recorder, "2014 Election Results," accessed October 30, 2014
- ↑ City of Mesa, "Executive Budget Plan Fiscal Year 2022-2023," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ City of Mesa, "Budget Process," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 23, 2023
- ↑ Axios Phoenix, "Spilsbury concedes in Mesa City Council recall election," November 4, 2025
- ↑ Maricopa County Elections, "Unofficial 2025 Election Results," accessed November 5, 2025
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 azcentral.com, "Mesa Councilmember Julie Spilsbury, who backed Kamala Harris, faces recall effort," February 7, 2025
- ↑ Mesa Tribune, "Recall effort targets Mesa councilwoman," February 10, 2025
- ↑ Politico, Turning Point faces first big test of its legacy in Arizona," October 10, 2025
- ↑ Politico, "The low-profile local races with national implications," November 4, 2025
- ↑ X, "Tyler Bowyer," October 11, 2025
- ↑ KJZZ, "Mesa sets Nov. 4 date for Turning Point-backed City Council recall election," July 10, 2025
- ↑ KJZZ, "Mesa councilwoman concedes defeat in a recall election triggered by Turning Point USA," November 5, 2025
- ↑ Mesa, AZ, "Special Recall Election 2025," accessed July 11, 2025
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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