Nick Griemsmann

Nick Griemsmann ran for election to the Phoenix City Council to represent District 8 in Arizona. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Griemsmann completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Nick Griemsmann was born in Medina, Ohio. He earned a bachelor's degree from Northern Arizona University in 2022. His career experience includes working as a nonprofit director.^[1]

Elections

2022

General runoff election

General runoff election for Phoenix City Council District 8

Kesha Hodge Washington defeated incumbent Carlos Garcia in the general runoff election for Phoenix City Council District 8 on March 14, 2023.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kesha Hodge Washington (Nonpartisan)	55.1	9,411
	Carlos Garcia (Nonpartisan)	44.9	7,682

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,093
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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General election

General election for Phoenix City Council District 8

Incumbent Carlos Garcia and Kesha Hodge Washington advanced to a runoff. They defeated Denise Ceballos Viner and Nick Griemsmann in the general election for Phoenix City Council District 8 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Carlos Garcia (Nonpartisan)	39.4	13,896
✔		Kesha Hodge Washington (Nonpartisan)	37.9	13,371
	Submit photo	Denise Ceballos Viner (Nonpartisan)	11.5	4,057
		Nick Griemsmann (Nonpartisan)	10.9	3,858
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	119

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 35,301
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

Nick Griemsmann completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Griemsmann's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My background includes managing a Housing & Urban Development (HUD) program, working with Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), Community Bridges (addiction recovery), Urgent Psychiatric Center (UPC), Crisis Response Network, and volunteering to help the less fortunate. I have volunteered my time with the homeless, seriously mentally ill (SMI), incarcerated and past prison inmates, at an orphanage for immigrant children and at the Phoenix Children's Hospital. Currently, I am the Director of a nonprofit organization here in Phoenix.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Community Safety
Mental Health Advocacy
Youth Empowerment

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am most passionate about community safety, mental health advocacy, and youth empowerment. Community safety because the residents in my district deserve to feel safe in their community. This includes having a fully funded and properly trained police force, quicker response times, and community policing initiatives. Mental health advocacy because of my own personal background with helping those struggling with mental health issues, substance use, and homelessness. I would like to create new innovative programs to deal with the fentanyl epidemic and to help the homeless in the City of Phoenix. And youth empowerment because I believe in investing in our community's youth is imperative to creating a prosperous city for future generations.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Griemsmann submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on July 21, 2022.

May 20 submission

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My heart is to help make a positive difference in my community. As a resident of Phoenix, I care about the businesses, schools, and families here. My goal is to bring people together in hopes of creating unity among citizens. I believe City Council needs leaders that are not extreme to a point of being unwilling to work with others, but able to see all viewpoints involved, and to be able to find the common ground. I believe unity is how we make great, positive impacts to our beautiful city. As your councilmember, I will represent each individual the best that I can. My background includes managing a Housing & Urban Development (HUD) program, working with Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), Community Bridges (addiction recovery), Urgent Psychiatric Center (UPC), Crisis Response Network, and volunteering to help the less fortunate. I have volunteered helping the homeless, seriously mentally ill (SMI), incarcerated and past prison inmates, at an orphanage for immigrant children, and at the Phoenix Children's Hospital. Currently, I am the Director of a nonprofit organization. I believe that I am the most qualified to represent our community. Thank you for your support!

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

UNITY - Bringing the Community Together
PEACEMAKER - Finding Common Ground with Policy Makers
COMPASSION - Helping the Less Fortunate

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Because of my own past experience with the mental healthcare system, I have a passion to help my community find better pathways to bring hope and recovery to those suffering. I see how the less fortunate in District 8 are suffering and my heart is to help in any way that I can.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

Phoenix City Council works with the State of Arizona with grants and other funds to support programs for our citizens. City Council also funds the police department and creates ordinances to make the city a safer place for people.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to anyone that has a good character and treats others like they would like to be treated.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

My political philosophy is pretty simple; care about your community and represent it to the best of your ability with an honest heart.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I believe an overall care for your community is a great principle to have, as well as to treat others how you would like to be treated. These are two important principles for an elected official to possess because they are a representative of many individuals, not just themselves.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Budgeting, community outreach, communications, leadership, public speaking, administration, etc.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first historical event that I remember happening was in my childhood. It was when NASA's Challenger space shuttle exploded shortly after takeoff. I was only 5 and a half years old but I remember watching it on television.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was in high school at Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). I worked there for about one year. Working at KFC helped me build confidence and learn how to interact with customers, as well as I picked up a good work ethic.

What is your favorite book? Why?

I believe hope is a very important thing for people to have and the Bible gives me hope for a better future.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I struggled with mental health challenges in my early twenties. Looking back I am thankful for what I went through because it gave me great compassion for others going through life struggles.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

A City Councilperson has a lot of responsibility in regards of how the city's money is spent. I think more people should be aware of this because to stop government waste you need to know who is spending the taxpayer dollars. At the city level, it is the City Councilmembers that have the most say on where the money is spent.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe anyone with a honest heart to help their community should run for political office. I do also think previous experience in management, administration, and / or government is good for a candidate to have.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Compassion, kindness, honesty, budgeting experience, public speaking, administration skills, and good overall communication abilities.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Griemsmann submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on May 20, 2021.

External links

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Candidate

Phoenix City Council District 8

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 21, 2022

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 21, 2022

[1]

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Nick Griemsmann

Contents

Biography

Elections

2022

General runoff election

General runoff election for Phoenix City Council District 8

General election

General election for Phoenix City Council District 8

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

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Public Policy

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