Phoenix Councilwoman Peggy Neely is expected to officially announce her bid for mayor of Phoenix this morning at the Westin Kierland Golf Club in Scottsdale. (It's really in Phoenix, but they like to use the Scottsdale address. Adds a little panache, we suppose.)
Anyway, her press release says only that she is making an announcement of importance to Phoenix.
If she makes it official, Neely would be the second Phoenix council member to announce plans to run for mayor.
Neely, who represents north and northeast Phoenix (District 2), first joined the Phoenix City Council in 2001. She was re-elected just last year, but she must resign her post if she wants to start campaigning for mayor.
Arizona's resign-to-run law requires paid elected officials to resign if they want to run for another office, unless they are in the final year of their term.
That means anyone on the Phoenix City Council who wants to be the next mayor of Phoenix -- except for Claude Mattox, wrapping up the last year of his third (and final) term -- has to resign his or her seat in exchange for a mayoral campaign.
Mattox was the first of Phoenix's elected officials to announce his intention to run for mayor by forming an exploratory committee. It's a way to test the waters before committing to a full-blown campaign.
Other names that have been floated for the job of Phoenix mayor include former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods and Deputy Attorney General (and former Phoenix Councilman) Greg Stanton.
UPDATE: Neely announces launch of exploratory committee for a mayoral run.
