Sanchez enters race for Phoenix mayor
Outsider GOP candidate looks to break status quo
City Hall outsider Moses Sanchez jumped into the Phoenix mayoral race Tuesday — the first Republican to do so.
Sanchez, 40, has run in local Republican circles for years and previously served on the Tempe Union High School Governing Board, but has never sought city office.
If elected, he would be the first Phoenix mayor to be elected in about 34 years who was not previously a City Council member. He would also be the first Republican mayor elected since 1999 and the first Latino mayor in the city’s history.
Sanchez emigrated from Panama at age 4. He’s a 22-year member of the U.S. Navy, serving in both active duty and reservist roles. He currently lives in Ahwatukee and runs a digital-marketing company focused on small businesses.
Sanchez said Phoenix residents began contacting him about running when Mayor Greg Stanton in October announced his intent to resign to run
for Congress.
“There was a theme (in the phone calls) that I understand, and that’s the frustration of the status quo, business as usual,” Sanchez said.
He said the current City Council is “kicking the can down the road” and ignoring issues that residents care about, such as pension costs and public safety. Sanchez said he wants to change the culture of the council and force public discussion about these issues.
Sanchez also expressed concern about the council’s lack of transparency in negotiations with the Phoenix Suns regarding renovations of Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Sanchez would not say whether he’d support publicly financed renovations, saying the city has not made enough information public to make a decision.
“The lack of transparency means you can’t really come to a solution. We need to start with communication and then transparency, and you’re not going to get any of that without leadership,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez joins council members Daniel Valenzuela and Kate Gallego, both Democrats, in the race to replace Stanton, also a Democrat. City elections are nonpartisan, but politics often play a role in Phoenix.
Stanton has not yet resigned or said when he intends to do so. He must resign by May 30, but he could resign before then.