Chandler mayor quarantining at home with COVID

Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke is quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, the city confirmed on Monday.

Hartke said he has experienced minor symptoms, but is recovering.

“After dodging the virus for the past year, it has finally caught up with me,” he said in an emailed statement.

Hartke has continued to participate in city business remotely and attended Monday’s council meeting virtually.

“As mayor of the Community of Innovation, it has been an easy transition to participate in my daily activities virtually,” he said.

No other council members or staff are quarantining or have developed symptoms, the city said.

Hartke is the latest Phoenix-area city leader to contract the virus as Arizona continues to see high rates of infection.

Mesa City Councilmember Francisco Heredia and then-Gilbert Town Councilmember Jared Taylor tested positive for COVID-19 in early January while two other Gilbert council members tested positive in December.

Corey Woods tested positive just days before he was sworn in as Tempe’s new mayor in July and in the northwest Valley, Surprise Mayor Skip Hall and then-councilmember David Sanders tested positive in June.

Hartke told The Arizona Republic he began feeling fatigued early last week and tried to rest on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to see if he felt better.

He later developed a low fever. Unsure if it was COVID-19, he canceled in-person meetings and began working remotely.

He notified the city on Jan. 19 of his symptoms and was tested two days later. He received the results on Friday.

Hartke said his symptoms have been mild but somewhat unexpected. By Sunday night, many of his symptoms had subsided and he hopes to be back at City Hall by the end of the week if he continues to improve.