After 11 years as Gilbert officeholder, Mayor Daniels won’t seek reelection
Gilbert Mayor Jenn Daniels announced Monday morning that she will not run for reelection.
Daniels was appointed mayor when John Lewis resigned in 2016 and she won election in an uncontested race the following month. Prior to that, she served on the Town Council from 2009 to 2016.
“I have loved the nearly 11 years I have spent serving Gilbert,” Daniels wrote in a tweet on her personal account. “It’s been an incredible experience and we have so much to be grateful for as a community. It has been a difficult decision but I have decided not to run again for Mayor.”
The Arizona Republic had asked Daniels in December about rumors that she would not seek reelection and she laughed it off. “There’s always rumors in the political realm,” she said as she confirmed she would run.
But a campaign finance report filed in January shows little fundraising on her part. She collected no individual donations in the fourth quarter of 2019. By comparison, Mesa Mayor John Giles raised more than $230,000 from individual donations in that time for his reelection campaign.
Daniels told The Republic on Monday that “it is time for me to transition.” She offered no details on what she’ll do next, saying she has no current plans to run for higher office or serve as a staff member for another politician.
She said her priorities in her final year as mayor are to celebrate Gilbert’s centennial, grow the One Gilbert program to end teen suicide and address transportation issues through a poten
tial streets bond request.
Daniels filed for divorce from her husband of nearly 20 years in October, according to Maricopa County Superior Court records. She declined to comment on that, saying it was not recent and not the reason for not running again.
“I have four kids, and they are my top priority,” she said.
Gilbert’s next mayor will be elected in either the primary in August or the general election in November. The new mayor’s term would begin in January.
Councilwoman Brigette Peterson filed paperwork for a mayoral run less than 30 minutes after Daniels’s Twitter announcement. Another council member also said he is considering a run.
Four considering mayoral run
So far, Peterson and Gilbert residents Sandra Reynolds and Gary Livacari have filed statements of interest to run for mayor.
Town Clerk Lisa Maxwell said Peterson would not have to resign her council post to run for mayor until she turns in her petitions, which are due between March 9 and April 6.
Peterson, who has served on the Town Council since 2015, said she “officially learned today” that Daniels won’t seek reelection. She said she had an “inkling” and a “gut feeling” this would happen.
Peterson said she’s been thinking about running for mayor for about a year, but never would have run against Daniels.
Councilman Eddie Cook said he is also considering a mayoral bid. Cook has served on the Town Council since 2011. He said running for mayor depends on what happens with his application to the Maricopa County assessor post vacated by Paul Petersen. Cook said he made the short list for the appointment and is committed to seeing that process through.
“The news is new for all of us,” Cook said, adding he first heard about Daniels’s decision on Monday morning.
Daniels said she may eventually endorse a mayoral candidate but declined to comment who she might back.