3 up for mayor, 4 for council in Gilbert Primary
Apr. 13—It's a three-horse race in the July 30 Primary Election for mayor while four candidates qualified to run for the two open positions on Gilbert Town Council.
Vice Mayor Scott Anderson and newcomers Shane Krauser and Natalie DiBernardo turned in their nomination papers by deadline Monday for the ballot.
In the council race, Aaron Accurso, Noah Mundt, Monte Lyons and Kenny Buckland qualified.
If there is a run-off for the non-partisan seats it'll be Nov. 5, when the Presidential Election tops a ticket that also will include all county offices and state Legislature. In addition, there could be as many as a dozen propositions on the ballot, including two on abortion and one extending the MAG half-cent sales tax that funds transportation projects across Maricopa County.
Embattled Mayor Brigette Peterson in January withdrew her bid for a second term. Anderson is foregoing re-election for his council seat and Councilwoman Kathy Tilque opted not to run again.
Anderson retired from the Town of Gilbert after a career as its Planning and Zoning director. He was first elected to council in 2016.
Krauser is a former Maricopa County prosecutor. He announced his candidacy back in January 2023, well ahead of the others.
DiBernardo launched her campaign after Peterson dropped out. The Realtor also ran for a state House seat but lost in the 2022 Primary.
Accurso, who is a procurement and operations manager, decided to jump into the race after observing the council meetings for years.
Amd Mundt, an energy efficiency engineer and program manager, serves on the town's Planning Commission. He was a finalist in 2022 to fill a council seat vacated by Eddie Cook, who took the job as Maricopa County assessor.
Lyons is an Air Force veteran who has worked as a tradesman and held managerial and leadership roles in aerospace manufacturing for over 35 years.
Buckland retired in 2016 after 20 years with Gilbert Police. The former Police lieutenant commander now works as a senior sales director.
Each seat is for four years. The annual salary of the mayor is $43,631 and for council members, $21,012.
Whoever wins election will help guide the town in its final decade of growth. The town of roughly 288,000 residents is expected to grow to 330,000 with built-out.
The council also creates policy and approves the budget. The budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 was $2 billion.
Council has been dealing with how to fund critical capital projects for police, fire and parks and recreation. Securing funding for capital projects will be an ongoing concern for the town.
Growing the tax base also will be crucial in the coming years for Gilbert with the state repealing the rental tax and eyeing the food tax as well.
The recently implemented state flat tax also is expected to take a chunk out of the town's budget.
Other issues facing the council is how the town handles a future of less water coming from the Colorado River during an ongoing drought affecting the Western states.
Group teen violence also is a concern that has became a focal point in town this year. Although a council subcommittee completed is work with recommendations coming to council April 16, it's sure to remain a topic of conversation for the foreseeable future.
