Glendale's uncontested mayoral race leaves Jerry Weiers' war chest mostly untapped

Political donors invested more than $303,000 in what was expected to be a competitive mayoral race in Glendale this election season.

Jamie Aldama, a former councilmember representing the city’s Ocotillo District, exited the race last month after the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office found that he fell 19 signatures short of qualifying for the ballot.

It positioned his would-be opponent, sitting Mayor Jerry Weiers, to retain the seat for a fourth term without reaching far into his war chest, which had $219,410 as of April 1.

Aldama’s campaign account had just shy of $60,000 before he withdrew from the election.

With Glendale set to have an uncontested race for city mayor, what happens to all that cash?

Both camps' funds will stay where they are — at least for now.

“The campaign dollars can’t be used for anything unless it’s election-related,” Aldama said. “So those funds will remain there.”

Constantine Querard, Weier’s campaign consultant, echoed that.

“Everything that’s left over will stay in there for future considerations,” he said.

Win or lose, candidates can hold onto their unspent cash, saving it for their political future.

If a candidate or an incumbent doesn’t intend to run for office again, they can spend the money in a few ways as part of a winding-down process.

They can return the money directly to the donor or donate some to a charity. They can also contribute to a political action committee, a political party, or another candidate’s campaign.

What is Aldama planning to do with his funds?

Over the past year, Aldama campaigned to unseat the longtime incumbent, raising $92,700 in cash contributions.

He had 112 donors around the Valley, most of whom live in Phoenix and Glendale.

From the 30 Phoenix residents, Aldama collected $11,850. The 28 Glendale residents provided his campaign with $19,660. That included his largest donation, $6,650, from the president of the Glendale-based construction company WSP Inc.

He spent $34,359 on items like consulting and petition services.

As of April 1, when candidates were required to file campaign finance reports, he had a balance of about $59,898.

Aldama intends to use some of that money to pay off consulting and legal fees he incurred last month, when a lawsuit challenged hundreds of the signatures his campaign collected to enter the race.

The complaint by Timothy Schwartz, a Glendale resident and the Arizona GOP’s Legislative District 26 chairperson, prompted the Recorder’s Office to review the signatures.

It revealed that 498 of the 2,367 collected were disqualified.

That left Aldama 19 signatures shy of the 1,888 needed to run, effectively ending his campaign.

“I don’t have plans for (the money) right now, other than to pay off (those) two items,” said Aldama, who acknowledged he had to pivot from the reality of running and is now focused on spending time and volunteering with his family.

With the next mayoral race set for 2028, Aldama said four years isn’t that far away and stressed that his political future in Glendale is not over.

“Right now, we’re going to put our efforts in volunteering in the community and the West Valley — especially the West Valley as a whole,” he said. “And we’ll use those campaign funds to that goal in the 2028 election.”

How will Weiers use his war chest?

Weiers, elected mayor in 2012, received $210,630 in donations for this year’s election. That’s about $25,650 less than his collected contributions during the entire 2020 race.

Weiers had 74 individuals donate and seven political action committees contribute to his campaign. Of the 81 contributors, nine had addresses in Glendale, while 29 were listed in Phoenix.

Nearly half of Weiers’ overall contributions — $104,000 — came from 18 donors who each gave his campaign at least $6,000.

So far, he’s spent $27,132 toward his reelection bid. Expenses include $14,465 for consulting and $1,400 for financial reporting services. He also paid Schwartz $600 in late March for signature-gathering work.

He has $219,410 in the bank heading into the election season.

“The mayor will still be running a campaign,” Querard said, noting that it just “wouldn’t be as aggressive as if it were contested.”

During the previous two reelection campaigns — where he did face a challenger — Weiers spent an average of $155,747. For the 2020 race, he defeated Michelle Robertson with 53.6% of the vote after spending $201,986.

Weiers isn’t the type “to sit back and do nothing,” Querard said of running unopposed. “He’s always on the go. I expect he’ll have a solid campaign nonetheless.”

Whatever funds Weiers has left after this year’s election will stay in the account, Querard said.

Weiers ended the 2020 campaign with $34,419 available for this year’s race.

Asked whether Weiers is already considering a political future in 2028, Querard said: “It’s probably way too soon on that.”

It’s not uncommon, Querard noted, for elected officials and former candidates to spend the rest of their unused campaign finances on various charities.

“I’m sure when the time comes, whatever is left will find a happy home,” Querard said.

Shawn Raymundo covers the West Valley cities of Glendale, Peoria and Surprise. Reach him at sraymundo@gannett.com or follow him on X @ShawnzyTsunami.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Glendale mayoral candidates save unused thousands for political future