Creating the Mesa, Arizona of Tomorrow with Departing Mayor John Giles

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“…It’s hard to overstate the importance of local government and all of the issues that we’re debating right now in presidential politics and everywhere else— Really, the way that it impacts people’s lives: it goes through city council meetings and school board meetings a lot more than it does at the higher echelons.”

—City of Mesa Mayor John Giles

The role of mayor is uniquely important in U.S. government, as the elected leader arguably closest to the results of governance in the everyday lives of constituents. Considering the influential power of cities in innovation, economic growth and sustainable development, mayors are also often required to navigate politics and publicity at national and international levels—even as they rise above political polarization and focus on practical solutions for the well-being of their communities.

Over the past decade, the City of Mesa, like several of its mid- to large-sized peers throughout the Ten Across region, has been remarkable for its ongoing growth and transformation. Complexities of climate change, natural resources, and both domestic and international migration notwithstanding, Mesa has attracted billions of dollars in private sector investments and has outgrown Miami, FL, and Atlanta, GA, in population size.

Mayor John Giles has led Mesa since 2014, and in his current, final term as mayor, has redoubled his work to further the city’s national visibility and appeal as an affordable, livable hub for recreation and economic opportunity.

At least as noteworthy, however, may be Mayor Giles’s ability to defy political partisanship—as evidenced most recently by the national news of his endorsement, as a Republican, of Vice President Kamala Harris’s candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.

Listen in as Ten Across founder Duke Reiter and Mesa Mayor John Giles reflect on the mayor’s ten years of service and his hand in Mesa’s transformation from a humble desert suburb into a burgeoning tech and climate innovation hub.

Note: This episode was recorded prior to Vice President Kamala Harris’s selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.

Related links:

Mayor John Giles 2024 State of the City Address

“Opinion: There’s no ‘invasion’ at our southern border. I know. I design ports of entry” (Arizona Republic, May 24, 2024)

Related Ten Across Conversations episodes:

Decarbonizing Our Transportation System with Gabe Klein & Michael Berube

Future Cities: How Mayors Are Leading U.S. Progress with Clarence Anthony

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