Mesa recall effort spills into Council Chambers

Yahoo

14-07-2025

It'll cost Mesa $104,577 to hold a special election Nov. 4 for voters in District 2 who will decided whether or not to remove Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury from office.
Council last week voted 5-0 for the mail-in-ballot election after resident JoAnne Robbins gathered more than enough signatures to trigger the recall. Council members Alicia Goforth and Francisco Heredia were absent.
Although Robbins claimed that Spilsbury's votes on three issues – approving the purchase of a homeless hotel, a pay raise for council and a utility hike – warranted her ouster, others say it's partisan-driven. About a dozen people spoke on the recall July 8.
'I strongly believe that Councilwoman Spillsbury should be immediately removed from office and not allowed to continue to sit and cause more grief and discontent for her constituents of District 2 and the City of Mesa as a whole,' resident Scott Grainger said.
'She has demonstrated a total disregard for District 2 constituents. She's acted more than once in a total disregard of the ethics provisions of the city council ethics rules by acting as a liberal activist supporting the Harris-Walz presidential campaign and the U.S. Senate campaign of Sen. (Ruben) Gallego.
'These actions alone as a nonpartisan member of the council are sufficient in my view to have her removed.'
Grainger noted that he was speaking for himself and not as a Republican precinct captain of Legislative District 2.
Bob Hathcock, who said he was one of the 3,858 verified signatures on the recall petition, noted that 'we exceeded the minimum signatures requirements by 20%'
A total of 5,235 signatures were submitted when 3,100 was needed.
Hathcock also said he helped gather the signatures and personally met with hundreds of concern friends and neighbors.
'In our visits, the vast majority of people shared their feelings of betrayal, distrust and misrepresentation from our current council representative's voting record and untimely public endorsements,' he said.
'Nearly all who signed were well informed on the issues and needed no explanation for the grounds of this recall.'
He said even though the council elections are nonpartisan, voters know the candidates' party affiliations and typically vote accordingly.
He claimed that Spilsbury, a Republican, misrepresented herself as a conservative to get votes and proved 'to be quite the opposite' after securing her seat.
'Here's the kicker,' Hathcock told Spilsbury. 'The results of your 2024 re-election would have been much different had you publicly campaigned for extreme liberal candidates before Election Day versus one week after securing a second term.'
Hathcock also disputed criticism that the recall was pushed by an outside special-interest group funded with dark money by again noting the 3,858 verified signatures belonged to disappointed constituents in District 2.
Mark Kimball claimed that voters in Spilsbury's district have been disenfranchised with her 'supporting and promoting ideology that is diametrically opposed to what she originally ran on' and that her constituents felt betrayed.
But Brian Dille, a political science professor at Mesa Community College, offered an opposing view.
'All the things that Councilwoman Spilsbury is being criticized for are all actions that she engaged in prior to the election,' Dille said. 'And so, the constituents have already spoken and re-elected her overwhelmingly.'
According to Dille, the State Constitution says the intention of a recall is to remove an elected official for corruption and malfeasance.
'If the founders of the state could see how an a national interest group could cynically use this tool that was given to the people of Arizona - designed to protect us from the influence of outside interest groups - they would be deeply disappointed with this generation and the way we've used this right that we have,' Dille said.
He noted, 'No contention of corruption and malfeasance has been made, which is the reason the recall exists.'
Dille claimed that the outside group is depending on the silence of people who won't come to Spilsbury's defense. Turning Point USA, a national conservative advocacy organization, funded and helped coordinate the recall.
'They know that if they can get rid of Julie using their money and their influence, then they can go to any state legislature or city council around the state and say, 'Do what we say or else,'' Dille said. 'This is not a recall election. This is a hostile takeover.'
Alayne Favreau and David Lane both said the recall was a waste of taxpayers' money. Favreau said that Spilsbury cares about Mesa and wants what's best for the city.
And Lane said that the concerns raised by the recall organizers are 'partisan political issues' and that Spilsbury has the right to vote for whomever she pleases.
Jeremy Spilsbury called his wife an 'excellent leader.'
'The most important thing of the success of any organization, certainly a city, is determined by the ability of people to collaborate,' he said.
'And one thing I admire and I'm so grateful for Council Member Julie Spilsbury's leadership is that she leads out in being an example that she treats people with dignity, with respect and with compassion. You can't get good policy, you can't get good results in an organization or city if you can't foster those kinds of relationships.'
Ron Williams, who ran for council last year, said he was concerned for Mesa.
'This recall I don't know where it's all going,' he said. 'But I will say that with this recall election, you can expect a whole lot more. Get ready Mesa. You're going to hear a whole lot more coming because when the people speak and the group that doesn't like it, watch out. Who's next?'
Spilsbury, reading from a prepared statement with emotion, said that as part of her duty as a council member, she is required to vote for the special election to comply with state statute.
'Let me be clear,' she said. 'I do not support the purpose behind this recall. It does not serve the public good and I strongly disagree with the premise on which it was initiated. This vote is not a judgment of merit on the recall itself. It is a fulfillment of my responsibility as a public servant.'
Spilsbury then noted that she was elected twice by wide margins. In the July Primary last year, she beat her opponent by capturing 65% of the votes. Her term ends in January 2029.
'Unfortunately, a special interest group, according to all of the flyers they passed out, funded by out-of-state dark money and relying on paid petition gatherers, has now launched a recall against me,' she said. 'Let's be honest about what's happening.
'This is not a response to misconduct or malfeasance. Recalls are meant to protect the public from elected officials who have committed serious ethical or legal violations. That is not the case here.'
She added that if her constituents were unhappy with her, they would have voted her out.
'Over 23 of the petitions were circulated by non-Mesa residents,' she continued. 'In fact, of the top 15 petition gatherers, 11 were not Mesa residents. Not only were they not residents of District 2, they weren't even residents of Mesa. No one in Mesa should be OK with this.'
Spilsbury also pointed out that two of the votes cited for recalling her were unanimous council decisions and the approval of funds for an emergency homeless shelter was to offer safety and stability to homeless survivors of domestic violence, children and veterans.
'That is a vote that I will not apologize for,' Spilsbury said. 'I will always support Mesa's most vulnerable.'
She said that she consistently listens to constituents' input, studies each issue with care and votes on what she truly believes is in the best interest of the entire community.
'Picking up your trash and delivering clean water are not Republican or Democrat issues,' Spilsbury continued. 'We do not serve a party. We serve the people of Mesa.'
Councilman Rich Adams, elected in November, said he's been a conservative all his life and that he was the sole opponent of the city's non-discrimination ordinance while serving on the Economic Development Advisory Board. Council adopted the ordinance in 2021.
That said, Adams added that he's personally observed Spilsbury clearly leading with her heart and serving the community
'This recall neither serves our community nor puts Mesa first,' he said. 'I don't like it, nor do I support it. But I believe in the rule of law and Arizona law allows its citizens to recall elected officials for any reason or no reason. It's a fundamental right.'
According to Adams, he examined the recall petitions and found that about 20% were gathered by paid circulators, which is legal. He questioned the claim that the recall was a local effort.
'My observation, not scientific, but I leaped through all those pages, was that about 40% were gathered by volunteers who live in the following communities: Marana, Surprise, Glendale, Pine, Scottsdale, Tempe, Phoenix, Chandler, Tolleson, Apache Junction, Queen Creek, Sun City, Fountain Hills, and Tucson,' he said. 'So Mesa's grassroots apparently cover a lot of territory.
'I'm not making any suggestion here but it sounds a little disingenuous to me.'
He added that none of the reasons cited on the recall petition involve violations.
'I do believe that she has been targeted with the intent of making an example of her for breaking political ranks,' Adams said. 'She didn't tow the line. That's what this is about. And speakers have confirmed that.'
Councilwoman Jenn Duff said that she felt 'very ill with the responsibility to approve this administrative action.'
'I believe it is a waste of taxpayer dollars without just cause,' Duff said. 'Issues around partisan politics is outside the purview of city government, a nonpartisan body. We need to keep outside interests outside of local governance.
'We are not a conservative Mesa. We are not a liberal Mesa. Together we are Mesa.'
Key dates in recall move
Candidate filing period:
Aug. 6–Sept. 5
Voter registration cutoff: Oct. 6
Ballots will be mailed: Oct. 8
Last day to mail back ballot: Oct. 28
Special Election Day: Nov. 4
For more information or questions, contact the Mesa City Clerk's Office at 480-644-4868 or visitmesaaz.gov