Former State Senator Shaking Things Up in Race for Glendale Mayor

Just as the city of Glendale was in the midst of its Super Bowl festivities, an announcement came in that is poised to shake up the upcoming Glendale Mayor’s race: former State Senator Paul Boyer will be running to be the next Mayor of Glendale, taking on incumbent Jerry Weiers.

Weiers has been a mainstay in that position, as he will be completing his third term and seeking his fourth. He has developed a reputation for using hardball tactics to preserve his seat; more than a few people have called those tactics questionable.

As a contrast, Paul Boyer cut his teeth as first a state Representative and then state Senator for a period covering a full decade in the old legislative district 20, encompassing most of the city of Glendale. He carved a path as a reasonable Republican, one who was not simply a puppet for the whims of the caucus but someone who was willing to talk with the other side and consider ideas that were not fed to him directly from his own leadership.

More recently, Boyer has been known as willing to loudly and aggressively take on his own party in perhaps the most preeminent issue in the GOP in this state: supposed voter fraud. Indeed, he called out his party’s “faith based confidence in the Cyber Ninjas”, and has been willing to be highly critical of the leadership of Chair Kelli Ward and her stance on these issues.

And you know what? He’s been right.

Additionally, the concept of electability is always an important one in politics. Being someone with strong ethics isn’t enough; can they actually get across the finish line in first place? Fundraising plays a major role, and Boyer raised enough to spend $173K in Q4 2020 alone in his last bid for re-election. Bringing that financial force to the Mayor’s race would make him formidable by itself.

Aside from Boyer and his nature as an intelligent, steady and sane hand however, it’s worth considering the need for change in Glendale. Let’s look at Jerry Weiers: a third term politician, running for a fourth term, willing to use what some people say are questionable tactics in an attempt to hold onto his seat. Does that seem like anything our regular readers have heard before? Why yes, that does nearly perfectly match the profile of Paul Dembow, disgraced former councilman in Paradise Valley. And regular readers also know how that turned out.

So not just because of Boyer’s exemplary nature but also the drastic need for change in Glendale, we look forward to seeing how his campaign plays out, and truly believe that he will be a breath of fresh air for a city that dearly needs one.