Photo Credit: Arianna Grainey
April 1st was the deadline for political candidates to submit their nominating petitions full of signatures in order to qualify to be on the ballot. As such, that day provided clarity as to the interesting face-offs that will await us in the upcoming election. And a very interesting showdown is lining up in the race to be the next mayor of Paradise Valley.
We had already spoken about the entrance of Mark Stanton in the race, but he now finds himself with two additional and very formidable opponents in this race, as Mary Hamway and Anna Thomasson will now be on the ballot for the July 30th primary.
We have already spoken about Stanton’s credentials (you can read our coverage here). For those who are not familiar with the town’s politics, Thomasson is a current town councilmember and has been for the last eight years, alongside having been a resident since 1994. Meanwhile Hamway has been a mainstay in PV politics for nearly the entire millennium, having first been a town councilmember back in 2004.
Each candidate has their own very distinct advantages, making this race particularly intriguing. Stanton has entrenched himself strongly with the business community, Thomasson has burnished a reputation of being a ground warrior, willing to knock on every door and talk to every vote, and Hamway has very strong name identification, having been such a mainstay in the town for ages.
As for the issues, there are few major distinctions between the candidates. A push for added transparency is a concern for both Hamway and Stanton, and quality of life concerns are mentioned by all three. Strong relationships with the police department are considered a concern for both Hamway and Thomasson. Perhaps the one biggest distinction is Stanton’s focus on increasing tourism as part of his platform.
That said, for a town such as Paradise Valley that is already considered a crown jewel of the state with very few glaring issues, the winner of this race will be stepping into a relatively comfortable position of maintaining the status of the town, not trying to fix myriad issues thanks to the effective leadership of outgoing Mayor Jerry-Bien Willner. Paradise Valley is fortunate to not just be in this situation, but also to have three highly qualified and exemplary candidates running to lead it.