By Corinne Murdock |
Gilbert Mayor Brigette Peterson ended her reelection campaign on Thursday.
Peterson’s sudden decision comes amid several months of community grief and outrage over the “Gilbert Goons”: the violent teen group that had reportedly plagued the community for several years leading up to the October murder of 16-year-old Preston Lord. The youth’s death, and the Gilbert Goons’ alleged involvement, went viral across multiple social media platforms and attracted national media coverage.
The mayor said in a statement that her desire to spend time with family outweighed her intent on seeking another term in office, among other, “many reasons” to which she alluded but didn’t elaborate.
“Now a new chapter has begun, almost 15 months ago my grandson was born; life is short and I am choosing to focus my energy on my family and so as of now I’m ending my reelection campaign,” said Peterson.
According to an email obtained by The Arizona Republic, Peterson informed the town’s executive leadership about her intent to drop her campaign within an hour of when the media was anticipated to announce it. Peterson promised to not resign, despite community advocates’ demands.
“I promise you, I will not be resigning before the end of my term,” said Peterson. “I will not put this team and the current council through that process and I will fulfill my obligation.”
Peterson also elaborated to town leadership that she hadn’t seen her grandson often, though he lived close by.
“My grandson is about to turn 15 months old and I realized I haven’t seen him 15 times and he only lives in the west valley,” said Peterson.
Peterson’s announcement came shortly after Vice Mayor Scott Anderson launched his candidacy against her, and less than two days after another contentious town council meeting, in which Peterson again faced much public comment critical of her handling of the Gilbert Goons, as well as new criticisms over her permissiveness of the town’s Office of Digital Government.
“We desperately need some change in Gilbert,” said Anderson. “I view myself more as a statesman, a leader.”
In addition to Anderson, Peterson had another opponent seeking to unseat her: former deputy county attorney Shane Krauser.
In response to Peterson’s sudden exit, Krauser made a promise of more public transparency through recurring town halls.
“Our government officials have hidden for too long and, thus, we’ve had a lack of real accountability,” said Krauser. “New leadership is coming. A new level of accountability is on the horizon. Our best days are ahead.”
Since taking office in 2021, Peterson’s tenure has been fraught with public controversy: including free speech lawsuits and no less than a dozen ethics violation complaints.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
