Mesa will hold a recall election for Councilmember Julie Spilsbury on Nov. 4. New candidates can start filing for the seat in August.
Spilsbury was first elected in 2020 and represents District 2.
Mesa resident JoAnne Robbins filed a recall petition against Spilsbury in January for her votes on three issues. One allowed temporary homeless housing in a hotel. The others raised council salaries and utility rates and passed unanimously.
The hotel use and council salary votes both took place before Spilsbury’s 2024 election, which she won with 65% of the vote.
Council members Jenn Duff and Francisco Heredia voted the same way as Spilsbury on all three issues but don’t face recall.
Spilsbury said at a council meeting on Tuesday that she won’t apologize for her vote on the hotel bill because it provides emergency shelter to the city’s most vulnerable.
Duff defended Spilsbury on Facebook, condemning the motives behind the recall petition. Several other Mesa politicians have done the same.
“Please don’t bring partisanship to city council. It’s actually where government works. I support Julie! Don’t sign a petition that is destructive to our city council,” Duff posted on Facebook in February.
Spilsbury said the recall is pushed by supporters of the opponent she defeated in the last election.
In a post on her website, Spilsbury said: “Now, the very people who supported my opponent just seven months ago are pushing a costly recall, trying to undo the results of that election. It seems they didn’t like losing so badly! This group is funded 100% by out-of-state, dark money special interests that are pushing their own agenda. They don’t care about Mesa, its people, or our issues. And, they are resorting to distortions, misrepresentations, and outright lies to win this time.”
“Let's be honest about what's happening,” she said in a recent council meeting. “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.”
The recall effort is backed by the political arm of conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA.
“Stand with us for a stronger, more conservative Mesa!” said a Turning Point Action flier urging for Spilsbury’s recall.
Spilsbury is a Republican, and although city council is a nonpartisan office, she’s faced criticism for supporting former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
“We do not serve a party; we serve the people of Mesa,” she said at a council meeting. “That's how I've approached every vote, every decision and every congregation: with the goal of doing what’s right for our entire community regardless of political affiliation.”
