Jay Tibshraeny

Tibshraeny became involved in politics in 1979 when Chandler held its first and only recall election in which the mayor and several city council members were removed from office. In 1980, Tibshraeny was appointed to Chandler's Planning and Zoning Commission. He worked with the construction of Intel's plant in West Chandler.[3]

In 1986, Tibshraeny ran for Chandler City Council, winning a seat in March of that year. He attributes his achievement to his "involvement with youth and things". In 1990, he became vice-mayor of Chandler under Coy Payne, the first black mayor in Arizona. In 1994, Tibshraeny ran for mayor of Chandler. He took the seat in March, and during his time as mayor, he oversaw Chandler's transition from a rural town to a bedroom community for Phoenix. He oversaw the construction of the Chandler Fashion Center.[3] He was reelected to the position four times over the next eight years, the maximum number of times a mayor can be reelected in Chandler.[lower-alpha 1]

In 2002, Tibshraeny ran for the newly created 21st District in the southeastern Phoenix metro area. The district includes parts of Chandler and Queen Creek. He won the primary election, held on September 10, 2002, beating the only other candidate, Morris Cooper.[7] This meant that Tibshraeny ran unopposed in the general elections on November 5 in the same year.[8]

Tibshraeny was a state senator for eight years. In 2010, Tibshraeny stepped down and ran once again for mayor of Chandler. He ran unopposed, winning over 99% of the votes, with 0.73% of the voted going to write-in candidates.[4] He ran again in 2011 for mayor, and like the previous term, was unopposed.[9] His term expired in 2019, where he continued his public service as a Justice of Peace in the San Marcos Justice Court.