Scott Smith (Arizona)
Scott Smith (Republican Party) was the Mayor of Mesa in Arizona. He assumed office on June 2, 2008. He left office on April 16, 2014.
Smith ran for election for Mayor of Mesa in Arizona. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Scott Smith was born in Tucson, Arizona. He earned a high school diploma from Mesa Westwood High School in 1974, a bachelor's degree in accounting from Brigham Young University in 1982, a graduate degree in business from Arizona State University in 1985, and a law degree from Arizona State University in 1996.[1][2] Before his first election as Mesa Mayor in 2008, Smith worked as a businessman. He was CEO of a large real estate and development company.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Mayoral election in Mesa, Arizona (2024)
General election
General election for Mayor of Mesa
Mark Freeman defeated Scott Smith in the general election for Mayor of Mesa on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mark Freeman (Nonpartisan) | 52.9 | 100,718 | |
| Scott Smith (Nonpartisan) | 47.1 | 89,740 | ||
| Total votes: 190,458 | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Mesa
Scott Smith and Mark Freeman defeated Ryan Winkle, Scott Neely, and Carey Davis in the primary for Mayor of Mesa on July 30, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Scott Smith (Nonpartisan) | 29.1 | 21,633 | |
| ✔ | Mark Freeman (Nonpartisan) | 28.6 | 21,312 | |
| Ryan Winkle (Nonpartisan) | 14.7 | 10,964 | ||
| Scott Neely (Nonpartisan) | 13.9 | 10,353 | ||
| Carey Davis (Nonpartisan) | 13.3 | 9,909 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 220 | ||
| Total votes: 74,391 | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Smith in this election.
2014
- See also: Arizona Gubernatorial election, 2014
Smith ran for Governor of Arizona on the slogan "Conservative Leadership for Arizona."[3] One of the recurring themes of his campaign was "Proven leadership, proven results."[4][5] He sought the Republican nomination in the primary election on August 26, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Primary election - August 26, 2014
| Governor of Arizona Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Doug Ducey |
37.2% | 200,607 | ||
| Scott Smith | 22.1% | 119,107 | ||
| Christine Jones | 16.7% | 89,922 | ||
| Ken Bennett | 11.5% | 62,010 | ||
| Andrew Thomas | 8.1% | 43,822 | ||
| Frank Riggs | 4.5% | 24,168 | ||
| Mike Aloisi (Write-in) | 0% | 27 | ||
| Alice Lukasik (Write-in) | 0% | 27 | ||
| Total Votes | 539,690 | |||
| Election results via Arizona Secretary of State. | ||||
Polls
General election
Ducey vs. DuVal vs. Hess
| Arizona Governor - General election match-ups | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Doug Ducey (R) | Fred DuVal (D) | Barry J. Hess (L) | Undecided/Other | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| American Encore October 20-22, 2014 | 42% | 35% | 7% | 15% | +/-4 | 601 | |||||||||||||
| Moore Information October 7-8, 2014 | 36% | 39% | 3% | 22% | +/-4.9 | 400 | |||||||||||||
| Keating (D-Restore Arizona's Future PAC) September 17-19, 2014 | 41% | 39% | 7% | 13% | +/-4.0 | 600 | |||||||||||||
| Terrance (R-Arizona Free Enterprise Club) September 15-17, 2014 | 44% | 38% | 6% | 11% | +/-4.5 | 505 | |||||||||||||
| The Arizona Republic August 24-25, 2014 | 35% | 35% | 12% | 18% | +/-4.0 | 588 | |||||||||||||
| Garin-Hart-Yang (D) February 3-6, 2014 | 32% | 32% | 6% | 30% | +/-3.5 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 38.33% | 36.33% | 6.83% | 18.17% | +/-4.15 | 532.33 | |||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Ducey vs. Duval
| Governor of Arizona - Ducey vs. DuVal | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Doug Ducey (R) | Fred DuVal (D) | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| New York Times/CBS/YouGov October 16-23, 2014 | 50% | 40% | 10% | +/-4 | 2,621 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports October 14-16, 2014 | 47% | 42% | 10% | +/-3 | 1,056 | ||||||||||||||
| New York Times/CBS/YouGov September 20-October 1, 2014 | 50% | 39% | 11% | +/-3 | 2,808 | ||||||||||||||
| Rasmussen Reports August 27-28, 2014 | 40% | 40% | 13% | +/-4.0 | 850 | ||||||||||||||
| Susquehanna Polling and Research November 2013 | 36% | 33% | 31% | +/-- | 600 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 44.6% | 38.8% | 15% | +/-1.2 | 1,587 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Primary polling
Republican primary
| Arizona Governor - GOP Primary | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Ken Bennett | Doug Ducey | Christine Jones | Frank Riggs | Scott Smith | Andrew Thomas | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||
| Harper Polling August 19-20, 2014 | 14% | 32% | 16% | 2% | 19% | 7% | 10% | +/-3.44 | 812 | ||||||||||
| Arizona Automobile Dealers Association August 15, 2014 | 10% | 31% | 16% | 3% | 23% | 7% | 10% | 1,300 | |||||||||||
| Harper Polling July 16-17, 2014 | 12% | 23% | 21% | 1% | 13% | 7% | 22% | +/-3.29 | 885 | ||||||||||
| Gravis Marketing July 14, 2014 | 7% | 28% | 19% | 1% | 14% | 8% | 24% | +/-4.0 | 691 | ||||||||||
| Magellan Strategies July 9-10, 2014 | 11% | 26% | 22% | 2% | 14% | 6% | 19% | +/-4.02 | 593 | ||||||||||
| Harper Polling June 25-26, 2014 | 12% | 33% | 15% | 2% | 14% | 3% | 22% | +/-3.48 | 791 | ||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 11% | 28.83% | 18.17% | 1.83% | 16.17% | 6.33% | 17.83% | +/-3.04 | 845.33 | ||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Republican primary
| Arizona Governor - GOP primary | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Ken Bennett | Christine Jones | Al Melvin | Andrew Thomas | Doug Ducey | Scott Smith | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||
| Susquehanna Polling and Research (November 2013) | 20% | 4% | 2% | 4% | 8% | 6% | 53% | +/-- | 245 | ||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Race background
Term limits for Gov. Brewer
Incumbent Jan Brewer (R) was term-limited from seeking re-election, which left the seat open for the 2014 election. The race was rated Likely R by The Cook Political Report, meaning Brewer was likely to be succeeded by another Republican according to their assessment.[6] Governing rated the general election race between Doug Ducey (R) and Fred DuVal (D) as a Toss-up.[7]
Brewer was originally appointed to the position in 2009, and she was then elected to it in 2010. Arizona's term limit laws preclude any individual who has occupied the governor's office during two consecutive terms from running for re-election. Brewer asserted that the law did not adequately account for the conditions of her incomplete first term, but she did not pursue a court challenge for an exemption.[8]
Republican primary
Candidates in the GOP primary included outgoing Arizona State Treasurer Doug Ducey, Secretary of State Ken Bennett, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, and former GoDaddy.com Executive Vice President Christine Jones. Ducey won the primary with 37.2 percent of the vote, followed by Smith in second place with 22.1 percent.
Democratic primary
Former Arizona Board of Regents President Fred DuVal won the Democratic nomination by default as the only candidate to file in the primary.[9]
Campaign media
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Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Scott Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Smith's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Scott Smith loves Mesa! He grew up here and has watched the city grow from a town into a big city.
Scott was twice elected by Mesa voters as mayor and served from 2008-2014. During his time as mayor, he successfully led Mesa through the Great Recession, changed the way the city did business, and laid the foundation for many of the successes the city enjoyed in the years that followed his tenure in office.
Describing the impact Scott had as Mesa’s mayor, the Arizona Republic declared that he “…has gained the confidence of…residents…[and] the change is so marked that we shudder to think what shape the city would be in without him at the helm.”
With over 40 years’ experience as a respected leader in business and government, including serving more than 20 years as a successful CEO, Scott is seeking to return to the mayor’s office, with a renewed commitment to take care of unfinished business and once again lead the city with a vision that will Secure Mesa’s Future.
Scott’s priorities include making Mesa one of the safest big cities in America, expanding and improving educational opportunities for all Mesa residents, and ensuring that city government reduces red tape and facilitates job growth and economic opportunities for residents.
Scott will work to see that your children and grandchildren live in safe neighborhoods, are educated at all levels in great schools, and find the job and career opportunities of their dreams in their hometown of Mesa.
- Your safety is Scott Smith’s top priority! A community whose residents do not feel safe cannot grow and succeed. As Mayor, Scott navigated Mesa through very challenging financial times, but ensured that our police and fire departments maintained their level of excellence. Scott’s proven track record of leadership is the main reason he is the only candidate for Mayor who is endorsed by BOTH Mesa police and fire professionals. ✅ Keep Mesa Housing Affordable ✅ Reduce Red Tape at the City to Help Business Thrive ✅ Foster a Culture of Service and Facilitation Before Regulation at City Hall ✅ Expand High-Quality Retail and Entertainment Offerings
- Scott Smith’s vision for Mesa extends beyond the present, focusing on high quality sustainable growth. Having witnessed the city’s transformation and growth, Scott is eager to use his years of his private sector and government experience to propel Mesa into its next phase of expansion — planning to meet our water supply demands, focusing on bringing high quality development while expanding housing that is affordable, and creating new and exciting jobs for all of our residents.
- ✅ Streamline regulations for faster housing development ✅ Partner with the private sector to create affordable housing solutions ✅ Make Mesa affordable for your children and grandchildren Inflation and Prices ✅ Advocate for lower taxes and reduce city spending ✅ Promote competition in the free market to lower prices ✅ Reduce red tape and costly government regulations
Streamlining government to make it more efficient and work for our citizens.
My father, Dr. George Smith is my greatest inspiration. My father was an accomplished and recognized school superintendent in Arizona for over 35 years, including 17 here in Mesa. He taught me several lessons that I have tried to emulate in my life. First, he taught me that in leadership, one should always strive for excellence and never accept average. He also showed me how a leader could build a culture of excellence, achievement and service by celebrating success and building confidence. I learned from him that every member of a team is important in achieving success, no matter where they may be on an organization chart. Most importantly, he taught me that people are the only reason we serve. All we do should be focused on those we serve, and improving their lives is the greatest success we can hope for. He believed that people are always more important than process, and to concentrate on their needs, not yours. For him, it was the students in the district and their needs. For me, it has been my employees and customers in business, and the citizens I’ve had the privilege of serving in government.
Trust, integrity, transparency.
I've shown over my career the ability to set a vision and help those around me successfully execute on that vision.
Represent you the taxpaying citizen. This is your government, it should work for you.
I'd like to say I Built a Better Mesa for my kids and grandkids.
Construction. Every year in high school.
A Mayor sets the vision and tone for the city. During my previous service, I worked to Build a Better Mesa and gained Mesa residents’ confidence.
I envision a Mesa that is recognized as Best in the Nation in public safety, education and economic opportunity. I know you will not accept an average city, and neither will I!
Setting a vision that city staff can easily execute and get on board with.
I love its people, its can do attitude, its passion.
sticking with the status quo. Cities that don't continue to advance and innovate beging to grow stagnant.
Cities are the economic engines for the state. There should be a healthy partnership where the state supports what the city is trying to accomplish.
The federal government can be a great partner to the city, but the city cannot be hamstrung by too many strings or burdensome overregulation.
The Mayor should support the police force with adequate funding for training and personell.
United Mesa Firefighters, Mesa Police Association, Mesa Chamber of Commerce, WeServ Realtors Association, Home Builders Association.
It's one of the most important aspects of government. Our citizens must feel that their government is working for them, and that when they need the government, that it is an easy, transparent experience.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Smith resides in Mesa with his wife, Kimberly.[10]
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Scott Smith for Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "About Scott," accessed July 11, 2014
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 21, 2024
- ↑ Scott Smith for Governor 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," accessed July 11, 2014
- ↑ YouTube, "Scott Smith for Governor 2014," accessed July 11, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedrunning14 - ↑ The Cook Political Report, "Governors Race Ratings 2014," September 15, 2014
- ↑ Governing, "2014 Governors Races," September 10, 2014
- ↑ USA Today, "Facing term limit, Ariz. Gov. Brewer won't run again," March 12, 2014
- ↑ AZCentral, "Fred DuVal sees pros, cons of no primary challenger," May 8, 2014
- ↑ Facebook, "Scott Smith for Governor 2014, "About," accessed July 11, 2014
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