EMILYs List Endorses Kate Gallego for Reelection as Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Kate Gallego for reelection as mayor of Phoenix, Arizona, as a part of the Madam Mayor program. EMILYs List President Laphonza Butler released the following statement:
“EMILYs List is proud to endorse Kate Gallego for reelection. Arizona Republicans have been working overtime to roll back reproductive freedom and undermine democracy for Arizonans, and while Democratic pro-choice champions have been successful at holding them back, we know that it takes all of us in every office to run, win, and change the world. That’s why a mayor like Gallego is so important: as leader of Arizona’s most populous city, she’s helped to ensure that those seeking abortion care are protected, all while championing the economic expansion, public safety, and infrastructure development needed for a city to thrive. We know she’ll continue to do so in her next term, and we’re thrilled to support her campaign once again.”
Prior to winning the special election for Phoenix mayor in 2019, Kate Gallego represented District 8 in the Phoenix City Council for five years. She is the third woman to become mayor of Phoenix, the first woman elected to the office in three decades, and at 38, was the youngest big-city mayor in the country. As city councilwoman, Gallego led the effort to implement equal pay for equal work by successfully passing Phoenix’s equal pay ordinance and spearheaded efforts to end sexual harassment by instituting a standing policy for elected public officials citywide. During her tenure as mayor, she has prioritized strengthening Phoenix’s infrastructure, diversifying the economy, and working with police and firefighters to improve public safety and keep neighborhoods safe. Gallego also worked with the country’s largest city with a mother-majority city council, to add nursing stations to the Phoenix airport for the first time.
In an effort to expand the work of electing and supporting local women leaders serving in executive office, EMILYs List launched Madam Mayor in the summer of 2023, a program to highlight and support women running for local executive office across the country. This program was created acknowledging that women, particularly women of color, face more misinformation and disinformation when running for office, which hurts their candidacy and has a chilling effect on recruitment. At a time when local executives are facing more challenges than ever before, these attacks have proven especially prevalent for women running in these positions, and the Madam Mayor program will serve as a critical touchpoint for these Democratic pro-choice champions to receive the resources and support they need to serve their communities.
EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Our work is centered around a fundamental vision: Run. Win. Change the World. EMILYs List has raised $850 million in service to that vision and has helped Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the largest independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 175 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,500 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.
