Peoria Councilmember Bill Patena won’t seek reelection

After a dozen years in office, Peoria Councilmember Bill Patena is ready to pass on his seat when his term expires this December and go into retirement — sort of.

“I’ve been on the council for 12 years,” Patena said. “I think that’s a pretty good run and I think it’s time to get some new ideas, and some new blood on the council so they can keep the city moving forward.”

Elected in 2012, the 77-year-old Patena has served three consecutive terms as Peoria’s Ironwood District representative and has opted not to seek a fourth.

Noting that he would be 78 by the time he was to start another term, Patena said: “That’s maybe too old.”

“I always wanted to give it 100% all the time and I’m just not sure I would be able to do that,” said Patena, who worked as the city’s neighborhood services manager for 18 years prior to being elected to the council.

Before his life in public service, Patena was an executive director at a school for the mentally and physically challenged. He was also the program director for the United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona.

What does this mean for the upcoming council races?

Patena joins fellow Councilmember Brad Shafer as the second incumbent to exit this year’s election cycle. Their decision not to run guarantees the Peoria council will have at least two new faces this winter.

Only Councilmember Jon Edwards of the Willow District remains in his race. According to campaign filings with the city as of Monday afternoon, he’s running unopposed.

Shafer announced in January that he was fed up with the “deception and dishonesty” in politics. As the Mesquite District representative, he too is serving out the rest of his term.

The race for Shafer’s seat is shaping up to be the most crowded of Peoria’s elections, with four people so far submitting paperwork expressing their interest in running.

Matt Bullock, Thomas Bottorf, Rodney Emery and Laura Page are prospective candidates.

Only one candidate has announced an interest in running for the now-wide open Ironwood race. Rick Stokes, an information technology consultant with his own business, is vying for the seat.

All have until 5 p.m. on April 1 to file their nomination paperwork to the city to qualify for this year’s elections.

The Primary Election will be held July 30. The General Election set for Nov. 5 will serve as a runoff for races where no candidate received a majority of the votes in the primary.

What were Patena’s accomplishments?

Before arriving at his decision this week, Patena went back and forth on whether to go for another run.

“I’d get up and say, ‘I think I’m going to run again.’ And the next day I said, ‘You know what, I don’t think I’m going to run again,’ … There was always an element of doubt,” Patena explained.

With his exit from the race, Patena said he wants to see candidates “bring some good, new, fresh ideas.”

Asked for his thoughts on Stokes, Patena said the prospective candidate “would be a good fit” for the council after the two met recently over a long lunch.

“When I talked to him, we were talking about the roles and responsibilities of city council. He seemed to understand that very well, his role, what his job is,” Patena recalled. “The comment that he made to me was ‘I need to be responsible to my constituents, I need to make sure I treat them fairly, that they understand we have an open government.’”

To Patena, that resonated, as one of his goals as an elected official was to be responsive to constituents, ensuring he returned calls or emails within 24 hours.

Reflecting on his time in office, Patena said two things stand out to him.

The first is initiating the process of opening the city’s resource center.

Those struggling financially, needing tax support, suffering abuse or experiencing other issues can visit the Peoria Resource Center at 8335 W. Jefferson St. There, residents can connect with supportive services and nonprofits.

The second, Patena said, was his efforts to support the veterans community.

He was the liaison to the Veterans Memorial Board, a city committee tasked with advising the mayor and council on issues related to veterans’ affairs.

It also works to preserve the city’s war monuments like the Memorial Wall at the Rio Vista Community Park. The 88-foot-long wall pays tribute to service members of the U.S. military's branches and lets residents include the names of their loved ones who served.

Helping to bring the traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and the Bell UH-1H Huey helicopter exhibit to Peoria are some of the group’s recent accomplishments, Patena said. There are also plans, he added, to expand the wall to include more veterans’ names.

“I think we have over 600 names on that wall already,” Patena said, adding, “We’re going to build another wall so we can put people’s names on that wall for years to come.”

What’s next for Patena?

Though stepping away from public office, Patena isn’t ready to fully retire.

“It’s going to be kind of like retirement for me, but I’m sure I’m going to stay involved with the Veterans Affairs,” he said. “I might decide to get involved with some type of club that assists in helping people. I don’t think I’ll be totally retired.”

There’s also the possibility of volunteering at West Wing School, where his son works as a physical education and health teacher. Perhaps, Patena said, he could work in the cafeteria or help kids having difficulties in school.

“Whatever it is they want me to do,” Patena said, “I’ll do it graciously.”

Shawn Raymundo covers the West Valley cities of Glendale, Peoria and Surprise. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on X @ShawnzyTsunami.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Peoria Councilmember Bill Patena won’t seek reelection