Phoenix mayoral candidate Anna Brennan calls for more police

This is one in a series of profiles on the three candidates who are running for mayor of Phoenix. City election day is Aug. 25.

PHOENIX — One week from Tuesday, voters in Phoenix will go to the polls to decide who will be the city’s mayor. 

Among the candidates for that office is Republican Anna Brennan, a married mother of four who moved to Phoenix from Wisconsin in 1994.  She had immigrated to the United States from Italy with her parents and four siblings when she was 7, and became an American citizen in 1992.

Law enforcement and security would be one of her top priorities if she was elected mayor.

“The job description for a mayor is to secure a safe city on our streets and our neighborhoods,” Brennan said.  She said that Phoenix has a shortage of police officers.

“Right now, we are running about 600 police officers short,” Brennan said.  “The police officers that we have are overworked.” 

She said that one police officer that she met while campaigning told her that he was working about 83 hours a week.  “That’s not safe, and that’s not good for the city’s finances,” Brennan said.  “As you know, everything over 40 hours a week is time and a half.”

Brennan also supports the sale of the downtown Sheraton hotel, which was built by the city at a cost of $300 million. She said that the hotel was losing $8 million a year and was a financial drain on Phoenix.

Her biggest disagreement with Mayor Greg Stanton is Proposition 104, which voters will also decide at the polls.

Supporters of the $31 billion proposition said it will expand bus service and build over 40 miles of light rail. While she admitted that, “Our bus system and our means of moving people from A to B stink in Phoenix,” Brennan said many people don’t realize that Proposition 104 is a tax increase.

She said that it promised the same thing that a similar tax passed in 2000 failed to deliver.

Brennan pointed to cities such as San Jose, California, as examples where light rail has failed, with empty rail cars running through the city. 

Brennan said that expansion of the light rail shouldn’t be considered until Phoenix residents and business owners can be assured that they are not financing the majority of the system’s expense.

Brennan also criticized Stanton for spending too much time pushing for social issues, including his support of same-sex marriage and equality for members of the LGBT community.

“I stand for traditional marriage,” Brennan said.  “I was not put on this earth to judge anyone.  We all have our own stoop to clean. But as mayor, he is supposed to make sure that we are safe, secure, with clean streets, that libraries are open, senior rec centers are there, our parks are there to keep kids off the street, and there are after-school programs.”

Stanton said that he is proud of the city’s effort toward equality.

To learn more about Brennan, go to her website.

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