Gilbert politicians Thursday were left to process the implications of the sudden announcement that Gilbert Mayor Brigette Peterson will not seek reelection to a second term after all.
The embattled mayor dropped the news suddenly on Thursday morning, reversing what she told The Arizona Republic just seven days before.
In an email sent to town department heads Thursday morning, Peterson told staff the announcement was going to be released in a news story that she would be ending her reelection campaign. She vowed to stay in office until January 2025.
“I promise you, I will not be resigning before the end of my term. I will not put this team and the current council through that process and I will fulfill my obligation,” she wrote, in documents obtained by The Arizona Republic via a public records act request.
That promise satisfied some critics, opponents and colleagues who wanted to bring some stability to a chaotic city hall. But her harshest critics, citing her handling of the “Gilbert Goons” scandal, said she should go now because proven herself ill-equipped to stop teen violence.