The City of Mesa has a long history with The Church - so much so it was once a Mono-Culture.
John Giles is the 40th Mayor in a decades-old succession of mostly-white and mostly-Mormon males who have ruled this city since 1858. Back in 2014, after an absence in public life since the year 2000, he received 'a higher calling' to get elected to fill in the empty seat of former mayor Scott Smith who resigned to pursue (and lose) an even higher office as the Governor of Arizona. Like so many other occasions, one resignation leads to handing-off the office to the chosen one to keep the only-in-my-circle cycle turning round-and-round. Many here in city government are graduates of BYU, including City Manager Chris Brady, graduating from the BYU Marriott School of Business, and holding a high-salaried office for more than 15 years
In the case of Jill Spilsbury, she was 'the chosen one', hand-selected by Giles to defeat the incumbent who was labeled by East Valley media as the mayor's nemesis. He even helped to fund the election campaign of someone who had no prior political experience because he could count on her loyalty. Her qualifications: a mother of six and public school volunteer.
This podcast is from June 6, 2021
A Divided Church: What’s Going on in Arizona? — Mesa Mayor John Giles and Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury
The political climate in Arizona has been unseasonably warm recently, frequently making national news. And it seems political tribalism has even caused division in some Latter-day Saint wards and stakes.
It raises the question that many of us have started asking — could political identity begin to eclipse religious identity in some parts of the church?
In part one of a two-part series on the church in Arizona, Bill from Faith Matters sat down with Mesa Arizona Mayor John Giles and Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury about division that erupted around an LGBTQ non-discrimination ordinance. ordinance.
Source : 
Exploring an expansive view of the Restored Gospel
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