Phoenix Mayor, 4 Council Members Make History At Inauguration

PHOENIX, AZ — History was made in front of a tranquil park lake under a sun-splashed sky in midtown Phoenix on Monday morning.

Phoenix becoming the largest city in the country with a female mayor and majority female city council.

Gallego was joined by newly inaugurated council members, Ann O'Brien (District 1), Debra Stark (District 3), Betty Guardado (District 5) and Yassamin Ansari (District 7), in making history Monday.

It was a fact that Gallego, who celebrated winning her first full term as the city's mayor at Monday's inauguration event held within the amphitheater at Steele Indian School Park, touted early in her speech Monday.

"It's a remarkable group of women," Gallego said. "But one thing they all have in common is they were all told, don't run, you're not going to win, and they were willing to defy the odds. I congratulate all of them."

Ansari also made history, becoming the youngest female council member in the city's history, as well as the first Iranian-American to serve in the state of Arizona.

Ansari will represent District 7, which includes much of west Phoenix, running from 19th Avenue westward toward 107th Avenue.

The Stanford University alum discussed her family's background, from her parents' escape of Iran during the Iranian Revolution of 1979 to her road to the Phoenix City Council.

"I'm incredibly proud to be the youngest woman ever elected to the Phoenix City Council, and the first-ever Iranian American elected to public office in the state of Arizona. But my story i snot unique," Ansari said.

"And actually the profound diversity it represents is part of what I love so much about district seven. We're a district of immigrants and self starters, I walked every corner of our district from South Phoenix and Maryvale, to Laveen to central Phoenix.

"I will never cease to be amazed by the stories of our communities, but ongoing crises, whether it's the president and health crisis, a crisis of housing affordability, a crisis of economic and racial inequality and the climate crisis has have exposed an exacerbated the deep injustice is in our cities, district seven deserves its fair share of investment and attention, and I'm ready to be a full-time council woman who is accessible, and more importantly ready to demand more for our districts."

Ansari was joined on stage by O'Brien (District 1), who previously served on the Deer Valley Unified District Governing Board, as a first-term member on the council.

O'Brien also mentioned the moment in Phoenix's history, saying she is ready to get to work with the other seven members of the city's council.

"Let's make good things happen for the fifth-largest city in the nation," O'Brien said. "Now, we may not always see eye to eye. My hope is that our respect for each other will overcome any differences and lead us to make the kind of decisions that truly reflect all of our residents desires. And I want to acknowledge this historic moment for the first time in Phoenix history that all the members and the mayor being sworn in, are women. This is an auspicious moment."