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No endorsement
The race
District 2 covers northeast Phoenix. This is an open seat: Councilmember Jim Waring, a conservative first appointed in 2011 and on the council since 2012, is term-limited. Phoenix council races are nonpartisan. If no candidate wins a majority on November 3, 2026, the top two meet in a runoff on March 9, 2027.
The verified roster is three candidates: Matt Evans, Danny Mazza, and Julie Read.
The candidates
Matt Evans is a senior technology developer for Parchment, a college-transcript service, and has previously run for the council and for mayor, per azcentral. His campaign emphasizes endorsements from prominent Republicans and the conservative group Turning Point Action. In an October azcentral interview, Evans spoke openly about his past: court records detail a 2011 arrest after a Scottsdale police investigation and deferred prosecution for marijuana possession in his early 20s, and he ran with friends in a Phoenix gang called 40 Block. Evans said he regrets decisions from those years, found religion, and stopped using drugs years ago to take care of his children. He calls himself a "firebrand" outsider and says his life experience is his qualification.
Danny Mazza is an estate-planning and probate lawyer and small-business owner. Per The Decent Ballot's compilation of campaign sources, he served 12 years on a village planning committee, wants to fill 600 police vacancies and restore quarterly bulk-trash pickup, and is endorsed by Turning Point Action and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell.
Julie Read is a former special education teacher and small-business owner, and the wife of a longtime firefighter. Per The Decent Ballot's compilation, she served on the Deer Valley school board from 2019 to 2023 and on the Phoenix Planning Commission, co-founded BlockWatch Phoenix North, and says roads, water, and fire protection must keep up with growth. She is endorsed by the firefighters' union, the police sergeants' and lieutenants' PAC, and Republican Rep. Justin Wilmeth.
One sourcing conflict, printed plainly: azcentral's October profile reports Turning Point Action endorsed all three District 2 candidates, while The Decent Ballot's compilation describes Read as the only one without Turning Point Action's backing. The two accounts cannot both be right, and we do not resolve that conflict here.
Pros / Cons
- Evans — Pro: Candid about his past in his own words; an outsider case against career politicians. Con: The past itself is documented in court records — an arrest, deferred prosecution, and gang association in his early 20s — and his prior council and mayoral runs did not win.
- Mazza — Pro: A concrete public-safety pledge (fill 600 police vacancies) and 12 years of planning-committee experience; backed by the county attorney. Con: No record in elected office; the police-vacancy number is a campaign pledge, not a funded plan we could verify.
- Read — Pro: The broadest public-safety endorsement set in the race (firefighters, police sergeants and lieutenants) plus school-board and planning-commission service. Con: No record in elected municipal office, and her platform as compiled is priorities, not specific tax or development positions.
OUR CALL
Our call: insufficient record — no endorsement.
All three candidates lean right, and two carry real public-safety endorsements — but no candidate in this race has a documented position we could verify on the questions this seat will actually decide: the city budget, taxes and fees, and development and water decisions in a fast-growing district. What would earn an endorsement here is a sourced record on those questions — a stated tax position, a specific development vote or pledge, or service in an office where those calls were made and can be checked.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Sources
- azcentral, "16 people are running for Phoenix City Council in 2026 election" (Jul. 18, 2026) and "Metro Phoenix council, mayor candidates running in 2026 election" (Sep. 29, 2026) — roster, occupations, Waring's term limit — https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2026/07/18/phoenix-city-council-candidates/90930479007/
- azcentral, "Phoenix council candidate opens up about drug-dealer past" (Oct. 2026) — Evans interview, 2011 arrest and deferred prosecution, Turning Point Action endorsing all three — https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/metro-phoenix/2026/10/16/phoenix-council-candidate-matt-evans-opens-up-about-drug-dealer-past/92257118007/
- City of Phoenix Publicity Pamphlet, 2026 General Election (Maricopa County Elections) — certified roster for Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8
- The Decent Ballot, City of Phoenix 2026 guide (accessed October 25, 2026) — Mazza's police-vacancy pledge and endorsements; Read's school-board, planning-commission, and endorsement record; conflicts with azcentral on the Turning Point Action endorsement, as noted in the article
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.