Katharine Sarah Widland Gallego (née Widland, born October 21, 1981) is an American politician serving as the 62nd mayor of

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served on the Phoenix City Council from 2014 to 2018.

Early life and education

Born Katharine Sarah Widland, Gallego grew up in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. Her parents are attorneys who moved to Albuquerque from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

after the 1979 Chicago blizzard. She grew up with

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

, which made air quality important to her. Gallego is Jewish, celebrating her

bat mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they a ...

in Albuquerque. Gallego graduated from Albuquerque Academy, where she served as student body vice president. She earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in environmental science and public policy from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

Political career

Gallego worked for the Arizona Democratic Party, the Arizona Office of Tourism, as well as on economic development and strategic planning for the Salt River Project. On November 5, 2013, Gallego was elected to the Phoenix City Council for the 8th district; she was reelected in 2017. With

Greg Stanton Gregory John Stanton (born March 8, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician who is the U.S. representative from , serving since 2019. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he was previously Mayor of Phoenix, mayor of Phoenix, Arizona, ...

, the Mayor of Phoenix, running for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in the 2018 elections, Gallego announced she would run in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to succeed him. She resigned from the city council effective August 7, 2018.

Elections

The city of Phoenix has nonpartisan mayoral elections. In the 2018 special election, Kate Gallego and Daniel Valenzuela advanced to a runoff in November 2018. They defeated Moses Sanchez and Nicholas Sarwark. Although the election was nonpartisan, both candidates were Democrats. Previously on the city council, they had voted similarly. Kate Gallego defeated Daniel Valenzuela in the special general runoff election for the mayor of Phoenix in 2019. She received 58.6% of votes. She assumed office on March 21, 2019. She is only the second female mayor in Phoenix history and one of the youngest big city mayors in the United States. She was backed by progressives, labor unions, the ''Arizona Republic'' editorial board, and liberal advocacy organizations. Examples of these include Emily's List, Sierra Club, and the Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. In 2020, Kate Gallego ran for

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

. In November 2020, she was returned to office with the highest number of votes ever cast in a mayoral election. Merissa Hamilton, a Libertarian write in candidate, was Gallego's closest opponent. Hamilton received 26.29% of votes. Gallego won the election receiving 60.7% of the votes. In March 2024, Gallego announced her intention to run for re-election for another term.

Policing

The police department of Phoenix recorded shooting 44 people in 2018, spurring a reassessment from the community on police accountability. In 2020, Gallego suggested a plan for a citizens review board that would balance the police department interests and community interests. City councilman Carlos Garcia, who ran on further police accountability, created a plan focused on empowering a citizens review board from input of the community and groups such as Puente Human Rights and Poder in Action. The city council passed Garcia's model for a review board when Gallego and vice mayor Betty Guardados switched their votes from Gallego's model to the Garcia model with a 5–4 vote. A Department of Justice investigation was initiated in August 2021 looking into if the police used excessive force on protestors and sweeping of homeless people and their property. The investigation planned to look at current police practices and its handling of the disabled.

Housing

Gallego supported legislation that legalized accessory dwelling units on lots that were previously strictly zoned for single-family housing.

Transportation

In January 2024, Gallego was appointed to the Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee, which will advise the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

on ways to improve public transportation.

Personal life

While attending Harvard, Kate met

Ruben Gallego Rubén Marinelarena Gallego ( ; born November 20, 1979) is an American politician and USMC, Marine Corps veteran serving since 2025 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senator, United States senator from Arizona. ...

at a charity auction following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. They moved to Phoenix in 2004, and married in 2010. The couple announced their divorce in 2016, prior to the birth of their child, Michael. She endorsed Ruben's 2024 U.S. Senate candidacy.

References

External links

Official profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallego, Kate 1981 births 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Arizona Albuquerque Academy alumni Arizona city council members Arizona Democrats Jewish American people in Arizona politics Jewish American mayors Harvard College alumni Living people Mayors of Phoenix, Arizona Politicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico Spouses of Arizona politicians Wharton School alumni Women city councillors in Arizona Women mayors of places in Arizona Jewish American women in politics