15 Facts About Harry Mitchell

Harry Mitchell later earned a Master of Public Administration degree from ASU in 1980.

In 1970, Harry Mitchell sought and won a seat on the elected-at-large Tempe City Council.

Re-elected in 1974, Harry Mitchell ran for Mayor of Tempe in 1978, gaining a majority of votes cast in the primary and avoiding a runoff.

Harry Mitchell went on to win every subsequent election for mayor in landslides until his retirement in 1994.

Four years later Harry Mitchell sought and won a seat in the Arizona Senate, representing Tempe and parts of southern Scottsdale.

Harry Mitchell ran under Arizona's Clean Elections law in each legislative race, which provides public financing to statewide and legislative candidates as long as the candidates abide by certain restrictions and qualifications.

One year later, with the 2006 midterm elections approaching, Harry Mitchell ran unopposed for chair of the Arizona Democratic Party after chairman Jim Pederson stepped down to run for the United States Senate.

Harry Mitchell oversaw much of the early ground work as the Arizona Democratic Party prepared for statewide elections on November 7,2006.

Harry Mitchell was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition who emphasize bipartisanship and cooperation with members of other parties.

Harry Mitchell has voted for legislation largely supported by Democrats in Congress, such as the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

Harry Mitchell voted for the 2009 stimulus plan and has stated he supports extending the Bush tax cuts.

When he took office on January 3,2007, Harry Mitchell became the first Anglo Democrat to represent a significant portion of Phoenix since Sam Coppersmith and Karan English left office in 1995.

Harry Mitchell lost his bid for reelection to Republican nominee David Schweikert.

Harry Mitchell was considered a possible candidate for the US House in 2012 in his former district, which had been renumbered as the 9th district and made slightly more competitive.

Marianne Harry Mitchell died on May 27,2019, after a years-long battle with Alzheimer's disease, the city of Tempe announced on May 29.