Greg Stanton Bio
Gregory John Stanton (born March 8, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician who has represented Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he currently serves the 4th congressional district, a seat he won after redistricting shifted the boundaries of his original 9th district. Before coming to Congress, Stanton served as mayor of Phoenix from 2012 to 2018, one of the highest-profile elected positions in the state of Arizona.
Stanton first entered public life as a member of the Phoenix City Council in 2000, then went on to serve as Deputy Attorney General of Arizona before leading the state’s largest city. In Congress, he has focused on issues that shaped his earlier career, including transportation infrastructure, civil rights, and protections for working families.
Early Life and Background
Gregory John Stanton was born on Long Island, New York, on March 8, 1970. His family later relocated to Arizona, where he was raised in the west Phoenix neighborhood of Sunnyslope. He attended Cortez High School and graduated with the class of 1988, the same city that would eventually place him on its political map.
Stanton went on to attend Marquette University, a Jesuit institution in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated magna cum laude in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, one of the most prestigious academic honor societies in the United States. His college years helped shape his interest in public policy and the law.
He continued his education at the University of Michigan Law School, earning a Juris Doctor in 1995. Following law school, he returned to Arizona and worked as an education attorney from 1995 to 2000, building the legal foundation that would soon translate into a political career. In 2014, he also became an adjunct professor at Arizona Summit Law School, sharing his knowledge with the next generation of lawyers.
Path to US Politics
Stanton’s path to US politics began at the local level, when he was elected to the Phoenix City Council for the 6th district in 2000. He continued to win re-election in 2001 and 2005, and the district included the affluent Biltmore area centered around Biltmore Fashion Park and Arcadia, as well as the non-contiguous community of Ahwatukee. He served on the council until 2009.
From 2009 to 2011, Stanton worked as Deputy Attorney General of Arizona under Attorney General Terry Goddard, where he helped cut off funding for cartels engaged in human and drug trafficking, fought against predatory payday lenders, and worked to eliminate mortgage fraud. He also helped negotiate a settlement that protected the future of Luke Air Force Base, a key military installation in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Greg Stanton Career
Early Career (2000-2011)
Stanton first won public office in 2000, when he was elected to the Phoenix City Council for the 6th district. The seat covered neighborhoods that combined some of Phoenix’s wealthiest enclaves with more modest, non-contiguous areas, giving him experience representing a wide cross-section of his community. He won re-election in 2001 and 2005, holding the seat until 2009.
After leaving the council, Stanton became Deputy Attorney General of Arizona in 2009, serving under Attorney General Terry Goddard. In that role, he focused on consumer protection and public safety cases, building a record on issues that he would later bring into citywide leadership.
Phoenix Mayor Era (2012-2018)
Stanton was elected mayor of Phoenix in 2011, defeating Republican challenger Wes Gullett in the general election after a primary in which Stanton received about 38 percent of the vote. His campaign faced scrutiny over the legality of nearly $70,000 in contributions from his former treasurer, Mindy Shields. Stanton opposed the embezzlement prosecution of Shields and fired her in October 2010, a decision that drew attention but did not derail his campaign.
Once in office, Stanton took on major fiscal and policy battles. He advocated against the 2013 federal budget sequestration by meeting with members of Congress multiple times and pushed for public pension reforms that included greater employee contributions and longer work requirements before retirement. In March 2013, he decided against repealing the city food tax after projections showed that ending the tax would lead to layoffs of nearly 99 police officers and 300 other city employees.
Stanton was reelected on August 25, 2015. In 2017, Governing magazine named him one of its Public Officials of the Year for his efforts to expand light rail, build new bike lanes, and add sidewalks while also working to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. He resigned on May 29, 2018, in order to run for Congress, stepping down a year before his term would have ended.
U.S. House of Representatives Era (2019-Present)
After incumbent Representative Kyrsten Sinema decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 2018, Stanton, who was term-limited as mayor, ran for her seat. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated Republican nominee Steve Ferrara 61 percent to 39 percent in the general election, campaigning on his record of problem-solving as mayor.
In 2020, Stanton was again unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated Republican nominee Dave Giles in the general election, again with 61 percent of the vote. Following the 2020 redistricting, he ran for reelection in Arizona’s 4th congressional district and defeated Republican nominee Kelly Cooper with 56 percent of the vote. He has continued to win in the same district, building a strong record of re-election.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of Stanton’s signature moments in Congress was his support for the Equality Act, a bill that would have expanded the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. He also co-signed a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on October 1, 2020, condemning Azerbaijan’s offensive operations against the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and calling for an immediate ceasefire. He opposed the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it a dark day for the country, and on July 11, 2024, he called for Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 United States presidential election.
Greg Stanton Career Wins
Across two decades in public service, Greg Stanton has built a steady record of electoral success, winning seats at the city, state, and federal levels. His victories include multiple wins on the Phoenix City Council, two terms as mayor of Arizona’s largest city, and three or more re-election wins in the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. House of Representatives Highlights
Stanton first won his congressional seat in 2018, defeating Republican Steve Ferrara with 61 percent of the vote after running unopposed in the Democratic primary. He followed that win with a 2020 victory over Republican Dave Giles, again with 61 percent of the vote, and then won his first race in the redrawn 4th district in 2022 with 56 percent of the vote against Republican Kelly Cooper. He has since been reelected in 2024, continuing his unbroken streak in Congress.
Other Wins and Achievements
Beyond Congress, Stanton won election to the Phoenix City Council in 2000, 2001, and 2005, giving him nine years of legislative experience at the municipal level. In 2017, Governing magazine honored him as one of its Public Officials of the Year for his work expanding light rail, bike lanes, and sidewalks while reducing the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Greg Stanton Family
Family Background and Personal Life
Stanton is Catholic and has built much of his life in Arizona after his family moved there from New York. He has combined a legal career with public service, working as an education attorney before being elected to local office in 2000.
Stanton married Nicole Stanton, an attorney, in 2005. The couple has two children. The two separated in 2016, but were back together by 2019, and Nicole has continued to be a presence in his personal life as he serves in Congress.