Glendale’s mayor won’t seek re-election as Coyotes remain in limbo

[Teagz]

Glendale’s mayor, Elaine Scruggs, will not be seeking a sixth straight term. The 68-year-old announced her decision late Tuesday before leaving for vacation.

Scruggs has been Glendale’s mayor since 1993, and while she’s best known by hockey fans through the city’s involvement with the Phoenix Coyotes, she was clearly popular with voters to last as long as she did in the position.

But as The Arizona Republic reports, “She was facing the toughest campaign of her political career amid talk of closing pools and libraries to buttress a budget pressured by the city’s venture into professional hockey…The search for an owner for the Phoenix Coyotes, who play at a city-built arena, remains unresolved after three years. The city pledged $50 million to the National Hockey League to manage the team and arena the past two years.”

Kind of an odd situation. Hopefully they move to Canada though.