Corey Woods (Tempe)

Corey Donald Woods (born December 7, 1978) is an American politician serving as the mayor of Tempe, Arizona since 2020. Woods is a member of the Democratic Party.

Corey Woods
Mayor of Tempe
Assumed office
July 2, 2020
Preceded byMark Mitchell
Member of The Tempe City Council
In office
July 17, 2008 – July 7, 2016
Personal details
Born (1978-12-07) December 7, 1978
Political partyDemocratic
EducationB.A. University of Michigan
M.A. Arizona State University

Biography

In 2000, he graduated with a B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan.[1][2] In 2018, he graduated with a M.A. in educational policy from Arizona State University.[1][2] He began his career in politics as a member of the Tempe City Council from 2008 to 2016. During this time he served as Tempe's Vice Mayor. He defeated incumbent mayor Mark Mitchell in 2020, becoming the city's first African-American mayor and Arizona's second.[3][4]

While mayor, he focused on the creation of affordable housing.[1] He founded "Hometown for All" which created an investment fund that would purchase properties and convert them into permanent affordable housing units.[1]

During his tenure, Tempe partnered with Arizona State University and developed a wastewater surveillance process where wastewater was monitored to inform COVID-19 case rates, the first city in the country to do so.[5] Tempe received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expand the program.[5] The Tempe Streetcar transit line was completed during his term in 2022.[5]

In 2022, the Arizona State Legislature named him to the bipartisan Housing Supply Study Committee tasked with developing solutions to the state's housing shortage.[6]

In July 2022, Woods was appointed by the United States Conference of Mayors as Vice Chair of the Community Development and Housing Standing Committee tasked "to influence national policies that will increase affordable and workforce housing opportunities."[6]

In July 2022, Tempe initiated a new program where 911 dispatchers would be paired with counselors who have experience in psychology, social work, and counseling to better respond to non-violent emergency calls where dispatching the police might not be the best response.[7]

Woods has supported the development of the $2.1 billion Arizona Coyotes Entertainment District (including a New Tempe Arena) that would host the NHL team.[1] On November 10, 2022, the Tempe city council voted 7-0 to allow residents to vote on the project in a special election on May 16, 2023.[8] He also secured a city council vote for South Pier at Tempe Town Lake, a $1.8 billion, 2,500 unit luxury apartment development;[9] the project is currently on-hold due to litigation over the granting of an 8-year tax abatement to the developer and its lack of affordable housing.[10]

References
  1. Kmack, Sam (February 20, 2023). "Who is Tempe's mayor? What to know about Corey Woods". AZCentral.
  2. "Corey Woods for Mayor". coreyfortempe.com.
  3. Prange, Rich (March 11, 2020). "Corey Woods defeats incumbent to become Tempe's first African American mayor". KPNX.
  4. Pineda, Paulina (10 March 2020). "Corey Woods unseats incumbent Mark Mitchell to win Tempe mayor's race". Arizona Republic. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  5. Waiss, Alexis (November 5, 2021). "Mayor Cory Woods refelects on tempe Achievements, Challenges in Address". The State Press.
  6. "Mayor Corey Woods Appointed to Housing Leadership Role". SignalsAZ.com. July 20, 2022.
  7. Greason, Nicole (July 26, 2022). "New Tempe 911 Response Now Sends Mental-Health Pros Instead of Police Officers to Some Crises". wranglernews.com.
  8. Robinson, Alan (November 29, 2022). "Coyotes proposed new arena project advances to public vote. NHL Commissioner Bettman calls $2.1 billion district plan 'a win-win for the community'". NHL.com.
  9. Horton, Alysa (February 1, 2023). "Controversial Tempe Town Lake Housing Development Lands On Spring Ballot. The South Pier project will now be on the special elections ballot in May after an Arizona Court of Appeals panel decision said it should be approved by voters". The State Press.
  10. Pitts, William (February 9, 2023). "'Spending taxpayer dollars': Tempe Town Lake billion-dollar project headed to court. A planned billion-dollar project on Tempe Town Lake is headed to court as a union group tries to put the project to a vote". KPNX.
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