Mesa is one of the fastest growing cities in Arizona. The East Valley is now just shy of half a million residents and has been a magnet for growth. For the the last decade, this boom has been shepherded by Mayor John Giles.
He chalks up Mesa's success to several factors including smart investments in the city's properties. This in turn has paved the way for many of the world's biggest companies – Amazon, Apple, Google – to laid down roots here.
As Giles begins to wrap up his tenure as mayor of the Valley's largest suburb, he stopped by The Gaggle studio to reflect on how Mesa has evolved, the challenges its overcome and ones it still has, and where he sees himself going next.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Gaggle: An Arizona politics podcast