New City Council Member? What to Do Before You're Sworn In
If you just won your race, the weeks before you’re sworn in as a new city council member are the best prep time you’ll get. Once you take office, the agendas, the budget and the phone calls don’t wait for you to catch up.
This guide is for Democrats elected to city and town councils in 2026, with Arizona law where it matters. Most of it applies anywhere.
Treat Open Meeting Rules as Already in Effect
Arizona’s open meeting law requires meetings of a public body to be open to the public. A meeting doesn’t need a room. A chain of emails, texts or one-on-one calls that adds up to a quorum discussing city business can count as one.
Build the habits now. Don’t reply-all to your colleagues about council business, keep group chats with other members off city topics and save the debate for the meeting. Ask your city clerk or attorney for the open meeting training your city uses before your first agenda.
Assume Your Texts and Emails Are Public Records
Under Arizona’s public records law, public records are open to inspection by anyone. Messages about city business can be public records even when they’re on your personal phone or account.
Start using your city email for city business on day one. Keep campaign conversations on campaign accounts, and assume anything you write about council business could be read aloud at a meeting.
Keep Campaign and City Business Apart
Arizona bars cities from using their resources to influence elections, including city email, staff, phones, web pages and postage. No campaign asks from your city account, and no re-election pitch in an official newsletter.
Social media needs the same line. In Lindke v. Freed, the Supreme Court held that an official’s posts can count as government action when the official has authority to speak for the government and uses it.
Blocking critics on a page like that can violate the First Amendment. Keep a clearly personal or campaign account separate from anything official.
Know Your Conflict-of-Interest Duties
Arizona’s conflict-of-interest law, A.R.S. § 38-503, covers city contracts, sales, purchases and services. If you or a relative has a substantial interest in one, you have to disclose it in the official record and stay out of the decision.
Make a list now of your own and your family’s business interests, landlords, employers and clients. Walk through it with the city attorney before the first vote, not during it.
Meet the People Who Run the City
As a new city council member, ask the city manager or administrator for a briefing first. Then meet the clerk, the city attorney and the department heads one at a time. Ask each of them what’s coming in the next six months and where the problems are.
Get the current budget, any strategic plan and the council’s rules of procedure. Learn how agenda items get added and how board and committee appointments work, because those choices get made early.
Pick Two or Three Priorities and Learn the Budget Calendar
The budget is where priorities become real. In most Arizona cities the fiscal year starts July 1, so budget work begins in the spring. If housing, water or transit brought you here, find the budget line and the staff person behind it before January.
If you’re one of few Democrats on the council, or the race was nonpartisan, build coalitions issue by issue. Networks like Local Progress connect progressive local officials who have passed similar policies elsewhere.
Keep Your Campaign Alive, Quietly
File your post-election campaign finance reports with the city or town clerk on time. Thank volunteers and donors now, while the win is fresh.
If you plan to run again or run higher, keep the committee open. Our guide to officeholder accounts and leftover campaign funds covers what campaign money can pay for once you’re in office.
Your first term is also your next campaign. Our swing-seat re-election plan lays out a first-year timeline that works for a new city council member too.
Sutton & Smart works with Democratic officeholders on re-election and campaigns for higher office. Tell us about your first-term plans.
Need Help Running Your Campaign?
Sutton & Smart helps Democratic candidates run and win — from first-time school board hopefuls to congressional campaigns. We handle the strategy, direct mail, fundraising, and field work so you can focus on the voters. Tell us about your race and we’ll show you exactly what it takes to win it. Start here.
Join Our Free Community Built for Democrats Running for Office
Running for the first time is a lot less daunting with people who’ve done it beside you. Our free community for Democrats running for office gives you expert insights, practical courses, and a network of candidates going through exactly what you are — no cost to join.
Jon Sutton
An expert in management, strategy, and field organizing, Jon has been a frequent commentator in national publications.
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