John Giles loved installing photo radar cameras across Mesa. He just doesn’t love complying himself.
Gov. Katie Hobbs picked Giles as her running mate for the 2026 Democratic ticket about two months ago. Before that, Giles served as a mayor and councilmember in Mesa, where one of his biggest priorities was installing photo radar systems across the city.
In 1999, Giles voted to “expand its photo radar and red light camera program” but said that he was “disappointed” overall because “he was expecting to see more than 18 total cameras.” He then voted the following year to enforce photo radar more aggressively, including “the use of process servers” to track down “all violators” without exception. He pushed for “a total crackdown” and insisted that anything less than strict enforcement “breeds disrespect for law enforcement.”
Giles’s role in building out the photo radar system was described as “pivotal.”
And it continued throughout his term as mayor, including in 2018 when he voted to grant a $1.87 million photo radar contract to American Traffic Solutions, Inc. (dba Verra Mobility). He told the municipality during a little-noticed study session that “we need to sell this” (photo radar) more effectively to critics so that they don’t think it’s “a milking operation for us to get money out of the people that use our streets.”
When it came to his own personal driving habits, though, Giles seems to ignore rules of the road.
According to police and court records obtained by FOIAzona, he has been charged with traffic citations at least five times over the past few years … in Mesa alone:
For example, Giles blew through a red light in his Tesla in both 2021 and 2023 (while serving as mayor), the citations for which list $293.50 and $294.75 in sanctions, respectively.
Even more notable, the “register of actions” maintained by the courthouse show that both of those red light charges (2021 and 2023) were dismissed due to a “90-day PE,” which a source in law enforcement tells me indicates that Giles may have avoided being served the summons.
I have not been able to verify exactly what happened with the summons, but I did manage to track down the traffic camera footage, which clearly shows Giles in his Tesla blowing through the red lights.
Here is the 2021 incident:
And here is the 2023 incident:
Arizonans will be voting on Proposition 319, a proposed ban photo radar and red-light cameras, in November 2026.
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