[3] Tibshraeny became involved in politics in 1979 when Chandler held its first and only recall election in which the mayor and several city council members were removed from office.
[3] In 1986, Tibshraeny ran for Chandler City Council, winning a seat in March of that year.
[citation needed] In 1990, he became vice-mayor of Chandler under Coy Payne, the first black mayor in Arizona.
He took the seat in March, and during his time as mayor, he oversaw Chandler's transition from a rural town to a bedroom community for Phoenix.
[a] In 2002, Tibshraeny ran for the newly created 21st District in the southeastern Phoenix metro area.
He won the primary election, held on September 10, 2002, beating the only other candidate, Morris Cooper.