Former Phoenix mayor and congressional candidate Greg Stanton was robbed by a man wielding a weapon outside of a restaurant Saturday night, officials said.

Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Armando Carbajal said Stanton was approached by a man as he left Thai Rama restaurant near Camelback Road and 15th Avenue about 8:40 p.m. Saturday.

Stanton told The Arizona Republic Sunday he was OK after the robbery.

He was eating alone at Thai Rama, which he described as one of his favorite restaurants, Saturday night. The parking lot was full when he arrived, so he picked a spot on the street instead.

He said he was heading back to his car after dinner when he was approached by a man.

"I assumed he was probably going through a difficult time — experiencing homelessness — and was going to ask for money," Stanton said. "I will often provide them with resources."

The man asked for money and Stanton said he replied he was happy to give him a few bucks to help out.

Then, Stanton said, the man moved toward him aggressively. He asked the former mayor to move across the street to a darker area. Stanton said he then saw the man was carrying a hatchet-like weapon.

"I realized this was much more serious than him just asking for money," he added.

Stanton said he told the man to just take the wallet before he moved around the man and ran back to the restaurant to call police. The man left.

"The main thing is I’m OK," Stanton said. "I’m a public servant, so there wasn’t much money in my wallet."

It wasn't clear whether the man knew who Stanton was.

Police said they did not have a suspect. The robber was described as white man ranging from 35 to 40 years old, approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall with black hair and some stubble. Carbajal said the man had a "chunky" build and was wearing a brown and white horizontal-striped short-sleeved golf shirt and jeans.

Stanton thanked Phoenix police for handling his report professionally and said he was confident they would locate the man.

"This is a random act, and police are going to handle it perfectly fine," he said

The Democrat served on the Phoenix City Council for nine years before he was elected mayor in 2011. He resigned in May to run for the congressional seat currently held by Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix.

During his seven years as mayor, Stanton focused on downtown development and a number of social issues, including homelessness.

Republic reporter Jessica Boehm contributed to this report.

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