By Agnel Philip, Travis Arbon and Jade Nicole Yeban
The status quo ruled election day in Phoenix on Tuesday as all incumbents and propositions jumped out to large early leads.
Most notably, current mayor Greg Stanton and transportation plan Proposition 104 both held commanding leads as preliminary results were announced. Votes from early ballots turned in after Aug. 21 will be added to the totals on Friday.
“This is a great night for the future of the City of Phoenix,” said Stanton, who won 65 percent of the vote, to supporters at an election night event in Desoto Central Market.
Over the cheers of constituents, he remarked on his prior campaign four years ago.
“You trusted me with the greatest job I could ever imagine,” he said. “I love serving as your mayor.”
The energy in Desoto was high as Stanton’s voters buzzed around in anticipation of the vote earlier that evening.
Paul Zazueta, a business analyst, was one of the many supporters who awaited the results on Roosevelt Row Tuesday night.
“This is a slam dunk for Stanton,” Zazueta said before the results were revealed at 8 p.m. “It’s going to be a landslide. I think that he’s done so much for the city, and he’s very likable. He’s always there with construction and he’s building a lot, and he has always had positive outlooks about the city and the business within the city.”
Anna Brennan, the runner-up in the preliminary tally with 29 percent of the vote, congratulated Stanton on the win and expressed hope that he will “lead our city forward.”
Brennan, whose platform focused on her opposition to Prop. 104 and on developing responsible fiscal policies for the city, attributed some of the low voter turnout, 14 percent so far, to the election being held in an off-year, without an accompanying Presidential or Congressional race. She said that if she had received more help from the Republican Party, she would have been able to distribute more mailers.
“The most challenging part is the people who are willing to complain but don’t put their money where their mouth is. …,” she said. “The reality of it is that had I gotten more mailers out that more people would have known what we stood for and they would have voted, but a lot of people didn’t know who I was.”
This was Brennan’s second attempt at the mayoral election, having run against Stanton in 2011 as well. She said this will be her last try for the seat. With the campaign behind her, Brennan said she plans to remain involved in the community, but refocus her attention on her kids and family. She has a 17-year-old daughter at home, whom she calls her “baby.”
Matt Jette, an educator who ran as the independent alternative, is a distant third with 6 percent of the vote.
The other races were similarly lacking in drama. Incumbent Daniel Valenzuela racked up 73 percent of the vote to hold the early lead against Felix Garcia in District 5’s council race. Thelda Williams (District 1), Bill Gates (District 3) and Michael Nowakowski (District 5) ran unopposed.
Prop. 104, the hotly debated transportation plan that called for street upgrades and the expansion of light rail and bus service through a 0.3 percent increase to the sales tax, held a large early lead with 55 percent of voters backing the plan. Final percentages were not available by publishing time.
“Today is a victory for anyone who wants a more shaded, walkable city,” said District 8 councilwoman Kate Gallego, who co-chaired the campaign to pass the proposition.
Brennan said the proposition was presented as a “magic cure-all pill,” but will ultimately harm the city.
“That’s where I think that our elected officials failed the taxpayer, because our current mayor went along with a highly paid propaganda machine and did not really get both sides of the story,” she said.
Propositions 100-103 dealing with issues including the city’s general plan, expenditure limits, electronic payments and pension reform all held commanding leads in the preliminary tallies as well.
Contact the reporter at agnel.philip@asu.edu, travis.arbon@asu.edu and Jadenicole.Yeban@asu.edu
