In one Mesa City Council race in District 2 there was a good example of that when one inexperienced candidate was hand-selected by Mayor John Giles - and doused with thousands of dollars in disclosures made in required Campaign Financial Statements - to unseat the incumbent Jeremy Whittaker. That was the closest contest for the Mesa City Council.
_________________________________________________________________________
Last Sunday the The Mesa Tribune had this to say:
After his resounding re-election to his second and last full four-year term, Mayor John Giles cherishes the lengthy 10-year opportunity voters have given him to make his hometown better.
". . . Ten years is a long time, Giles said – Long enough to see projects he started come to fruition, such as the asu@mesacity city center and two closely-related spinoffs – a plaza and an incubation studio in the city’s vacant former Information Technology building. . .
With four more years from a lopsided win Aug. 4 over constitutionalist Verl Farnworth – 60,313-30,360 in unofficial results, a 67-33 percent margin – Giles might even see the city’s long-dormant Site 17 redevelopment project downtown become an important asset.
In District One, Vice Mayor Mark Freeman, a close Giles ally, won an equally lopsided victory over former mayoral candidate Danny Ray, 10,235-4,696, a 69-31 percent margin.
Giles scored a secondary victory of sorts in District 2, even though he wasn’t on the ballot, when his hand-picked candidate, political novice Julie Spilsbury, coasted to a comfortable victory over Jeremy Whittaker, Giles’ unofficial nemesis, 8,465-6,802, a 55-45 percent margin.
The turnout was uninspiring at nearly 35 percent for mayor and nearly 38 percent for the two council races, with District Three council member Francisco Heredia winning an uncontested seat after opponent Christopher Bown dropped out
Even without Whittaker’s criticisms from the council dais, Giles anticipates opposition, saying, “These ideas get better with constructive criticism.’’
Despite his loss, Farnsworth said he’s concerned about Giles facing little opposition from council and that he will be watching carefully and speaking loudly when necessary.
Farnsworth is especially concerned about what he calls private-public partnerships, essentially the tax incentive deals the city has used with downtown redevelopment and economic development projects.
“I will monitor their conduct on behalf of the people. I will speak against intrusions on the public’s trust and resources,’’ Farnsworth said.
“I think we are in for a rocky road.’’
But Spilsbury sees no rocks to climb, just opportunities to work well with others and get important work done. She said she won’t bow to anyone, but she also will be constructive.
She said the mayor, City Manager Chris Brady and virtually the entire council called her or texted her, congratulating her on her victory over Whittaker and welcoming her to the council. She will be seated in January.
“I’ve been given leadership qualities by God. I can make things happen,’’ Spilsbury said. . .
Spilsbury has mainly been noted in the past as a school volunteer and said she didn’t know initially that serving on the council was a paid position when she was weighing a bid at elected office.
She said she would like to think that residents voted for her because of her years of building relationships in the community as a mother and a lifelong Mesa resident, but acknowledged the impact of Giles support, saying, “I’m sure that didn’t hurt me.’’
_________________________________________________________________________________This infographic in general might help to explain Voter Turnout in two of the contests where the incumbent received about 2/3 of the ballots cast
That's about only 1 out of 5 of those who were eligible to vote
Contest for Mesa City Council in District 1 received about 17,000 ballots with a VT = 37.28%
That's about only 1 out of 4 of those who were eligible to vote
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND VOTER TURNOUT
_______________________________________________________________________________
The Race for Mayor
Source: https://recorder.maricopa.gov/electionresults/primary2020.aspx
| Mesa-Mayor | Ballot Cast: 97193 | Turnout: 34.85% | Vote for 1 | |
| FARNSWORTH, VERL | 30,360 |
33%
33%
| ||
| GILES, JOHN* | 60,313 |
67%
67%
| ||
| Mesa Dist 1-Councilmember | Ballot Cast: 17254 | Turnout: 37.28% | Vote for 1 | |
| FREEMAN, MARK* | 10,235 |
69%
69%
| ||
| RAY, DANNY | 4,696 |
31%
31%
| ||
| Mesa Dist 2-Councilmember | Ballot Cast: 16508 | Turnout: 36.76% | Vote for 1 | |
| SPILSBURY, JULIE* | 8,465 |
55%
55%
| ||
| WHITTAKER, JEREMY | 6,802 |
45%
45%
| ||
| Mesa Dist 3-Councilmember | Ballot Cast: 12978 | Turnout: 29.69% | Vote for 1 | |
| HEREDIA, FRANCISCO* | 10,467 |
100%
100%
|
LINK TO SOURCE > https://mesanow.org/election
August 4, 2020, Primary Election
Unofficial Election Results (Includes Early Ballots)
(Information refreshes automatically)
Mayor
Polling Places Reported:
83 of 84 (98.81%)
83 of 84 (98.81%)
| Farnsworth, Verl | 30,360 | 33.48% | |
| Giles, John | 60,313 | 66.52% | |
| Write-in | 0 | 0.00% | |
Councilmember - District 1
Polling Places Reported:
13 of 14 (92.86%)
13 of 14 (92.86%)
| Freeman, Mark | 10,235 | 68.55% | |
| Ray, Danny | 4,696 | 31.45% | |
| Write-in | 0 | 0.00% | |
Councilmember - District 2
Polling Places Reported:
10 of 11 (90.91%)
10 of 11 (90.91%)
| Spilsbury, Julie | 8,465 | 55.45% | |
| Whittaker, Jeremy | 6,802 | 44.55% | |
| Write-in | 0 | 0.00% | |
Councilmember - District 3
Polling Places Reported:
11 of 12 (91.67%)
11 of 12 (91.67%)
| Heredia, Francisco | 10,467 | 100.00% | |
| Write-in | 0 | 0.00% | |
