Phoenix Mayoral runoff election (appointed, property taxes, live)

[Valley Native]

The race between the two candidates (Gallego and Valenzuela) should hopefully be decided this coming Tuesday the 12th. Not surprisingly, both candidates are Democrats ... however, this appears to be a hotly contested race, much more than past Mayoral elections based on the amount of political ads in the mail, online, as well as on TV. It's almost as bad as a Presidential election or the mid terms.

I sent in my ballot & voted for Gallego because she appears to be the lesser of the two evils, and she has taken a stand against public funding for private amenities (such as pro sports arenas), which is what swayed me in her direction. Is anybody else following this race ... and if so, who is the candidate who you think is best suited to be Phoenix's new Mayor? Write in candidates and "none of the above" will definitely count in this poll.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

I voted Gallego in the general, as she was my city councilperson for a year, back when I lived off 16th St&Osborn

Will still vote her in the runoff

[LS Jaun]

I believe Linda Sarsour put her support behind Gallego. That alone is reason to vote for Valenzuela or anyone else

[Magnum Mike]

I don't like either one of the candidates, the worst part about this election is there was no spot for a write-in candidate, which for me would have been Moses Sanchez.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Magnum Mike

I don't like either one of the candidates, the worst part about this election is there was no spot for a write-in candidate, which for me would have been Moses Sanchez.

This whole runoff election is ridiculous because the winner the first time was clearly Gallego. Valenzuela only got 26% of the vote, so he was clearly in the minority as far as candidates are concerned. Sanchez was also in the minority with 19% the first time around ... however, the way I see it, if Valenzuela can be in the runoff, then Sanchez should have been included as well.

I'm not especially crazy about Gallego or Valenzuela either, but Gallego was the lesser of the two evils from what we had to choose from. Her opposition to taxpayers subsidizing sports venues is the main reason I voted for her. Valenzuela is all in favor of our tax money paying for sports, and he's also in favor of raising property taxes. While I definitely want to keep pro sports downtown, and agree that the Suns arena needs renovating, I strongly believe the Suns can and should pay for the majority of the costs.

[exit2lef]

I leaned toward Valenzuela at first, but I now support Gallego. I actually agree with Valenzuela more than Gallego about the Suns, but I've been disappointed in the 11th hour tactics used by the Valenzuela campaign and the dark money groups supporting him. I understand a candidate moving to the center in order to win. Kyrsten Sinema did that, but she accomplished it more gracefully. The Valenzuela campaign seems to be burning bridges with Democrats in what I believe will be an unsuccessful effort to pick up enough Republican votes to overcome Gallego's lead.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by exit2lef

I leaned toward Valenzuela at first, but I now support Gallego. I actually agree with Valenzuela more than Gallego about the Suns, but I've been disappointed in the 11th hour tactics used by the Valenzuela campaign and the dark money groups supporting him. I understand a candidate moving to the center in order to win. Kyrsten Sinema did that, but she accomplished it more gracefully. The Valenzuela campaign seems to be burning bridges with Democrats in what I believe will be an unsuccessful effort to pick up enough Republican votes to overcome Gallego's lead.

Can't see how Valenzuela is moving to the center and could attract Republicans when he favors tax money to be used for frivolous things like sports arenas, and even supports raising property taxes. The ads make it sound like he's on the pro side of law enforcement and emergency responders, which could sway some moderates in his favor, but the funding & tax issues will definitely not sit well with conservatives & Libertarians. As in the last Presidential election, this Mayoral election will definitely come down to picking the lesser of the evils.

[Magnum Mike]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Can't see how Valenzuela is moving to the center and could attract Republicans when he favors tax money to be used for frivolous things like sports arenas, and even supports raising property taxes. The ads make it sound like he's on the pro side of law enforcement and emergency responders, which could sway some moderates in his favor, but the funding & tax issues will definitely not sit well with conservatives & Libertarians. As in the last Presidential election, this Mayoral election will definitely come down to picking the lesser of the evils.

Thanks VN, frivolous spending and tax increases, those were my biggest peeves with Valenzuela.

[Bondurant]

I made my own write-in line and arrow and voted for Baba Booey.

[exit2lef]

As expected, Gallego won by a large margin.

The District 5 and 8 council races have me surprised, though. Both look like they're headed to a run-off, and in both districts the person I perceived as the front runner (Robinson in District 8 and Guevara in District 5) was not the person with the most votes.

https://www.phoenix.gov/results