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Waring, DiCiccio Re-Elected, Other Races Go To Run-Off

Four Phoenix City Council seats were up for a vote in Tuesday's election, and there will be a runoff election for two of the seats.

Incumbents Jim Waring and Sal DiCiccio secured re-election in Districts 2 and 6. Waring had 76 percent of the vote over Virgel Cain, while DiCiccio defeated Karlene Keogh Parks with 55 percent of the vote.

There were seven candidates in the District 4 primary, now there are two. Justin Johnson and Laura Pastor will face each other in the general election Nov. 5.

Johnson says he plans to continue talking about the issues he focused on in the primary.

"I want to bring jobs back to the central city and out on the west side in Maryvale. I want to clean up the streets. We’ve seen a spike in some of the crime rates in District 4," he said.

Pastor says she will also follow her strategy from the primary, emphasizing efforts to bring more employment opportunities to Maryvale, which covers the western portion of District 4.

"We need to re-image Maryvale. We need to need to look at the infill and anchor it with good business, health care and technology, research and development, use those businesses to anchor in that area," she said.

Two candidates will also face a run-off for Phoenix City Council District 8. The race now pits a longtime community leader against a political newcomer.

Reverend Warren Stewart is a longtime community leader who has been active in civil rights issues for decades. His campaign headquarters Tuesday night was filled with many well-known African-American and Latino political leaders offering congratulations. He says his message in the general election will be the same he had in the primary.

"I’ve been about building relationships and coalitions all my life and  hopefully that’s the message voters will hear and say 'that’s the kind of person I want to represent me on the City Council,'" Stewart said.

Just down the street his opponent Kate Gallego was also celebrating her primary win. Early returns showed Gallego with 47 percent of the primary vote. Her headquarters was filled with many young volunteers, some still in high school.

She credits them with getting her message of change out.

"Our volunteer coordinator is in high school. Our chief technology officer is starting his freshman year. They are very talented  and I feel very lucky they are part of our team," Gallego said.

District 8 covers much of South Phoenix. Both candidates say they want to create more opportunities for those residents and address issues they say have been ignored by city hall.