When Phoenix City Councilman Bill Gates stepped down to run for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in May, he left a coveted seat on the council open.
Former city planner Debra Stark was temporarily appointed to the position this summer, and three rival candidates came forward to face her on Nov. 8 for a special election for a permanent position.
The votes have been counted, and none of the candidates won a majority of the vote. Stark won about 41 percent of the vote, and Phoenix attorney Chris DeRose won about 21 percent. Now, Stark is facing a runoff election against DeRose on March 14.
The Show’s spoke with The Arizona Republic’s Phoenix City Hall Reporter, Dustin Gardiner, about the election.
He said, though the City Council is a non-partisan election, where no candidate’s party affiliation will appear on the ballot, that doesn’t mean that party identification doesn’t come into play in these campaigns.
“Chris DeRose is a registered Republican, and he’s often emphasized that in his campaign,” he said. “Debra Stark is a registered Democrat, but she’s emphasized that she considers herself to be fairly moderate and doesn’t look at things through a partisan lens.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous headline for this story incorrectly identified the runoff election.
