Amid high profile elections in Arizona and nationwide on Tuesday, Nov. 6, the Clarkdale Town Council saw a major setback in its goal of raising funds to repair roads throughout the town.
Proposal 445, which would have raised a 10-year $6 million bond for the town’s street improvements, was put on the ballot after a unanimous vote by the council at a May 22 meeting. At that meeting, Public Works Director Maher Hazine made the case that Clarkdale’s roads are desperately in need of fixing, and spending the money now to repair them would save money in the long run through future maintenance costs.
That goal was crushed on Tuesday, as Clarkdale residents voted overwhelmingly against Proposition 445. The ballot measure received 1,206 “no” votes, representing 70.28 percent compared to the 510 “yes” votes.
The failure of the bond election leaves the council short on options for how to fund transportation improvements council members insist are necessary.
“It means we have to find another way to fund the work that’s required in order to maintain our streets and keep them safe and sustainable,” Clarkdale Vice Mayor Richard Dehnert said after the bond election’s failure.
Dehnert described himself as “disappointed” and said that the council has no easy alternatives to the bond proposal.
“We certainly don’t have a funding mechanism for a major program to improve our streets, so it will take a while to figure out what we can do with what we have,” Dehnert said. “[The streets] will continue to deteriorate.”
Mingus Union High School District Governing Board
Also on Tuesday, Carol Anne Teague comfortably won the contested election for Mingus Union High School District Governing Board, with 6,247 votes, or 64.71 percent of the total. Teague defeated Jason Finger, a retiring Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District Governing Board member who sought to switch to the other school district. Finger received 3,375 votes.
“I was hoping, but you’re a fool if you just assume that you’re going to win,” Teague said after her election. “I have nothing but the greatest appreciation for Jason, for the decent campaign that he ran.”
Teague ran generally as a continuation of the school board’s current policies and culture, whereas Finger, who has been in opposition to the current MUHSD board in recent months due to his support for school district consolidation as part of the COCSD board, represented more of a break from the status quo.
Teague has taken on a similar view on consolidation as most MUHSD board members — that it could be a good idea for the district but that as proposed, the difficulties in implementation make it inadvisable. She expressed a desire to get up to speed on the inner workings of being a board member soon in order to join with the current members.
“Things are going to be different simply because we’ve got an almost completely new board,” Teague said. “And I think that’s good. I’m sorry that the experience is going away, that [MUHSD Governing Board members James] Ledbetter and Anita [Glazar] brought to it but I think that to have some new eyes and new faces and new brains looking at stuff with being able to call Anita or Ledbetter or [MUHSD Governing Board member] Steve Gesell, and say ‘hey what about this?’ — I think that’s the best of both worlds.”
Verde Valley Fire District Governing Board
Also in the Verde Valley, Colleen Gilboy and Don Peck won the two open seats on the board of the Verde Valley Fire District, beating out Gary Svider.
Gilboy received 4,097 votes, or 42.82 percent, while Peck received 3,058 votes, or 31.96 percent. Svider received 2,377 votes.
Yavapai College District Governing Board
Paul Chevalier unseated incumbent Connie Harris for a seat on the Yavapai County Community College District Board, winning 54.73 percent of the vote with 7,212 votes to Harris’ 5,928.
Arizona State Legislature
Republicans swept state legislative elections for Legislative District 6.
Arizona State Sen. Sylvia Allen maintained her seat with 52 percent of the vote, fending off Democratic challenger Wade Carlisle. Allen won 41,696 in the district, compared to Carlisle’s 38,307.
Republican Arizona State Rep. Bob Thorpe kept his seat in the Arizona House of Representatives, now joined by fellow Republican Walter Blackman. The other District 6 representative, Republican Brenda Barton, was prevented from running reelection due to term limits and was taken off the Arizona State Senate ballot against Allen prior to the primary due to insufficient signatures on her nominating petitions.
Of the four candidates for two LD6 House seats, Blackman won most votes with 38,883 [26.89 percent], followed by Thorpe with 38.159 [26.39 percent], Democrat Felicia French with 36,238 [25.06 percent], and Democrat Bobby Tyler with 31,317 [21.66 percent].
U.S. Congress
Both members of Congress representing parts of the Verde Valley kept their seats against aggressive challengers. Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar [District 4] won 155,086 votes, representing 69 percent, compared to Democrat David Brill who received just 67,346, or 29.8 percent. Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran held on with 112,155 votes or 53.4 percent, compared to 98,063 and 46.6 percent for Republican Wendy Rogers.
“Now more than ever, we need leaders in Washington who will put party politics aside and work together to address the challenges our families and communities face,” O’Halleran wrote in a press release. “Last night, the voters of Arizona’s 1st District were clear that hyper-partisan rhetoric and gridlock have no place in our government. In the next two years, I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get results for families in the district and across America.”
All vote totals may be subject to change as election officials continue to count early ballots.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
