Digital Run-offs likely for mayor, City Council member from Dist. 1
By Jill Adair | Digital Free Press
The Maricopa County Elections Department 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, reported unofficial results in the Mesa City Council election. About 25% of registered voters cast a vote for Mesa candidates.
According to unofficial results, former Mayor Scott Smith and current Dist. 1 City Councilman Mark Freeman were virtually tied at 29% of the vote and since neither received 50% of the vote, they will be in a runoff in the General Election Nov. 5. Mr. Smith, who served as Mesa mayor from 2008 to 2014, received 18,500 votes and Mr. Freeman, who has served on Mesa City Council since 2017, received 18,055.
The winner will replace John Giles, who has served two terms as mayor and was not able to run again, according to the city’s Charter.
Other mayor candidates: Ryan Winkle, receiving 8,824 votes; Scott Neely, 8,597; and Carey Davis, 8,226.
For City Council, Dist. 1 candidates were: Rich Adams, 3,090; Ron Williams, 2,736, Time Meyer, 2,418 and Zachary Hichez, 949. Mr. Adams and Mr. Williams will likely be in a run-off in November.
In Mesa Dist. 2, Julie Spilsbury was re-elected to her second term, garnering 6,928 votes (66%) against challenger Melody Whetstone, 3,536 (34%).
She posted on her Facebook profile:
“I’m so excited to serve another 4 years in the city that I love! Thank you to everyone who has supported me through the last four years and through my election. And whether you supported me or not, I will continue to serve to the best of my ability and my door is always open! I am always up for a conversation and learning. I’m very grateful tonight that my opponent Melody Whetstone and I were able to run a positive campaign.”
In Dist. 3, former current Vice Mayor Francisco Heredia was re-elected, with 4,075 votes (56%), against Marc Lavender, 3,139 (44%).
Mr. Heredia was appointed to the Mesa City Council to fill the vacant Dist. 3 seat on September 28, 2017, and elected in November of 2018 to complete the term. He won re-election in August of 2020 to a full four-year term that will run until January 2025. He was elected as Vice Mayor in January 2023, a term that he will serve for two years until January 2025, according to mesaaz.gov.
Arizona allows voters to drop off early ballots at the polls on election day, and those ballots must still be processed and verified before they can be tallied. Official results will take a few days.
The last day to register to vote in the General Election is Oct. 7, and early voting begins Oct. 9.
Click HERE for more information on Mesa mayor and City Council.
