March 18, 2006

Voters in Tempe and Chandler and the Kyrene School District appear to have chosen the status quo.

Tuesday’s election results were not yet “official” when Wrangler News went to press, but it appears that Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn and Kyrene Governing Board Member Rae Waters retained their seats, as did several incumbents in the two cities.

Waters collected 53 percent of the votes to challenger Patrick McGill’s 47 percent to retain her seat on the Kyrene board in a heated recall race to determine whether she would serve out the remainder of her term that lasts through December.

Unofficial results posted early Wednesday by the Maricopa County Elections Department showed Waters with 5,703 votes to McGill’s 5,063.

Dunn defeated Vice Mayor Phill Westbrooks to remain Chandler’s mayor.

The Elections Department showed Dunn with 59 percent of the votes to Westbrooks’ 41 percent, a lead of more than 2,650 votes with all precincts reported.

Chandler Councilman Bob Caccamo appeared to have won re-election by gathering 22 percent of the available votes.

Caccamo is trailed by Trinity Donovan (17%), Becky Jackson (17%), Jeff Weninger (15%) and Chris Stage (11%), setting the stage for a runoff in Chandler’s May 16 general election to fill the remaining two council seats.

All percentages have been rounded off.

Chandler voters also voted overwhelmingly (77% to 23%) to extend the city’s local alternative expenditure limitation that will allow local officials to avoid spending limits imposed by state law.

In Tempe, incumbent Councilman Ben Arredondo appears to have retained his seat with 27 percent of the votes.

Tempe newcomer Shana Ellis, former assistant director of the Tempe Community Council, appears to have won another of the three available Tempe Council positions by collecting 25 percent of the votes.