Water Utility Reports Strong Year.... In Every Way

Monday night, Town Water Utility Director Peter Abraham and his staff updated the Water Utility Commission. They provided several interesting and useful pieces of information.

Water Utility had another financially successful year in 2026
The Water Utility ended fiscal year 2025-26 with revenues above budget and expenses below budget. Revenue totaled $22.34 million, approximately $371,000 more than projected. Expenses totaled $20.29 million, approximately $1.47 million below budget. Staff attributed the savings to vacant positions, lower operating and maintenance costs, capital-project timing and careful spending as the Utility works to complete the $52 million Northwest Recharge, Recovery and Delivery System.

Abraham credits the favorable results to good planning, accurate forecasting and a sound rate-setting model.

CAP water continues to reduce Oro Valley’s reliance on groundwater
Abraham presented the water-use report for the first six months of the year. Oro Valley’s main service area produced 4,211 acre-feet of water: 2,110 acre-feet of groundwater, 1,127 acre-feet of CAP water and 974 acre-feet of reclaimed water. Total production was approximately 120 acre-feet lower than during the same period in 2025, even as the number of customer connections continued to grow. In the much smaller Countryside service area, increased CAP deliveries allowed the Utility to reduce groundwater production from 114 acre-feet during the first half of 2025 to just 38 acre-feet this year.

Yes. CAP reservoirs are very low, but the practical effect on Oro Valley is limited for now
Colorado River reservoir levels are near historic lows, but Oro Valley has not yet been told that its CAP allotment will be reduced. Abraham explained that a moderate reduction would most likely mean less water placed into storage for future use—not an immediate reduction in water delivered to customers. For now, the Town plans to request its full annual allotment. “Come October 1st, if no one says anything, I’m ordering 10,305 acre-feet again,” Abraham said.

Next Winter...CAP Water begins its direct flow to Oro Valley... Slow build up

The Town plans to begin introducing CAP water through the Northwest Recharge, Recovery and Delivery System in January. Although NWRRDS will eventually have capacity to deliver as much as 4,000 acre-feet annually, the Utility will not move that amount into the system immediately. Abraham said deliveries may begin at approximately 500 acre-feet during the first year and increase to about 1,000 acre-feet during the second. The gradual approach will give operators time to manage changes in water temperature, flow direction and water chemistry. 

Although NWRRDS water and Tucson-wheeled water both originate as CAP water that has been recharged and recovered from an aquifer, they come through different wells and delivery systems. The new supply may therefore have a different mineral content, hardness and temperature than the water Oro Valley customers currently receive.  Staff will flush lines, monitor water quality and adjust operations as customers and the distribution system become accustomed to the new supply.

Oro Valley’s strong water position does not guarantee protection from future cuts... but it does help
Responding to a commissioner’s question, Abraham said Oro Valley’s strong water position does not necessarily make it a target for the state or other communities seeking a larger share of the available supply. However, he acknowledged that no one yet knows how future reductions will be allocated. Any attempt to penalize Oro Valley for conserving and storing water would likely produce a significant legal and political fight, particularly because other southern Arizona communities have made similar investments.

As we wrote last week, decades of planning and investment have put Oro Valley in a stronger position
As LOVE reported in last week’s articles, Oro Valley’s present water position was not created by a single project or decision. It is the result of decades of planning, investment and regional cooperation. Town leaders and Water Utility professionals secured CAP rights, developed a reclaimed-water system, built delivery infrastructure and stored water for future use. Those decisions have given Oro Valley greater flexibility as conditions on the Colorado River worsen. They do not eliminate the risk, but they place the Town in a far stronger position to manage it.

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Bits and Pieces

It's official... Council adopts 2026 Election Result

On August 5, 2026, the Oro Valley Town Council adopted the official results of the July 21 primary election. Melanie Barrett was elected mayor with 8,471 votes, while Rosa Dailey (8,661 votes), Rhonda Pina (7,866 votes), and Matt Wood (7,436 votes) secured the three council seats. Each will serve a four-year term beginning November 4, 2026.

Town seeks individual for Budget and Finance Commission

The Town of Oro Valley is seeking a resident to fill one vacancy on its Budget and Finance Commission. The commission advises the Town Council by reviewing the proposed budget, annual financial audit, and other financial matters. The member will serve a two-year term and meet at 4 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at Town Hall. Applicants should have experience in accounting, finance, banking, investments, or a related business field; be available for meetings; and complete the Town’s Community Academy during their term. To apply, contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 520-229-4700 or visit the Town Clerk’s webpage at orovalleyaz.gov. (Source: Town of Oro Valley Media Release)

Oro Valley’s history digitization project moving along

The Oro Valley Historical Society is bringing local history into the digital age, having already created catalog-ready images of more than 600 artifacts, publications, maps, and photographs. Using its new CatalogIt museum software and a donated professional photography light box, volunteers are organizing and photographing the collection for future museum displays and a new online photo gallery, making Oro Valley’s historical treasures easier for the public to discover and enjoy. (Source: Oro Valley Historical Society August Newsletter).

Federal funding in queue for new police department.    

The Oro Valley Police Department is slated to receive $4.2 million in preliminary federal funding to upgrade technology and modernize critical public-safety equipment, helping equip the department’s new headquarters for future operations. Secured through the fiscal year 2027 Community Project Funding process, the proposed investment has advanced through committee but must still receive final approval from Congress and the President before the money becomes available. Read the funding announcement.

State Orders ASDB to Correct Student Placement Process

Since LOVE first reported the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind’s (ASDB) move to the Oro Valley Copper Creek Elementary School, the Arizona Department of Education has found that ASDB violated federal special-education law by predetermining placements for blind, visually impaired, and residential students rather than allowing their individualized education program teams to consider the full range of options. The finding does not mean the new Oro Valley campus or the relocation itself is illegal. Rather, it concerns how affected students were assigned to other schools. ASDB must now work with a state-approved monitor, review each affected student’s placement, reconvene education teams when necessary, and document corrective action by August 28, 2026. The complaint was filed by the University of Arizona Education Advocacy Clinic. Read their report here.

Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve Pond restoration begins Monday

We are excited to share that construction is about to begin on the Vistoso Pond Restoration Project on Monday, August 10. To prepare for construction, trail detour and closure signs will be put in place on Tuesday, August 4 and the contractor will be mobilizing equipment and materials to the site throughout the week. (Source: This Week In Parks and Recreation Newsletter, 8-7-26)

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Building Oro Valley's Water Supply... A Team Effort Over Many Years (Part 2)

CAP Water becomes essential to Oro Valley's Water Supply
Oro Valley’s water supply was not created through a single project or decision. It is the result of decades of planning, investment and regional cooperation. In this two-part series, LOVE examines how that system developed. Today, we look at how Central Arizona Project water became an essential part of Oro Valley’s supply.

First came the water rights
The Central Arizona Project canal reached the Tucson area in 1991, but CAP water did not begin flowing into Oro Valley’s system for another 21 years. Before that could happen, the Town had to secure the right to receive it. Oro Valley obtained its current annual allocation of 10,305 acre-feet through four transactions: 1,652 acre-feet with the 1996 purchase of the Cañada Hills Water Company; 642 acre-feet when it assumed management of the Oro Valley Water Improvement District in 1999; 4,454 acre-feet through a 2002 settlement with Tucson at a cost of approximately $5.96 million; and another 3,557 acre-feet through a federal and regional reallocation agreement in 2007.

Tucson Water provided the delivery route
Owning CAP rights did not solve the delivery problem. Building a separate treatment plant and pipeline system would have been enormously expensive, so Oro Valley reached an agreement with Tucson Water. Under that arrangement, Tucson Water recovered and treated CAP water and moved an equivalent amount through its existing system to connections with Oro Valley, a process commonly called “wheeling.” The first connection was completed in 2012, when approximately 1,283 acre-feet of CAP water were delivered to Oro Valley customers and groundwater pumping fell by approximately 1,573 acre-feet—more than 500 million gallons—compared with the previous year. Additional connections completed in 2014 and 2018 increased the amount of CAP water the Town could receive.

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CAP water changed how the system was managed
Oro Valley did not have to deliver its entire CAP allocation directly to customers. Water not immediately needed could be sent to regional recharge facilities and stored underground. Some could be recovered during the same year to offset groundwater pumping, while water stored for more than a year generated long-term storage credits. Those credits give the Town the legal right to recover an equivalent amount from permitted wells in the future. By the end of 2025, Oro Valley had accumulated an estimated By the end of 2025, Oro Valley had accumulated an estimated 39,908 acre-feet of long-term storage credits. That is equivalent to approximately 13 billion gallons of water, enough to supply about 144,500 typical households for one year, based on the Town’s estimate of 7,500 gallons per household per month.  For customers, the credits function much like a water savings account: a shared reserve for droughts, emergencies and possible reductions in CAP deliveries.

Groundwater remains a key part of the system
CAP water did not eliminate Oro Valley’s use of groundwater. Wells remain an important part of the Town’s water portfolio. The difference is that groundwater is no longer the Town’s only major supply. Oro Valley now relies on a combination of groundwater for drinking-water service, CAP water delivered through Tucson Water or stored and recovered from regional recharge facilities, and reclaimed water [see note] used primarily for golf courses and other large irrigated areas. According to the Town, groundwater pumping declined approximately 56 percent between 2005 and 2022, even as the community continued to grow.

CAP water did not end Oro Valley’s water challenges. It changed them.
The transition took two decades. During that time, Oro Valley created its Water Utility, acquired CAP rights, negotiated delivery through Tucson Water and invested in the infrastructure needed to reduce groundwater pumping and store water for the future. That planning gave the Town a more diverse and resilient supply, but it also tied Oro Valley’s water future to the Colorado River. The Town must now protect both its local aquifer and the distant reservoir system that supports its CAP water. 

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Note: Reclaimed water reduced demand before CAP deliveries began
Between 2003 and 2008, Oro Valley invested $21.8 million in a two-phase reclaimed-water delivery system, financed through what was then the Town’s largest bond issue. The separate “pink pipe” network brought treated wastewater to golf courses, parks and school fields, replacing groundwater and drinking water previously used for irrigation. 

Oro Valley began negotiating with Tucson for wastewater-effluent rights in 2000 and entered a cooperative agreement in 2002. Reclaimed-water deliveries began in 2005 and later expanded through a the newly created and separate network of reservoirs, pumping facilities and signature purple pipes serving golf courses, parks and school athletic fields. Because the reclaimed-water system is completely separate from the drinking-water system, its principal value is replacing potable water that otherwise would have been used for large-scale irrigation. The Town estimates that reclaimed water reduced the use of drinking water for turf irrigation by 26 percent.

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Building Oro Valley's Water Supply... A Team Effort Over Many Years (Part 1)

Oro Valley’s water supply was not built through a single project or decision. It is the result of decades of planning, investment and cooperation by Town leaders, utility professionals, regional partners and residents—an effort we examine in this two series. Today we discuss life before CAP and what led up to its introduction in the Oro Valley Water System.

Before CAP: Oro Valley ran on groundwater alone
Our recent article explained why Lake Powell’s decline matters to Oro Valley. That connection did not exist when the Town created its Water Utility 30 years ago. At the time, Oro Valley relied entirely on groundwater. Every gallon delivered to a home or business came from a well. There was no CAP water in the system, no reclaimed-water network serving golf courses and no large reserve of stored water credits. That system supported the community for years. It was not sustainable indefinitely.

The Town inherited a groundwater-dependent system
Oro Valley created its Water Utility in May 1996 by purchasing the private Cañada Hills and Rancho Vistoso water companies. The new utility had approximately 9,800 connections serving about 26,000 residents. It also inherited separate water systems, different rate structures and wells of varying age and condition. Those systems had to be integrated while continuing to provide reliable water service.

Most importantly, they all depended on the same source: groundwater. That dependence became more concerning as Oro Valley grew. The Town’s population increased from approximately 6,670 in 1990 to nearly 30,000 by 2000. New homes, businesses, schools, parks and landscaped areas placed greater demands on the aquifer beneath the community.

By 1999 aquifer was showing the strain
Former Oro Valley Water Utility Director Alan Forrest later recalled that water levels in the Town’s wells were falling by an average of approximately six feet a year. A well failure during the summer of 1999 demonstrated how vulnerable the system could be. One of the two wells serving the Countryside area suffered a major failure during the hottest part of the year, when water demand was near its peak.
The Town arranged a temporary connection with Tucson Water to help maintain household service and the water needed for fire protection. The immediate crisis was resolved, but the larger problem remained.

Oro Valley needed to diversify its water supply.
Oro Valley had the legal right to pump groundwater. That did not mean the aquifer could sustain unlimited pumping. A 2007 groundwater study later estimated that the aquifer could sustainably provide approximately 6,360 acre-feet annually. Continued growth based almost entirely on wells would increase the risk of falling water levels, declining well production and higher pumping costs.

Reclaimed water came first
The first major step was to stop using drinking water for purposes that did not require it. Oro Valley negotiated with Tucson Water to obtain treated wastewater for irrigation. The Town then developed a two-phase reclaimed-water system costing approximately $21.8 million. Beginning in 2005, reclaimed water was delivered through a separate system of “purple pipes” to golf courses and other large turf areas. That change reduced pressure on the aquifer because water used on golf courses, parks and school grounds no longer had to come from the potable groundwater supply. 

Tomorrow: Reclaimed water helped. But, it did not provide another source of drinking water. For that, Oro Valley needed access to Central Arizona Project water.

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Lake Powell's Low Water Level Matters to Oro Valley

Low water level is sending Oro Valley a warning
Oro Valley is not facing an immediate water shortage, but the weakening Colorado River system could reduce the Town’s future flexibility and increase water costs.

Lake Powell’s decline is becoming more serious
Lake Powell is again moving in the wrong direction. The Bureau of Reclamation projects that the reservoir will end the 2026 water year at about 22 percent of capacity. The expected inflow for the year is just 36 percent of average. The reservoir is not merely a recreation destination hundreds of miles from Oro Valley. It is one of the two major storage reservoirs supporting the Colorado River system and the Central Arizona Project water delivered to communities across central and southern Arizona. 

CAP water changed Oro Valley’s water future

Oro Valley began receiving CAP water through the Tucson Water system in 2012. In 2023, the Water Utility purchased its full annual CAP entitlement of 10,305 acre-feet. Of that amount, 2,573 acre-feet were recovered and delivered through the potable water system, representing 27 percent of the utility’s total water production. Other CAP water was used to replace groundwater pumping or stored for future use. By the end of 2023, Oro Valley had accumulated an estimated 34,493 acre-feet of long-term storage credits. Credits are an accounting right, administered by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, that allows the Town to recover an equivalent amount of water from permitted wells when needed.

There is no immediate Oro Valley water shortage
The present situation does not mean that Oro Valley residents are about to turn on their faucets and find no water. Arizona is operating under a Tier 1 Colorado River shortage, but the reductions have fallen primarily on agricultural and other lower-priority CAP users. Municipal and industrial users continue to receive most of their allocations. Oro Valley also has groundwater wells, reclaimed water, storage credits and an annual CAP entitlement of 10,305 acre-feet. That diversified portfolio gives the Town protection against a near-term interruption. 

The first loss may be water stored for the future
The more immediate risk is not necessarily a reduction in water delivered to existing customers. It is a reduction in the CAP water that Oro Valley can recharge and save for later. Water Utility Director Peter Abraham told the Town Council in June that the utility was preparing for a possible 20 percent CAP allocation reduction. He said current customer deliveries could be maintained, but less unused CAP water would be available for storage. That would gradually reduce the reserve Oro Valley has built for future droughts, growth and emergencies. 

NWRRDS improves delivery but does not create water
The Northwest Recharge, Recovery and Delivery System will strengthen Oro Valley’s ability to recover CAP water stored west of Tucson and move it into the Town’s water system. The regional project is expected to provide Oro Valley with capacity to recover and deliver as much as 4,000 additional acre-feet annually. That should reduce groundwater pumping and give the Town greater control over its water deliveries. NWRRDS does not create another source of water. It provides a better way to deliver CAP water, and CAP water still depends on the condition of the Colorado River. 

Lake Powell is a warning, not an immediate crisis
Oro Valley has prepared better than many communities for water uncertainty. It has reduced groundwater dependence, accumulated storage credits and invested heavily in regional infrastructure. Still, Lake Powell’s decline cannot be dismissed as someone else’s problem. A smaller CAP allocation could mean less water stored for the future, greater reliance on groundwater and storage credits, and higher costs for purchasing, transporting and recovering renewable water. Oro Valley is not running out of water. However, the renewable supply on which the Town increasingly depends is becoming less certain and more expensive. That makes conservation, reclaimed-water expansion and careful growth planning just as important as ever. 

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Bits and Pieces-Election Final

Barrett’s election makes Oro Valley history
Melanie Barrett will become Oro Valley’s 12th mayor when she takes office in November. She is the first woman elected mayor by Oro Valley voters and only the fourth person elected directly to the office. 

Before 1998, the Town Council selected the mayor from among its members. Voters changed that system in 1998, and Paul Loomis became Oro Valley’s first directly elected mayor. Loomis served three terms. He was followed by Satish Hiremath and Joe Winfield, both of whom served two terms. Barrett now begins the next chapter in that history.

Women will hold a record number of council seats
This election also marks another milestone. When the new council is sworn in, five women will serve together on the seven-member governing body: Mayor Melanie Barrett and Councilmembers Rosa Dailey, Mary Murphy, Rhonda Piña and Elizabeth Robb. That will be the largest number of women to serve on the Town Council at one time in Oro Valley’s history. This reflects the increasingly important role women are playing in shaping our community.    

Summer Town elections produce much lower turnout
Approximately 41 percent of registered Oro Valley voters participated in this year’s election. That continues a decline that began after Arizona required municipal elections to be held on the state election calendar. Before the change took effect in 2014, Oro Valley held its primary elections in February or March and, when necessary, runoff elections in May. Turnout in the last competitive mayoral election held under the March-May schedule approached 80 percent. Since elections were moved to the summer, turnout in Oro Valley mayoral elections has averaged approximately 48 percent.

Many factors affect participation. Under Oro Valley’s former election schedule, every registered voter automatically received a ballot, regardless of party affiliation. Now, because the Town election is conducted as part of the partisan state primary, independent voters must request a ballot before they can vote in Oro Valley’s nonpartisan election. That additional step appears to contribute to lower turnout. How many of Oro Valley’s approximately 12,000 registered independent voters requested and returned a ballot this year? The answer may tell us a great deal about future municipal elections.

The campaign is over. Now comes governing
Every election sends a message. The message from this one appears to be that most Oro Valley voters are satisfied with the Town’s current direction. Barrett won the mayoral race decisively, while Dailey and Matt Wood, both of whom campaigned on continuing many of the Town’s current policies, also earned seats on the Council. Although the candidates differed on specific issues, voters generally chose experience and continuity over calls for major change. 

Campaigns naturally focus on differences. Governing requires finding common ground. We are confident that Mayor Barrett will be able to do this. Beginning in November, the new mayor and council will face important decisions involving the Town’s budget, water resources, economic development, public safety and the preservation of Oro Valley’s quality of life. 

The campaign is over. 

The work of governing begins in November.

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The Five Factors That Shaped the Oro Valley Council Election

The Council results were shaped by more than vote totals alone
No election is decided by a single factor, and this one was no exception. Our analysis suggests that five factors largely explain the Council race. Candidates with clear, positive messages performed best. The Town’s traditional voting blocks again influenced the outcome. Undervoting changed the mathematics of the election. Higher turnout in the larger Rancho Vistoso Block gave additional weight to the candidates who were strongest there. Finally, personal voter contact and familiarity helped some candidates connect with voters in ways that others could not.

Candidates’ messages mattered
In this election, we believe the messages presented by the five candidates made a significant difference. As we noted yesterday in our analysis of the mayoral race, voters responded positively to Melanie Barrett’s theme that the Town is on the right track. They rejected Mark Napier’s argument that Oro Valley was heading toward financial trouble. Positive messages often have an advantage over negative ones.

Two of the three successful Council candidates, Rosa Dailey and Matt Wood, also presented positive campaigns. Both argued that Oro Valley was moving in the right direction and was well positioned to meet the financial challenges ahead. They asked voters to continue the Town’s current course rather than change it.

Rhonda Piña likewise offered a positive message. She campaigned on experienced, financially responsible leadership that would protect public safety while strengthening Oro Valley’s long-term financial future through thoughtful economic development. Her campaign focused on what she would do rather than on what she believed was wrong with the Town.

Chris DeSimone and Jake Herrington were not elected. They finished within a few votes of each other. DeSimone emphasized efficient government, stronger revenues and annexation but did not clearly explain why he was uniquely qualified to accomplish those goals. Herrington spoke about preparing Oro Valley for the future through thoughtful leadership and long-term financial planning but offered few specifics beyond saying he would listen to everyone. Voters appear to have found the positive, forward-looking messages of Dailey, Wood and Piña more compelling.

Voting blocks remained important
Two weeks ago, we asked whether Oro Valley’s traditional voting blocks would again influence the Council election. The answer appears to be yes. [see panel right]

The Community Center Block consists of four precincts with 5,255 registered voters. The Rancho Vistoso Block consists of seven precincts with 9,535 registered voters. Together, they account for virtually all of Oro Valley’s voters.

The results show that candidates generally received their strongest support within their natural voting base. Rosa Dailey and Matt Wood, both Rancho Vistoso residents, dominated that block, consistently finishing ahead of the other candidates. Their strong performance there created a substantial advantage that carried through the townwide count.

The Community Center Block told a different story. Rhonda Piña performed considerably better there than Jake Herrington or Chris DeSimone. Although none of the three matched Dailey’s or Wood’s dominance in Rancho Vistoso, Piña’s stronger support in the Community Center Block helped separate her from the other two candidates competing for the third Council seat.

Undervoting affected the outcome
Council elections differ from mayoral elections because voters may vote for up to three candidates. Some votrers choose not to use all three votes. Instead, they vote only for the candidates they most want to see elected. This is known as undervoting.

Undervoting matters because every vote cast for another candidate increases that candidate’s total. A voter who is uncertain about a third choice may decide not to cast that vote rather than help elect someone the voter does not strongly support.

In this election, voters cast an average of 2.5 Council votes per ballot. That means many voters selected only two candidates. Based on the voting totals, we estimate that roughly half of all ballots were undervoted.

That pattern benefited candidates who became a voter’s clear first or second choice. It also reduced the total number of votes available to all candidates, making every vote more valuable.

Turnout favored the Rancho Vistoso Block
We measure voter enthusiasm in part by turnout. Overall turnout in this election was 40.4%, below the approximately 43% turnout recorded in each of the previous two elections. Most of that decline occurred in the Community Center Block.

Turnout in the Rancho Vistoso Block reached 41.7%, compared with 38.3% in the Community Center Block. While the difference may appear modest, it represented hundreds of additional voters in the Town’s largest voting block. That gave greater weight to the candidates who were strongest there.

Rosa Dailey, Matt Wood and Melanie Barrett invested a considerable amount of time going door to door, asking residents whether they had voted and encouraging them to return their ballots. Some of that effort was visible on Election Day. The parking lot at the Oro Valley Public Library remained busy throughout the day as voters dropped off their ballots. That sustained ground campaign likely contributed to the higher turnout in the Rancho Vistoso Block.

Personal contact and familiarity mattered
Local elections are personal. Rosa Dailey and Matt Wood (and Melanie Barrett) spent months knocking on doors, attending neighborhood meetings and community events, and talking directly with voters. Those personal conversations helped build trust long before ballots were mailed.

Familiarity also mattered. Rhonda Piña served on the Oro Valley Town Council from 2016 through 2020, giving many voters a record they already knew. Dailey, Wood and Barrett had each established a visible presence in the community over a number of years before this campaign.

In local elections, voters often support candidates they know personally or have seen actively engaged in the community over time. Two candidates had neither of the qualities. Jake Herrington entered the race with less name recognition than the successful candidates. Chris DeSimone (and mayoral candidate Mark Napier) had no established, widely recognized history of involvement in Town affairs before this election. 

What the results tell us
No single factor explains why Rosa Dailey, Rhonda Piña and Matt Wood won election to the Town Council. Together, however, these five factors provide a persuasive explanation of the outcome.

Perhaps the broader lesson is that Oro Valley elections are still won one voter at a time. Social media, campaign videos, text messages and automated phone calls may increase awareness, but they did not replace face-to-face campaigning. Candidates who communicated a clear, positive message, built relationships over time, generated enthusiasm in key precincts and encouraged their supporters to vote were ultimately the candidates voters elected.

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