The election of three candidates to Council in the primary must certainly be a record. The last time more than one candidate was elected to Council in the primary was in 2008, when Bill Garner was last elected.
The three candidates earned 61% of the total votes cast. This is an unbelievable result.
Why did it happen?
Was is partisanship? No.
We were fearful that party lines would blur the election results. We wrote about this previously. Our fears were not realized. The affiliation of our voters:
- Republican 48%
- Democrat 27%
- Independent 25%
The election results were not entirely "partisan" in that the candidates who were elected had to achieve support form all three voting blocks.
Was it lavish spending on glossy postcards and color ads in the Explorer? No. Had it been than then Steve Solomon would have been elected.
Was it the visible, high level pressure and support of current council members: Mary Snider, Joe Hornat and Lou Waters? No, we don't think so. Their "stealth candidate", Fred Nacaroti, barely mustered 8% of the total votes cast; a mere 2,147 votes. He came in last.
Was it Mayor Hiremath saying, at the last council meeting, that Steve Solomon saved Coyote Run when the record shows that it was Bill Garner who identified bed tax revenue as the source of funds to save Coyote Run while Solomon, along with the rest of the Gang of 5, initially voted to kill it.
Or maybe it was the email that Lou Waters sent out urging voters to vote for the losing three candidates. No. That didn't work either.
Was it the endorsements of the Oro Valley Police Associations and SAHBA? No. The winning candidates sought no endorsements and received only the endorsements of the people.
So what was it? What was it that drove such a unanimous verdict by the people?
Perhaps it was Snider, Hornat and Waters giggling and making fun of the winning candidates while sitting in the back of the room at Sun City candidate forum.
Perhaps it was the fact that this council appointed someone as a Council Member who was so opposite to the person who the people had elected, essentially robbing the people of their vote and their representation. Doing this resulted in absolute control and guaranteed many 5-2 votes.
Perhaps it was the recent vote to reduce transparency by changing the minutes of meetings to summary minutes only; a move led by Mayor Hiremath and Steve Solomon.
Perhaps it was the doubling of the Utility Tax in 2010, done by the new Council just days after they took office. Did they think that we would forget? It may just be a few pennies to Steve Solomon, as he pointed out at the NPCC Candidate Forum this month. To people on fixed income, however, its real dollars.
Perhaps it was the struggle of the residents of Neighborhood 7 in Rancho Vistoso to prevent an amendment to their PAD to allow apartments.
Perhaps it was the prospect of apartments on the Ford Property in Rancho Vistoso that, once again, the residents had to "rise up" to prevent.
Perhaps it was the fact that the current council make-up would not even consider a management study of 46% of Oro Valley's operating budget. In fact, cancelling this study of the Police Department was among the first things they did when they took control in 2010. It was obvious patronage. It was wrong.
Perhaps it was the hard work on the part of the three winning council candidates. Certainly, that played a major role.
Regardless of why, this Tuesday the voters of Oro Valley stated in clear terms that they want Council Members who put the interests of the people first. They want Council Members who will involve them in decisions, not simply tell them to "trust" them. They want a diversity of views on the council.
They simply want to Let Oro Valley Excel.
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