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.
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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