Steve Farley, one of three Democrats running in a primary for Mayor of Tucson, conceded defeat at 8:18 pm on Tuesday night, trailing Democrat Regina Romero by 5,300 votes.
With all 135 precincts counted, there were 44,941 votes cast for mayor:
- DORMAN, RANDI . . . . . . . . . 5,606
- FARLEY, STEVE . . . . . . . . . 16,949
- ROMERO, REGINA. . . . . . . . . 22,255
Romero won handily, as she was backed by $500,000 in outside PAC money. As expected, Dorman came in a distant third place. Tucson voters ordinarily do not favor candidates who are business people or real estate developers.
Winning the Democratic primary is tantamount to being elected as Mayor. Nevertheless, Romero goes on to run against independent Ed Ackerley, an ex-Democrat.
I attended two of the election night gatherings. Randi Dorman appeared at the Pima County Democratic Party’s event and graciously endorsed Regina Romero. Regina Romero and Ward 1 winner Lane Santa Cruz were embraced by the crowd. Earlier, Regina Romero’s party at the American Eat Company on South Fourth Avenue was packed with a diverse crowd of Tucsonans of many backgrounds and ages. Our new leaders will guide Tucson toward its potential as a great 21st century city. Perhaps the best comment of the night was a Tweet from Arizona Daily Star columnist and critic of Regina Romero that read, “Wow! This lead is a shock to me.”