Update: Tucson Election Unofficial Results

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The final numbers are now in for the City of Tucson election. As of 20:49:10 on November 6, 2009. with 100% of precincts reporting, here are the unofficial results:

City Council Ward 3

Karin Uhlich (D)   33,760  46.99%

Ben Buehler-Garcia (R)   33,656  46.72%

Mary DeCamp (G)   4,425  6.16%

City Council Ward 5

Richard Fimbres (D) 37,728  53.12%

Shaun McClusky (R)  33,129  46.65%

City Council Ward 6

Nina Trasoff (D)     34,675  48.62%

Steve Kozachik (R)     36,403  51.04%

Prop. 200 Public Safety First Initiative

Yes 21,868  29.79%

No   51,546  70.21%

Prop. 400 Home Rule Budget Override

Yes 35,343  49.35%

No   36,270  50.65%

Prop. 401 TUSD Operations Budget Override

Yes 29,503  41.27%

No   41,977  58.73%

Prop. 402 TUSD Technology Budget Override

Yes 27,974  39.12%

No   43,538  60.88%

*All other school districts not reported here

My initial analysis of Election Day results held up with the final vote count. Tucson Election Unofficial Results O ye of little faith. Crunching numbers and making projections from trends is something I have done for years.

Nina Trasoff becomes the first Democratic incumbent council member to lose since the Water Rates Recall Election in January 1977.

Karin Uhlich survived by 175 votes, for a 0.27% margin of victory, still well above Arizona's ridiculously low threshold of one-tenth of one percent of the number of votes cast or 10 votes in the case of an office for a city, town or county to trigger an automatic recount. A.R.S. Sec. 16-661. This law should be amended to at least one-half of one percent. Contact your state legislators.

Democrats now have a 5-2 majority on the Tucson City Council. This means little since most matters are noncontroversial and votes are generally unanimous, or 6-1 when someone wants to make a point. Republican Mayor Bob Walkup has had a congenial relationship with his Democratic colleagues. Mayor Walkup's comments on the election indicate that this will continue. Kozachik all but locks up Trasoff's council seat:

Walkup, however, said he believes the race results were more personality-driven than they were fueled by overall dissatisfaction with the larger council.

His evidence: Ward 5 Democrat Richard Fimbres, who campaigned with the two incumbents and was backed by outgoing Councilman Steve Leal, pulled more votes than any single candidate in the race.

"There's a significant difference between Richard and Steve and how they campaigned, so I don't think it is a vote against the direction and the vision we all have for the city," he said. "The message I'm getting is that the public is saying, 'Let's get some new talent into the council — and here's a couple new people who might change the dynamics.' "

Walkup also said he wasn't buying that the council isn't business-friendly already. "I'm not expecting that we're going to discover the value of business all of a sudden. We've always known that," he said.

He said he does look forward to Kozachik's contributions in the area of project management, particularly when it comes to holding the line on budgets and construction schedules, saying he will bring to the council "a fairly unique talent" as downtown development progresses.

I do believe the election serves as a wakeup call to the city council. Council members have been far too complacent in simply passing upon decisions made by city departments. The council needs to be much more proactive and hands on in oversight of city departments, and must demand greater transparency and accountability from city departments. And most importantly, the council needs to produce tangible, visible results on Rio Nuevo and other development projects. The voting public has no appreciation for the incremental progress in the development process, which takes years to complete. They want instant gratification, something tangible they can see and touch. Build it and they will forgive.

The first issue the council will have to address is an additional $21 million dollar deficit in the city budget thanks to the failure of Prop. 400. Mayor Walkup said it was a mistake on the city's part to focus so heavily on educating the public on the impact of the public safety initiative, while not making sure voters understood the impact of 400, especially with a looming deficit. Ya think? This should have been your assignment, Bob. You should have been the public spokesman cheerleading for Prop. 400. That's what you do. This failure is on your shoulders, Bob.