[poll id=”31″][poll id=”30″]Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.
Glendale’s Primary election is on Tuesday, August 28th, in less than 2 weeks. Just in case you think your vote doesn’t count let’s look back at some close elections.
- In the 2010 Ocotillo District Primary Election there were 3 candidates. The top two vote getters that would move on to the General Election were David Goulet with 738 votes and Norma Alvarez with 725 votes. A difference of 13 votes. Ms. Alvarez would go on to win in the General Election by 193 votes out of a total of 3,584 votes cast.
- In the 2012 Cactus District General Election out of 7,259 votes cast, Ian Hugh prevailed over Gary Hirsch by 172 votes.
- In the 2014 Ocotillo District Primary Election Jamie Aldama won by 19 votes out of 2, 423 total votes cast. Aldama had 1221 votes to Alvarez’ 1202 votes.
- In the 2016 Yucca District Primary Election with 3,151 votes cast, I prevailed over Chavira. I had 1591 votes and Chavira had 1545 votes – a difference of 46 votes.
- In the 2016 Mayoral contest with 26,022 votes cast, Jerry Weiers with 13,712 votes beat Mark Burdick with 12,767 votes – a difference of 405 votes.
Despite overall voter apathy in Glendale and because so few registered voters actually take the time to vote, Glendale’s elections tend to be ‘squeakers’. Expect about 2500 people to vote in the Ocotillo district and about 4,000 to 5,000 voters in the Barrel district. With those kinds of numbers you can see that truly every vote does count.
If your Early Ballot is still sitting on your kitchen table or ‘To Do’ pile, dig it out, fill it out, and please send it in. You don’t need postage and it only takes 5 minutes to swing by a postal outlet or postal box when going to and from work or grocery shopping. You still have time to mail it in.
If you are a poll voter, take a minute to get online at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Election website and check to find your polling location. Many locations change from one election cycle to another. Don’t assume that because you voted at a local church or school site that it will automatically be used as a voting site this time.
Vice Mayor Lauren Tolmachoff of the Cholla District is running unopposed and her election will simply confirm that fact. In the Ocotillo District your candidates are Emmanuel Allen and Jamie Aldama. In the Barrel District your choices are Ray Strahl and Bart Turner.
To tell you the truth, there is not a lot of daylight between all of the candidates’ positions on the issues. It may come down to a question of character and passion. I think perhaps the best way to help you to decide in this election is to call the candidate directly and ask about any local issue important to you. Did the candidate call you back? If not, don’t expect to get a better response should that person be elected.
In the spirit of fairness, I went to each candidates’ online presence, whether it was Facebook or an independent web site and looked for a contact phone number. I was able to find the following:
- Emmanuel Allen 602-488-0147
- Bart Turner 623-487-3808
- Ray Strahl 623-341-7614
- Jamie Aldama 623-930-2249 (I could only find the main city council office number)
Please do vote. It’s so important to the future of Glendale…and you and your family’s future as well. Yours could be one of a very few votes that causes a candidate to win or lose. Remember a margin of 19 votes can decide the winner!
© Joyce Clark, 2018
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner
I don’t have a horse in this race, but i was raised in Glendale; I have many happy memories and a fond respect for Glendale, but I am saddened by how nasty things have become politically. Sadly City “Leadership” is unraveling against a backdrop of intense partisan division and animosity. As I alluded by my opening idiom, I have no druthers over who fills council seats, as long as there is personal congruence and forthright with their respective communities and the City as a whole. Lead by example and stop the partisanship evident in numerous articles and media events; I was present at the Candidate Forum a couple of weeks ago and I was disappointed by the theatrics and rhetoric. I agree with a previous blog that the questions were somewhat leaning towards the favor of the incumbent, and should have been prepared with care and consideration of the entire panel, but that’s what we expect from our candidates, preparation, good communication skills, clarity, fluency, and confidence.