Category: Local

Former Phoenix City Council member Kate Gallego defeated Daniel Valenzuela in the nonpartisan mayoral runoff election in Phoenix, Arizona. She led Valenzuela with over 58 percent of the votes according to early returns. Public safety and sports facility funding were critical issues in the final weeks of the race, with satellite groups Revitalize Arizona and…

Fourteen candidates filed to run in the June 4 general election for Riverside City Council in California. The Ward 1, 3, 5, and 7 seats are on the ballot. The filing deadline was March 8. Ward 1 incumbent Mike Gardner filed to run for another term and faces two challengers. The races for the open…

Former Chicago Police Board President Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle were the top two vote-getters among a 14-candidate field for Chicago mayor on Feb. 26. They face each other in a runoff on April 2.   One major issue where the candidates’ positions differ is ethics reform.   Candidates…

Willie Wilson, who was part of the initial 14-candidate field in Chicago’s mayoral race, endorsed Lori Lightfoot on Friday. Lightfoot faces Toni Preckwinkle in an April 2 runoff election. Wilson placed fourth in the Feb. 26 general election with 10.6 percent of the vote. Lightfoot received 17.5 percent to Preckwinkle’s 16 percent. Wilson received more…

Lincoln, Nebraska, is holding a citywide primary on April 9, 2019, and its general election on May 7. Offices on the ballot include the mayor, four of seven city council seats, three of seven school board seats, and one of five elected airport authority seats. The filing deadline for school board candidates was March 1,…

On Wednesday, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn (D) endorsed former police chief Jane Castor over philanthropist David Straz in the city’s April 23 mayoral runoff election. The two candidates advanced from a field of seven on March 5, with Castor leading Straz 48-15.   Buckhorn is term-limited and unable to run for re-election. Both Castor and…

Former Phoenix City Council members Kate Gallego and Daniel Valenzuela are facing off in the mayoral runoff election for Phoenix on Tuesday. They were the top two vote-getters in the special election on November 6, 2018, when neither candidate surpassed the 50 percent threshold to win outright. Gallego received 44 percent to Valenzuela’s 26 percent…

An effort to recall Marnie Glickman from her position on the Dixie School District Board of Trustees in California began on March 5 in the midst of a debate over changing the school district’s name. Glickman is a supporter of the name-change effort.   Supporters of the name change said the name Dixie is connected…

Former police chief Jane Castor and philanthropist David Straz advanced from a field of seven candidates to an April 23 runoff election for Tampa mayor. Castor’s 48 percent put her two percentage points shy of the threshold required to win outright. Straz took second place with 15 percent of the vote and Councilman Harry Cohen…

In Kansas, Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell (R) was found not guilty of 21 counts of wire fraud on March 4. O’Donnell could still be retried by prosecutors on the additional five counts—two charges of wire fraud and three charges of money laundering—that the jury could not agree on. As he was leaving the courthouse,…