Phoenix, AZ Mayor: Voters in America’s fifth-largest city will go to the polls on Tuesday for the second round of the special election to succeed Democrat Greg Stanton, who resigned in May to successfully run for Congress. Back in November, Kate Gallego led fellow Democrat Daniel Valenzuela by a wide 45-26 margin, but because she didn’t take a majority, the two former city councilors are facing off again four months later. Stanton’s mayoral term ends in April of 2021, so whoever wins will need to face the voters again soon.
Gallego, the former wife of local Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, would be the second woman ever elected mayor of Phoenix, while Valenzuela would be its first Latino leader. The Arizona Republic’s Jessica Boehm writes that Valenzuela is largely being backed by the city’s “traditionally influential City Hall groups” including the local Chamber of Commerce, public safety unions, the United Food and Commercial Workers union, and several former mayors. Valenzuela, who is also hoping to win over local Republicans, announced on Thursday that he had the support of Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Sen. John McCain.
Gallego, by contrast, has the support of EMILY’s List and Planned Parenthood, as well as the Sierra Club. Boehm writes that she also has some “traditionally more conservative groups” including some local law enforcement organizations and the Phoenix Association of Realtors.
The two Democrats have similar voting records, but they differ when it comes to public financing of sports facilities. In January, well after both Gallego and Valenzuela had resigned from the council to run for mayor, the city committed $150 million to renovate the Phoenix Suns’ Talking Stick Resort Arena. Valenzuela supported the deal, and he also helped broker a previous agreement that kept the Milwaukee Brewers’ spring training facility in the city, which Boehm describes as “one of the most taxpayer-friendly in Arizona professional sports deals.” Gallego has opposed both deals, arguing that city resources should not go to supporting sports teams.
This divide has also played out in TV commercials. A dark money group called Revitalize Arizona has run ads hitting Valenzuela over the Talking Stick deal, declaring that he “supports giving out tax dollars to billionaires.” At the same time, this group has been advertising in a city council race and praised a candidate for supporting this very deal.
Boehm writes that, according to the Secretary of State's office, Revitalize Arizona is entirely funded by another PAC called Residents for Accountability, which aided Democratic statewide candidates in 2014 and is largely funded by the political arm of the local pipe traders union. Weirdly, Residents for Accountability also received a $50,000 contribution from Suns owner Robert Sarver―the very “billionaire” referenced in their attack ad against Valenzuela―in early February.
However, Sarver contributed twice that amount to aid Valenzuela. Another group called Moving Phoenix Forward has been running TV ads going after Gallego for voting against a property-tax increase in 2016, with the spots featuring firefighters and police officers saying that she voted against funding public safety. This group is largely funded by Valenzuela’s allies at the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and International Association of Firefighters. Sarver donated another $100,000, with most of it coming the day after Revitalize Arizona purchased ad time for their anti-Valenzuela (and by extension anti-Sarver) spot.