/ Modified aug 28, 2015 9:32 a.m.

Anti-Climactic Primary Launches Election Season

Legal formality drew 32,400 votes Tuesday; races for 3 City Council seats, mayor set for November.

Tucson City Council Ward Map spotlight
Courtesy City of Tucson

Fewer than 33,000 voters cast ballots in Tucson's primary election Tuesday, a formality that cleared the way for the start of the general election campaign for mayor and three City Council seats.

No candidate had opposition in the primary election, which registered voter turnout of 14 percent.

In the general election Nov. 3, all three Democratic incumbent council members have Republican opponents.

In west side Ward 1, incumbent Regina Romero will face Raytheon engineer Bill Hunt. In northeast side Ward 2, incumbent Paul Cunningham, will be challenged by Kelly Lawton, director of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In southeast side Ward 4, incumbent Shirley Scott will be challenged by Margaret Burkholder, a teacher and member of the Vail School District Governing Board.

The mayor's seat is also up for election, with Democratic incumbent Jonathan Rothschild seeking a second term. No challenger has come forth, and Sept. 24 is the deadline for a write-in candidate to submit paperwork.

Other issues will be on the ballot, including:

  • A city initiative to ban enforcement of red-light running by automatic cameras.

  • Three proposed changes to the Tucson City Charter, including pay raises for the mayor and six City Council members.

  • Pima County government's seven-part bond issue, requesting voters to let it borrow $815 million for a wide range of projects that would be repaid with property taxes.

  • Recall of the mayor and three Town Council members in Oro Valley.

  • At least two educational finance issues, including a $12 million Sunnyside Unified School District budget override for operations and maintenance and a $40 million borrowing proposal in the Sahuarita Unified School District to build new schools, maintain existing structures and purchase buses.

 YourVote 2015
For complete local election news covering Tucson, Oro Valley, and Pima County, click here.
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