With five of nine seats on the Phoenix City Council available, this year's election could determine the city's direction in ways that no recent election has done.
Incumbents are running in three districts and an interim councilman in a fourth. Those in office typically have been hard to defeat. Two other spots - including the mayor's office - are wide open.
Two of the incumbents have no viable opposition, but the way the other spots turn out could determine whether the city turns toward "tea-party" principles espoused by Councilman Sal DiCiccio - who is not in the running this election - or a more measured approach.
At issue is whether DiCiccio's grievances about employee pay and union control of City Hall will hold sway.
So far, the main citywide issues gaining candidates' attention are the food tax, the water-rate increase and the responsiveness of City Hall. Unions have been a concern of several candidates, but not all of them.
Most of the candidates support bringing more high-paying jobs to town, and all of them support finding additional efficiencies in city government.
Those latter issues are the ones a variety of community leaders would prefer to hear more about.
Jan Olav Flaaten, the executive director of the Arizona Ecumenical Council, an organization of churches and religious leaders, said he wants to see more specifics about how the city can attract jobs, support neighborhoods and improve schools.
He said he sees too much partisanship creeping into the nonpartisan race.
"I seek candidates with an openness to solutions," he said. "We need a balanced approach."
Besides a vigorous mayoral race, council seats up for election this time around as part of a regular cycle are Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7.
Also on the ballot is District 2, the result of Peggy Neely resigning to run for mayor earlier this year before her term is completed.
The incumbents in Districts 3 and 7, Bill Gates and Michael Nowakowski, appear to be clear front-runners, as their challengers have run little or no campaigns. District 3 takes in an area of Phoenix generally between Bell Road and Northern Avenue east of Interstate 17. District 7 covers south Phoenix.
Districts 1 and 2 are different, with strong candidates campaigning to challenge current officeholders Thelda Williams and Bryan Jeffries, who was appointed to replace Neely.
District 1 takes in areas of the city north of Northern Avenue and west of I-17, reaching as far west as 67th Avenue; District 2 takes in a large northeastern area of Phoenix.
District 5 in west Phoenix, meanwhile, is wide open, the only race certain to bring a new face to city government because incumbent Councilman Claude Mattox, whose term expires at the end of the year, is running for mayor.
The issues the candidates are discussing are not the issues voters need to hear about, said several citizens who pay close attention to what the council does.
Employee pay and concern over the food tax and water rates are yesterday's issues, neighborhood activist Paul Barnes said.
He said he wishes the candidates would focus on what the city can do to attract "first-class jobs."
"We can't fall back into the trap of counting on construction to pull us out of this hole," Barnes said.
Former Mayor Terry Goddard noted this is the first "open" mayor's race, without a front-runner or an obvious choice, in a long time.
"It's time to look at the future of the city in a comprehensive way," he said.
Goddard said most of the candidates are speaking in generalities but without a broad vision for the city.
"There is a lack of big-picture thinking," Goddard said.
Jessica Franken, an attorney who represents numerous small businesses, said more attention is being paid to state and national issues, particularly the debt-ceiling debate, than to city issues.
"There is a perception that the issue of job creation is not being discussed very deeply," Franken said. "People may not understand how the mayor can affect their businesses."
Election day is Aug. 30, but the city will be mailing out early-voting ballots to registered voters this week.
Monday is the last day to register to vote. For more information, visit phoenix.gov/election/vote idx.html or call 602-261-8683.
In addition to the mayor and council, Phoenix voters will consider two ballot propositions, one that would allow the city to determine its own spending as opposed to a state formula from the 1980s and another to determine whether a QuikTrip gas station can be built near 44th Street and Palm Lane.
by Michael Clancy The Arizona Republic Jul. 30, 2011 10:46 PM
Elections could change Phoenix's direction
