By Jon Altmann
Tuesday, Phoenix City
Council Candidate Ann Wallack dropped out of the November City Council race.
Wallack was one of two female candidates in the race - the other being the new
interim council member, Debra Stark. Wallack is a past Maricopa County
Democratic Party chairwoman and it widely regarded as a strong grass roots
campaign organizer. She stated on Facebook that Stark's appointment "had made
my campaign politically unfeasible."
Councilman Jim Waring
does not like the process of picking an incumbent. "In this process, no citizen
of District 3 was eligible to vote for their new councilwoman. This is taxation
without participation… The council shouldn't choose its own members. The
process should be changed," Waring said in The Arizona Republic's June 22nd
Community News/Soundoff.
Stark is now the sole
female in the race with four other male contestants, giving her some possible
advantage with women voters. The fund raising demand for any council candidate
is expected to exceed more than $100,000 and most likely may end up being the
city's most expensive district election yet. Because the district has more than
180,00 voters to reach, effective mailing to create name ID is going to be
costly. No one candidate has significant identity with the voters. Also in the
race are Dan Carroll, Jim Mapstead and Charles Hargrave.
No campaign finance
reports are due to be filed until the August 19-26 filing period, so genuine
fund raising strength won't be known for more than two
months.
Chris De Rose is the
lone Republican in the race, endorsed by Council members Jim Waring and Sal
DiCiccio, along with County Attorney Bill Montgomery. DeRose's website is www.deroseforphoenix.com
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