Tempe City Council Results: Who Rose, Who Fell, and What It Means for the City

By Vanessa Rogers

Tempe voters delivered a clear verdict on May 19. The runoff election reshaped the city council in ways that will echo for years. For a full breakdown of the unofficial results, Maricopa County Elections has the numbers. Here is a look at who came out ahead and who didn’t survive the night.

Rising: Arlene Chin

Chin never had to sweat the runoff. She secured a majority of votes in the March 10 primary and was declared re-elected outright. That kind of first-round dominance is rare. It signals a broad base of support that crosses ideological lines. Chin arrives at the new council with a clear mandate and political capital to match.

Rising: Brooke St. George

St. George finished first in the runoff, running on a platform of transparency, community-centered leadership, and a more humane approach to homelessness policy. A former City Council assistant, she spent two years inside Tempe City Hall supporting policy research and constituent services. That insider knowledge gave her credibility that insurgent candidates often lack. Voters trusted her because she knew the institution.

Rising: Bobby Nichols

Nichols, a public interest lawyer and ASU alumnus endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders, unseated an incumbent in Tempe’s most contentious council race in recent memory. He had previously helped organize the effort to overturn a controversial Tempe ordinance that many residents felt targeted mutual aid groups. That organizing experience translated directly into votes. He ran on affordability, housing, and a bolder approach to the city’s unhoused population.

Departing: Jennifer Adams

Adams finished last in a four-person field, defeated in part by her own former council assistant. Her support for the special events ordinance, which sparked a citizen repeal effort, made her a target from the start. She never successfully reframed the race around her broader record, and reports of late night misstatements and insults of a fellow councilmember sealed her fate.

Departing: Berdetta Hodge

Hodge, also an incumbent, fell to Nichols. Like Adams, her vote on the special events ordinance defined how many residents saw her tenure. The ordinance energized a voter coalition that proved durable through both the primary and the runoff. Hodge was unable to separate herself from that association.

The Beneficiary: Randy Keating

And then there is Randy Keating. He was not on the ballot this cycle. He didn’t need to be. The election came to him.

Keating has served on the Tempe council since 2016. His record reflects a consistent focus on the issues that matter most to progressives: affordable housing, homelessness, youth welfare, and protecting the vulnerable. He pioneered Tempe Works, a first-in-the-nation program connecting unsheltered residents with jobs, housing, and resources. He championed a historic drink spiking initiative. He passed prevailing wage after a years long fight. He passed the most robust heat safety ordinance in the state. He has been a steady, effective voice for progress on a council that hasn’t always made that easy.

For years, Keating has been quietly running up the score. That work is about to get considerably easier. St. George and Nichols arrive as natural allies on the issues he has spent a decade prioritizing. With two new colleagues focused on homelessness, affordability, and community investment, Keating now has the coalition he has needed. The votes are there in ways they weren’t before.

Tempe has always leaned forward. Now its council reflects that more fully.