The results were fascinating on August 4th, as former Councilmembers Dave Ortega and Lisa Borowsky now head to the run-off in November.
But a deeper dive into the results are even more fascinating.
As he did when he ran for Mayor for the first time in 2004 against Mary Manross, Ortega did very well in the southern precincts that tend to be more Democratic. Virginia Korte also performed well here. Either she or Ortega placed first or second in most precincts up to Shea Boulevard.
But the dynamic shifted further north. There Bob Littlefield and Lisa Borowsky placed first or second in nearly all precincts north of Bell Road.
Klapp’s one area of strength was the far east Shea Corridor, where Borowsky also performed well.
Ortega finished last or second to last in all of the northern most precincts, likely the result of his opposition to McDowell Sonoran Preserve funding in 2004. Korte also peformed poorly in the north. There can be no other explanation for a Preserve pioneer to fare so than her vocal support of the Desert Discovery Center last cycle which northern residents overwhelmingly opposed. With Korte’s strong showing in the south it’s nearly conclusive, as much as anything can be in politics, that her Desert Discovery Center sympathies cost her the Mayor’s Office in 2020.
Over the next couple of months the political geography for Borowsky and Ortega is obvious. Whoever can make marginal gains on the other’s turf will likely be the next Mayor.