Guardado, Garcia leading in Phoenix City Council special election
May 22, 2019, 5:30 AM | Updated: 6:35 pm
(Cronkite News Photo/Samuel Leal, Facebook Photo/Carlos Garcia)
PHOENIX — The city of Phoenix held a special runoff election Tuesday for two City Council seats in Districts 5 and 8.
As of the city’s latest update Wednesday afternoon, Betty Guardado was leading Vania Guevara in District 5 by nearly 3,000 votes, 63% to 37%.
In District 8, Carlos Garcia had 51% percent of the vote and was ahead of Mike Johnson by 385 votes.
The winner in District 5 will be replacing former mayoral candidate Daniel Valenzuela, while the District 8 winner will replace current Mayor Kate Gallego.
The latest results from city of #Phoenix Runoff Election.
District 5:
Betty Guardado 7,412 votes 62.51%
Vania Guevara 4,446 votes 37.49%
District 8:
Carlos Garcia 6,711 votes 51.48%
Mike Johnson 6,326 votes 48.52%
Full results on https://t.co/Dz5eMfnG6x #PHXElections pic.twitter.com/0buP9MCDeU— Phoenix Elections (@PHXElections) May 23, 2019
Gallego tweeted congratulations to Guardado on Tuesday night, saying she looks forward to serving with her.
Congratulations to Betty Guardado on her win tonight in City Council District 5! I look forward to serving with you and continuing to move Phoenix forward together. #PHX
— Mayor Kate Gallego (@MayorGallego) May 22, 2019
After Garcia’s lead held overnight, Gallego congratulated him Wednesday afternoon.
Congratulations to Phoenix City Council District 8’s new Councilman @carlosforphx. Excited to serve with you and lead Phoenix into the future together. #PHX
— Mayor Kate Gallego (@MayorGallego) May 23, 2019
The runoff election for these two spots was triggered in March, when none of the candidates got the majority of the vote.
The candidate who is elected to the District 5 seat will serve until April 29, 2021, while the District 8 candidate will serve until April 17, 2023.