Stark, Ansari win Phoenix City Council seats in special runoff races
Mar 12, 2021, 6:13 PM
From left, Debra Stark and Yassamin Ansari (City of Phoenix and Facebook Photo)
(City of Phoenix and Facebook Photo)
PHOENIX — Final unofficial election results released Friday night showed that Debra Stark and Yassamin Ansari have won their respective runoff races for Phoenix City Council.
Stark took District 3 with 68.05% of the vote, leading Nicole Garcia by more than 11,000 votes.
Ansari won District 7 with a smaller 58.33%-41.67% lead over opponent Cinthia Estela.
Ansari will replace the term-limited Michael Nowakowski, while Stark will retain her seat.
Stark and Ansari celebrated their wins through Twitter posts on Tuesday night when their respective leads became apparent in the unofficial results.
Thank you, District 7!
I’m absolutely elated, humbled, and grateful, and I can’t wait to get to work on your behalf! pic.twitter.com/a8uPbsPjZd
— Yassamin Ansari (@yassaminansari) March 10, 2021
I am honored and humbled to be re-elected as your councilwoman! I’ve spent my life in public service, and I hope I can continue to serve the district and City in a thoughtful manner. Let us continue the good work we started together! https://t.co/cWnRt2bs8g pic.twitter.com/ca3ozajjgJ
— Debra Stark (@DebraStarkPHX) March 10, 2021
The women were also congratulated by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, who endorsed both of them.
Congratulations Councilwoman-Elect @yassaminansari on your victory in District 7, and to @DebraStarkPHX on your re-election to District 3! I’m thrilled to work with you both — tonight we celebrate, tomorrow we get to work!
— Kate Gallego (@KateWGallego) March 10, 2021
Phoenix City Council races are nonpartisan.
The City Council is scheduled to canvass the vote totals during a meeting at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, which will make the results official.
The new Phoenix City Council term begins April 19.
