Four races July could not finish

Scottsdale City Council, at large: vote for up to 2 of 3

Barry Graham (incumbent)

• Record, mostly in his own statements: in his voter packet statement he said, "You deserve an ideology-free City Council accountable to you, not special interests," and credited his four years with protecting neighborhoods, defending open spaces, supporting public safety, and scrutinizing city spending. In a guest editorial he said he voted against high density apartment projects including Axon and its roughly 1,900 apartment development, voted to crack down on short term rental bad actors, and voted to fully fund public safety, and that his CPA work exposed $150 million in cost overruns, leading to reforms; the overrun figure is his claim. Scottsdale Progress reported he voted against the Parque project in 2023 and has been a leading opponent of Axon. At the Republic's October 12 forum he argued for limiting dense apartment growth and for resident buy in before approvals.
• The water exchange, fact checked: at a chamber forum Graham said, "We need to stop approving these massive apartment complexes because I see those as giving away your water and undermining your water security." The Republic's fact check reported Scottsdale Water's September 22 presentation: single family residences used 61 percent of Scottsdale's water in 2025, multifamily residences 20 percent, and single family homes used three times as much potable water as multifamily communities. The claim and the city's numbers are both part of the record here.
• Money: campaign total of $158,528 through the post primary report covering July 1 to 21, the field's highest, with a balance of nearly $50,000 as of July 15, per Scottsdale Progress. One contribution became an issue: David Megdal gave $5,000 on July 1; Megdal is associated with FalconEye Ventures and the Parque project. Graham said he did not vote for the Parque and the donation came after he voted against the project.
• Outside money against the field: the Better Together PAC raised $335,000, every dollar in its July 2 filing from National Horizon Inc., a Virginia based super PAC, and spent $203,503 opposing Graham, Littlefield, and Ugenti-Rita, per the Republic. Its leaders, a registered Axon lobbyist and a public relations consultant who previously worked as an Axon spokesperson, maintained Axon was not directly involved. In October, the Secretary of State's office determined Better Together likely broke state campaign finance rules on donor disclosure size on signs and referred the case to the Attorney General, which was reviewing without a determination of wrongdoing.
• Controversy, the open meeting investigation: the Republic reported October 1 that the Attorney General's office has investigated since last October a set of resident open meeting law complaints alleging Scottsdale councilmembers, namely the conservative caucus, met or emailed privately to coordinate decisions ahead of public meetings, while others faced scrutiny for negotiating a deal with Axon. No findings had been released and no determination made. City Attorney Luis Santaella denied any wrongdoing occurred. In a separate polling complaint, in which a resident alleged Graham circumvented the open meeting law by asking the clerk to poll colleagues about rescheduling meetings, Santaella said Graham contacted only the clerk, who messaged members individually, with no group discussion or action outside a noticed meeting, and the Republic reported the Attorney General would not probe that allegation. Opinion pieces in the Arizona Progress Gazette go further and allege Graham was found to have violated the city Ethics Code and faces a pending campaign finance complaint; those claims appear only in opinion pieces, and no news or official finding of an ethics violation was located. This page prints the investigation, the denial, and the distinction.

Michelle Ugenti-Rita

• Stated priorities: protecting Scottsdale's quality of life, neighborhoods, and distinctive character; responsible growth, safe communities, fiscal discipline, and a city government that listens to residents instead of special interests. On Axon, she says she supported its original headquarters but opposes its massive high density apartment development, believes residents deserve to be heard, and criticizes Councilwoman Whitehead for voting to repeal the Axon referendum. At the October forum: "People don't move here to look like Tempe."
• Legislative record, the election bills: summaries of her Senate tenure, compiled by Wikipedia from cited sources, record that in 2019 she sponsored legislation that would have prohibited voters who received early ballots from casting those ballots at polling places before or on election day, opposed by election officials of both parties and voting rights advocates; that she sponsored bills making it harder to place initiatives on the ballot; and that in 2021 she supported mail voter identification paperwork legislation and a purge of early voting rolls for voters who skipped early voting in two consecutive elections, and initially supported, then in July 2021 withdrew support for, the 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit. Voters who care about election administration have a long, specific record to read here.
• Short term rentals: no distinct 2026 statement from her was found in the questionnaire or forum coverage reviewed. As a state senator in 2021 she supported Senate Bill 1379, a competing short term rental bill with occupancy limits and insurance requirements that stopped short of letting cities limit numbers; the City of Scottsdale did not support that bill, per Scottsdale Progress. That is the most recent specific position located.
• Money: total raised just under $105,000 through July 21, with about $95,000 spent, per Scottsdale Progress, including a maximum $6,750 donation from Marilyn Hayden on July 17. The Better Together PAC also spent against her, as detailed under Graham.
• Controversy, from her legislative years: in 2017, Ugenti-Rita accused fellow legislator Don Shooter of sexual harassment, an accusation that led to his expulsion from the House. She was herself accused by a female lobbyist of sexual misconduct, specifically pressuring her into a threesome, as summarized by Wikipedia from cited reporting. No response from Ugenti-Rita to that allegation was found in the sources reviewed.

Raoul Zubia

• Stated priorities: in his voter statement: "I am running to secure our water, protect our neighborhoods, the Preserve and restore respect to the City Council." He supports conservation, water recycling, aquifer protection, and advanced water purification; stronger short term rental enforcement, with repeat offenders losing licenses and escalating penalties; development that respects existing neighborhoods, allowing some multifamily housing but no more than four stories and fitting neighborhood character. At the October forum: "Just because we can build doesn't mean we should." He frames himself as the civility candidate: in his own guest editorial, solutions instead of a reality TV show.
• Money, and the Axon donation exchange: total raised over $94,000 through July 21, per Scottsdale Progress, including $5,000 on July 1 from Josh Isner, the president of Axon Enterprises. At the October forum, Zubia denied being an advocate for dense multifamily development at Axon's bidding and called the Isner contribution a donation from one employee rather than from a company or industry. To Scottsdale Progress he said Graham and his allies were manufacturing attacks to distract voters, and called Graham an ethically challenged chaos agent, pointing back at Graham's FalconEye related contribution.
• The claim against him, and his answer: in a joint guest editorial, Graham and Ugenti-Rita claimed Zubia took $13,500 from the short term rental lobby, endorsed Axon's high density development, accepted their money, and lobbied the council for thousands of apartments. Zubia's editorial answered that the accusations were dismantled and disproven, that he supports stronger short term rental enforcement, and that his Paiute Neighborhood Center work reflects community service. No independent source reviewed verified the $13,500 figure; it is printed here as their campaign claim, with his denial, because both are part of the race.
• Controversies: none documented beyond the campaign exchanges above.

Mesa City Council, District 5: northeast Mesa

Alicia Goforth (incumbent)

• Record and stated priorities: the Republic's council guide says her focus has been transportation, adding pedestrian safety and features to city developments. Her campaign describes her as a commonsense conservative focused on strengthening public safety, protecting neighborhoods and Mesa's quality of life, and fiscally responsible government. She is endorsed by Mayor Mark Freeman and Councilmembers Rich Adams and Jenn Duff and Vice Mayor Scott Somers. Former Mayor Scott Smith told the Republic she has not done anything significantly controversial in four years, in his view.
• The utility rate fight: at a November 2025 council meeting, Goforth argued the council had challenged staff for months to keep an increase as low as possible, noted the original proposal had been reduced from 6 percent to 2.5 percent, and supported small gradual rate hikes to prevent larger future jumps, per the Republic. Utility rates are the challenger's core issue, and this vote is her answer to it.
• Money: no campaign finance totals for this race were found in the coverage reviewed; Mesa's finance reports are filed with the City Clerk on a published schedule.
• Controversies: none found in the coverage reviewed. One process note: Goforth did not respond to two emails and a phone call requesting an interview for the Republic's October article on this race.

Aleks Vranicic

• Stated priorities: government accountability and transparency about city finances; making budgeting documents easy to access and reducing backroom decision making; preserving western values and conservative cultural issues, per his website as described by the Republic; and fixing traffic in Las Sendas and Red Mountain Ranch near the Power Road exit off north Loop 202.
• His framing of the race: "Based on the current results, 65% of voters chose someone other than the incumbent. To me, that suggests a referendum." At the November 2025 utility rate meeting he told the council: "You didn't even throw us a bone. Not even one of you voted with the people."
• Endorsements found: Arizona Freedom Club PAC, State Sen. David Farnsworth, State Rep. Justin Olson, and Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, per the Republic.
• Money: no totals found in the coverage reviewed.
• Controversies: none found in the coverage reviewed. He also did not respond to the Republic's interview requests for its October article, an Instagram message, a phone call, and three emails.

El Mirage City Council, at large: one seat left

Todd Balash

• Stated priorities: leadership that champions professionalism, transparency, and sound financial stewardship. His long term issues, from a Republic questionnaire: a sustainable water supply, smart balanced growth, economic diversification, and expanding the tax base by attracting retail and new industries, plus pursuing state review of groundwater protections and zero net loss water usage for new developments. His budget priorities in VOTE411: infrastructure and environmental resilience (water security upgrades, heat mitigation, road repairs, fire hydrant inspection), public safety and crisis response (competitive salaries and modern equipment for police, fire, and EMT, and starting a HAZMAT program in the fire department), and community programs and quality of life.
• Campaign pledges (his site): a five year return on investment analysis posted publicly for every capital project over $250,000; a dedicated dispatch center for police and fire to equalize response times; and full release of the Mountain State Plumbing investigation findings, with no rate hike without full disclosure.
• Money: no totals found in the coverage or filings reviewed.
• Controversies: none found about Balash personally. His campaign site makes claims about a 2024 land purchase approved 5 to 1 over public objection and about the plumbing investigation; those are campaign claims, not independently verified in the sources reviewed.

Cindy Gentry-Oliveres

• Stated priorities (Republic questionnaire): decrease water and sewer rates and halt yearly property tax levies; stop excessive spending and reduce unnecessary spending; reinstate commercial impact fees. She says the city needs to be more transparent, responsive, and effective on the issues that matter most to residents, handled in a kind and respectful manner, and that proposed development should benefit El Mirage short and long term without overburdening resources like water, with an ideal mix including local retail.
• Money: no totals found in the coverage or filings reviewed. She had not responded to VOTE411's runoff questionnaire in the guide retrieved.
• Controversies: none found in the coverage reviewed.

Carefree Town Council, at large: one seat left, and the town's first runoff

Sharon P. Smith

• Stated priorities (per Carefree Truth): increase economic vibrancy in ways that keep faith with Carefree's historic image and identity, support existing businesses, and encourage collaboration; frugal management of town resources, doing must do tasks first and adding desirable tasks only when resources allow or delay is costly, with consultants used occasionally for specialized expertise; transparency and citizen input; diversify revenue, including developing the northeast corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road, and promote Carefree as a tourist destination; conservative budgeting to maintain or expand reserves; and plan in advance for possible very large Colorado River water reductions.
• Money: no totals found in official or newspaper sources reviewed.
• Controversies: none found in the sources reviewed. She had not responded to VOTE411's runoff questionnaire in the guide retrieved.

Ted Taylor

• Stated priorities: no property tax, noting voters rejected one in 2024; protect open spaces; zero based and performance based budgeting and bringing spending under control; work with businesses, not against them, to grow sales tax revenue; build sidewalks and bike paths; and no wasted money relocating Town Hall offices. Carefree Truth reports his clarified positions include that town payroll could be reduced by as much as 50 percent, with restructuring or elimination review for the Town Manager, Economic Development Director, Town Engineer, and Communications Manager positions and for many consultant services, and support for the town's non financial involvement in protecting as open space the 48 acres of state trust land that Carefree Park wishes to purchase as a natural park.
• Money: no totals found in official or newspaper sources reviewed.
• Controversies: none found in official or newspaper sources reviewed.