Leaders in Chandler Council race start to celebrate
Courtesy photos
The three candidates in the lead with 99% of ballots reported as counted in the Chandler City Council race are, from the left, incumbents Angel Encinas and Jane Poston and challenger Cecily Rocha-Miller.
Cicely Rocha-Miller has been trying to make this moment happen for at least the past three years, she says.
And even though that moment is merely being unofficially among the candidates poised to win council seats, with 99% of Maricopa County ballots counted, Rocha-Miller was celebrating by about 48 hours after polls closed in the July 21 primaries.
“We felt the disappointment of 2024 together, and today, we get to celebrate together,” Rocha-Miller wrote on her campaign’s social media. “To those who supported another candidate, I want you to know I’ll work just as hard for you. Now it’s time to get to work — a phrase which I have worked for over three years to officially say.”
Rocha-Miller, a challenger who ran on a ticket with incumbents Jane Poston and Angel Encinas, was running third in July 24 reporting with 20,357 votes, which is 18.09% of the total vote from the 45,000 ballots counted.
Three seats are open, so voters were to select three candidates.
Poston had earned the most votes — 22,949 — as of July 24 for 20.4%. Encinas wasn’t far behind with 22,434 votes, or 19.94%.
Poston, Encinas and Rocha-Miller, by being in the top three spots among the six candidates, are in position to be elected to new four-year terms that start in January.
Rocha-Miller not only appeared to have cleared the threshold, using a state-mandated formula that determines the need for a Nov. 3 runoff, but also seemed to be far enough ahead of fourth-place Lisa Askey to cause Askey to concede.
As of July 24, Askey had 16,955 votes, or 15.07%.
Joe Granado Jr. was in fifth at 15,979 votes, or 13.85%. Ron Hardin was running sixth with 14,228 votes, or 12.65%. All six candidates have remained in the same place in sequence since reporting began after polls closed July 21.
Askey wrote, on her social media, that she feels she ran a thoughtful, positive campaign of integrity. She was also reassured by a compliment from her son, Cade, who she says told her “It takes a different kind of strength to follow your heart.”
Askey also echoed a sentiment shared by others who didn’t win their races this week: she wants the winners, and the local government they’ll be leading, to succeed.
“I wish those who secured a seat at the dais the absolute best,” Askey wrote to her supporters. “I am confident they will lead our wonderful city with you in mind.”
Poston, like candidates in several Valley races this cycle, pointed out the low voter turnout, which was 27.86% in Chandler as of July 24.
“Moving the primary up to July 21 about five months ago probably had an impact,” Poston said. “You had the ballots going out in June and then the election day only a week after our largest district had kids back in school. And people are going on vacations and dealing with the rain and the heat. There ended up being a lot going on.”
Poston said it was rewarding to be out campaigning and talk with voters about her background, both before and since she was elected to Council in 2022. She said it was how she voted and what she stood for in her decisions as part of the council that made the most difference in the race.
“That makes me happy,” Poston said. “Residents saw how I worked, and that mattered to them.”
In the July 30, 2024 primary, O.D. Harris and Jennifer Hawkins won four-year terms outright. Though the 46,000 ballots counted wasn’t significantly more than this year, voter turnout was 29.48%.
Rocha-Miller finished a close fifth in that race, outpaced by Joseph Yang. He lost to incumbent Christine Ellis in a November 2024 runoff.
Rocha-Miller said her campaign was built “by people who love Chandler, and I will never take that for granted.”
She thanked many people, including volunteers and election workers.
“As I’ve said from the very beginning, I promise to be an advocate for the people,” Rocha-Miller wrote. “Thank you, Chandler. We did it — together.”
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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