Here’s what you need to know about an election change in Peoria

By Philip Haldiman
Mail | Twitter: @PhilipHaldiman

This year’s Peoria City Council election is going to be a little different than in the past.

If a city council election has only two competitors, which it does this election cycle, it will automatically revert to the general election, held this year on Nov. 8.

Previously, a two-person race would have occurred in the primary and the general elections, officials said.

This was among a handful of changes to the city charter voters approved in 2020.

Peoria spokeswoman Kristina Perez the cost-saving measure is to eliminate the need to hold a primary election and general election for the same two candidates.

She said election costs can be highly variable, but Maricopa County charges the city of Peoria $.50 per registered voter to hold an election.

Peoria spent about $125,000 on the 2020 election.

Perez claimed the cost savings because now there is no need to have the expense of two elections with the same two individuals on the ballot.

For council races with more than two people during the primary election, any candidate who receives a majority of all the votes shall be declared elected to the office for which he or she is a candidate, and no further election shall be held as to said candidate. If no majority is reached, a runoff election would be held in the general election.
Perez said that as general elections often have a greater voter turnout, the decision to have the election occur in the general election, rather than primary, is to ensure candidates be decided on by the largest voting population.

The change serves an additional purpose, Perez said.

“There are other city elections besides those with candidates, which only appear in a general election. When we have these elections, such as bonds, we would have to hold primary and general elections. But with our recent change, we only have to conduct a general election, thus, saving the taxpayers the cost of the primary election,” she said.

This year, there are two competitive elections for Peoria City Council — one for mayor pitting former city council member Bridget Binsbacher and newcomer Jason Beck, as well as one for representation of the Acacia District, pitting incumbent Vicki Hunt against newcomer Jennifer Crawford.
Both will forgo the primary election and be put to voters for the general election on Nov. 8.

Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria
@PhilipHaldiman

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Meet Philip
Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.

Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.

Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater. 

Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.

Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.