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There is now a clearer picture as to what the ballot for Peoria elections will look like later this year.
Candidates for city council will be considered, with three seats open in the Aug. 4 primary election: Bridget Binsbacher’s of the Mesquite District, Jon Edwards’ of the Willow District and Bill Patena’s of the Ironwood District,
The deadline for council candidates to file for this election was April 6.
All three incumbents filed before the deadline and a write-in candidate nomination was submitted for John Griffin, a resident of the Mesquite District.
Peoria City Clerk Rhonda Geriminsky said a write-in candidate’s name is neither printed on the ballot, nor are they required to collect signatures.
“The main difference between an official candidate whose name is printed on the ballot and an official write-in candidate is the petition signatures,” she said. “To have a candidate’s name printed on the ballot, they must turn in the required number of signatures; whereas, an official write-in candidate still has to turn in the nomination paperwork and financial disclosures that a regular candidate must turn in; the write-in candidate does not have to turn in signatures and their name is not printed on the ballot ... if you wanted to vote for John Griffin, you would have to write his name on the blank space on the ballot. If you wrote another resident’s name on the ballot that did not file as an official write-in candidate, then that name would be counted as an under vote.”
Peoria has a budget of $182,120 for the 2020 city council election.
The city council March 3 officially called a nonpartisan candidate primary election for Aug. 4, 2020 and if necessary, a nonpartisan candidate runoff general election for Nov. 3, 2020, as well as authorized the city clerk and city attorney to take all action necessary to conduct the elections.
The PUSD governing board will also have three seats open for the general election. They are currently occupied by: Monica Ceja Martinez, David Sandoval and Judy Doane.
School board candidates must file a statement of interest with the Maricopa County School Superintendent before collecting nomination petition signatures, according to state law.
The candidate filing period for this school board election begins June 6, 2020 and closes July 6, 2020.
The school board election looks to be much more competitive than the council election with at least six candidates filing statements of interest.
Although it does not guarantee they will be on the ballot, the following people have filed statements of interest: Kacie Franklin, Michael Gard, Shannon Moot, David Sandoval, Davita Solter and Devon Updegraff-Day.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at 623-876-3697, phaldiman@newszap.com, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.
Philip Haldiman is a third generation Arizona native with brief residencies on the east and west coasts.
He has bachelor’s degrees in Theater and Journalism at Arizona State University, and is an award winning journalist with more than 15 years worth of experience in reporting and editing.
Most recently, he took first place for investigative reporting and third place for best sustained coverage or series at the 2023 Arizona Newspapers Association awards.
In his free time, he produces an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.