The presidential race isn’t the only one for Surprise residents to keep their eyes on in 2020.
The mayor and four city council seats are up for grabs this year on Tuesday, Aug. 4 — and candidates are already jockeying for position, a couple months before they can even officially apply.
Mayor Skip Hall is running for his first full term as mayor after serving a decade as a member of the City Council.
Other city councilmembers who are running for re-election — or in the case of one his first election — are Patrick Duffy in District 3, Ken Remley in District 4 and David Sanders in District 5.
Councilwoman Nancy Hayden, who serves District 2, hasn’t yet indicated publically if she is running for re-election.
Candidates can offically file their paperwork beginning Monday, March 9. The filing period lasts until Monday, April 6.
The voter registration deadline is Monday, July 6.
If needed to settle the election, the general election has been set for Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Here is a look at the race for each seat, and the money candidates have reported in the final quarterly report of 2019.
Mayor
Mr. Hall right now appears to be the only candidate for mayor. He took over for Sharon Wolcott, who suddenly resigned in late 2018, making 2019 his first full year as mayor.
Now, he’s trying to get a full four-year term at the top.
Mr. Hall reported one donation of $200 on his last quarterly financial report. He also spent $500 on a website. That leaves his committee with just under $8,200 heading into the election cycle.
District 2
Ms. Hayden’s plans aren’t known, but so far no other candidates have publically expressed interest in the seat.
The district serves the mostly senior communities of Sun City Grand and Arizona Traditions.
District 3
Mr. Duffy is poised for another tough fight with Planning and Zoning Commissioner Gisele Norberg, whom he beat by a few votes in a special election in 2018.
Mr. Duffy reported no new activity in the last quarter and enters the year with $1,521 to use, which puts him at a big financial disadvantage to start the year.
Ms. Norberg has $6,000 at her disposal after receiving a pair of four-figure donations last quarter. Jacqueline Hagan of Vancouver, Washington, donated $5,000 to Ms. Norberg’s committee.
The district emcompasses west Surprise, including the Prasada area.
District 4
The Committee to Re-elect Ken Remley is reporting no money in its account.
The good news for Mr. Remley is no other candidates have publically expressed interes in unseating the one-term councilman.
The Original Town Site makes up much of the district.
District 5
Mr. Sanders was appointed to the council last year after Mr. Hall moved over to the mayor slot.
In what could prove to be a tight battle, Mr. Sanders has at least one known challenger in Arts Commissioner Jack Hastings.
Mr. Sanders finished the last quarter with a balance right above $5,000. It included a loan of $2,960 to his own campaign and a series of $100 or $250 donations he acquired.
Mr. Hasting is reporting a balance of just under $2,200 after spending close to $3,500 of his war chest in the last quarter.
His biggest donation of the quarter was a $2,000 one from Brickford Faucette of Knoxville, Tennessee. John and June Faucette of Surprise kicked in $1,000.
Mr. Hastings also gave his campaign a $1,900 loan.
Editor’s Note: Jason Stone can be reached at 623-445-2805, on email at jstone@newszap.com or on Twitter at @thestonecave. Visit yourvalley.net.
By