Women appeared to have swept the election for five contested Maricopa County seats on the board that manages the Central Arizona Project.
All seven men on the ballot, including four incumbents, went down to defeat Nov. 7, according to unofficial election totals.
As of Nov. 9, Maricopa County election officials say some 158,000 provisional and early-vote ballots had yet to be counted.
The 15-member panel sets policy as the Central Arizona Water Conservation District governing board, which manages the CAP. The canal delivers nearly 500 billion gallons of Colorado River water annually to central and southern Arizona, including Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties.
Two winning candidates had said the district overtaxed property owners, while one said CAP staff had too much sway over the board.
Four of the five winners are from West Valley. Another common thread among the winners appeared to be political experience — or a close relationship to it.
Lisa Atkins
Incumbent Lisa Atkins, a former congressional aide, was the top vote-getter, according to results posted by the Maricopa County Elections Office early Nov. 8, about six hours after the polls closed. They show Ms. Atkins with 194,915 votes, more than 30,000 over the nearest challenger.
The CAWCD seats up for grabs from Maricopa County this year will go to the top five vote-getters. Maricopa County has 10 seats on the board. Pima County has four, Pinal County one.
Ms. Atkins, in a prior interview with The Arizona Republic, said her top priority would be to shore up Colorado River water supplies and make sure the CAP operated reliably. She also said there should be a discussion about managing water for future growth.
Ms. Atkins is a Litchfield Park resident and vice president for public policy at Greater Phoenix Leadership, a non-profit community-action group. Until recently, she was executive director of the County Supervisors Association of Arizona. She also served on Gov. Jane Hull’s Water Management Commission.
In 2002, she lost the Republican primary to Trent Franks in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District. From 1979 to 2002, she was chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Bob Stump.
Mrs. Hull appointed Ms. Atkins to the CAWCD board January 2003 to fill a vacancy by the departure of Bob Burns, who was elected to the Arizona Senate as a Republican from District 9. Mr. Burns had served in the House from 1988 to 2000.
Gayle Burns, wife of Sen. Burns, won her own spot on the CAWCD board this election. She lives in Peoria and said she would work to deliver CAP water “cheaply and efficiently” if elected.
Jean McGrath, a former Republican House member who said the district overtaxed homeowners, also won. Ms. McGrath, a Glendale resident, told the Arizona Capitol Times,/i> that she would push for an external audit to find out where the CAP’s money is going.
Another politically connected winner is Pam Pickard, whose husband Larry is chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Party. Ms. Pickard, a Peoria resident, is an educational consultant and a retired school administrator. She said the board should not try to manage growth but make sure water is there to meet it.
The only East Valley candidate to pick up a seat was Janie Thom, a former Mesa city councilwoman. Like Ms. McGrath, Ms. Thom says the district should lower its property tax rate. Ms. Thom also would like to see an idled desalination plant put back into operation as a way to save more water.
Incumbents fall short
Incumbents who had fallen short by the latest count included board President William Perry, Frank Barrios, George Brooks Jr. and George Renner. Others in the losing column were Sam George, Ed King and attorney Richard Morrison.
Meanwhile, Robert Barrett — the CAWCD’s public information officer — will become the next mayor of Peoria if his slim lead holds up after early-vote and provisional ballots have been counted.
Mr. Barrett had a 293-vote lead over challenger Pat Dennis out of 22,966 counted. Ms. Dennis is a real estate agent and a Peoria City Council member.
Mr. Barrett stepped down from the City Council in April to campaign for mayor, because of the resign-to-run law. Since Ms. Dennis was in the last year of her council term, she was not affected by that law.
Outgoing Mayor John Keegan was elected justice of the peace for the Lake Pleasant Justice Court in Surprise.
Mr. Barrett said, given the close vote, he wasn’t ready to declare victory.
“My priority is finding out whether or not I won,” he said.