Early election results in the Oro Valley Town Council race show that all three challengers were leading the incumbents for the three open seats.
Six candidates vied for three council positions, as incumbents Bill Garner, Mike Zinkin and Brendan Burns defended their seats against challengers Rhonda Pina, Steve Solomon and Bill Rodman.
Early unofficial results showed Pina leading all the candidates, with Solomon close behind and Rodman in third place. To be elected in the primary a candidate must earn a certain percentage of total votes cast. Those results werenβt available late Tuesday.
Campaign finance records from Jan. 1 through Aug. 18 show the challengers raised more than $75,000 to the incumbentsβ $9,500, and outspent them by nearly 10 times. Donations to the challengers came from HSL, Don Diamond, Venture West, SAHBA and Jim Click.
The townβs controversial purchase of the El Conquistador Country Club from HSL nearly two years ago remained a contested issue during the election, with the challengers and incumbents disagreeing on how to handle the growing financial losses.
The challengers, who were running on a slate, adopted a wait-and-see approach, saying that the town should stick to the initial five-year plan before taking action.
Citing more than $2 million in losses on golf course and community center, the incumbents argued that immediate action needs to be taken before the townβs general fund becomes depleted from covering the losses.
The winners will join Mayor Satish Hiremath and council members Mary Snider, Lou Waters and Joe Hornat.
