Kari Lake Ally loses election in controversial Maricopa County

Voters in Maricopa County decided on two seats on the Phoenix City Council on Tuesday, denying a local leadership position to a close ally of failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.

Candidates from Maricopa Districts 6 and 8 failed to win a majority vote in November’s midterm elections, sending voters back to the polls more than four months later. Among the list of candidates to fill incumbent Republican Councilman Sal DiCiccio’s seat in District 6 was Sam Stone, DiCiccio’s former chief of staff who served as policy director for Lake as she ran for governor.

According to the Phoenix City Clerk’s unofficial election results, Stone trailed his opponent, Democrat Kevin Robinson, 63.4 percent to 36.5 percent. The unofficial counts were based on “the first ballots the city processed and tallied before Election Day,” the city clerk said. tweeted.

Shortly after the release of the unofficial election results, Stone bliss Robinson on Twitter, writing, “I would like to congratulate Kevin Robinson on his election as the next member of the District 6 Council and wish him well in the future.”

According to Stone’s campaign website, the Republican nominee is a “geek” who is “obsessed with public policy” and has run on issues including public safety, cost cutting and improving services. public transport in Phoenix. In addition to guiding policymaking while running DiCiccio’s office for 4½ years, Stone is also the host of the conservative radio show, Breaking down the battlefields.

Stone’s campaign also received endorsements from Lake and DiCiccio.

Tuesday, Lake urged his Twitter followers went to the polls for Stone, writing, “I don’t want to see Phoenix destroyed by bad left-wing politics.”

“We need someone who will bring reason to the city council,” Lake added. “We need a conservative fighter. That fighter is (Stone).”

Lake has a controversial history in Maricopa County after a string of losses in his campaign trial to overturn his loss to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in the fall. Lake argued in his failed lawsuit that Maricopa election officials intentionally caused trouble on Election Day to undermine voters on the day.

After the Arizona Court of Appeals dismissal, Lake filed his lawsuit in the state Supreme Court earlier this month. Lake’s first loss in court was to Maricopa County Judge Peter Thompson in December.

Robinson, a former deputy police chief with the Phoenix Police Department and current professor of criminal justice at Arizona State University, was endorsed by fellow Democrat, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, who famous Robinson unofficially tweeted victory Tuesday night, writing, “He will be a consensus builder and responsive voice for all of District 6.”

In District 8, incumbent Councilman Carlos Garcia was about 2,000 votes behind his opponent, Kesha Hodge Washington, as of Tuesday night’s count. Washington is the former assistant attorney general who was endorsed by Gallego and Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.

Newsweek reached out to Lake’s press team via email for comment.