November 15, 2022 Most races were called yesterday evening as the last large batch of votes from Maricopa and Pima Counties were dropped. Notable exceptions include Attorney General and Superintendent of Public Instruction which remain too close to call and may be headed for recounts.
The big news is that Democrat Katie Hobbs has been elected as Arizona’s next governor. Last spring, NAIOP hosted both general election candidates – Hobbs and Lake – during our Coffee with Candidates series, providing a professional and informative setting for our members to learn about their policy positions and ask questions. View the videos from the entire series at this link. Most of NAIOP’s political engagement focuses on the state legislative races and ballot propositions. This year we did take positions in a few other races which directly affect our members or could impact our state’s brand and, thereby, our ability to attract national and international investment and tenants.
STATEWIDE, COUNTY AND CITY CANDIDATES SUPPORTED BY NAIOP ARIZONA
Secretary of State: NAIOP supported Democrat Adrian Fontes who won over Republican Mark Finchem.
Treasurer: NAIOP supported Republican Kimberly Yee who won over Democrat Martín Quezada.
Maricopa County Attorney: NAIOP supported Republican Rachel Mitchell who won over Democrat Julie Gunnigle.
Maricopa County Supervisor – District 2: NAIOP supported Republican Tom Galvin who won a crowded primary election and faced no opposition in the general.
Phoenix City Council – District 8: Newcomer Kesha Washington is headed to a March runoff against incumbent Carlos Garcia in this heavily Democratic council district.
BALLOT PROPOSITIONS SUPPORTED BY NAIOP ARIZONA
Proposition 128: Allows the legislature to make targeted modifications to ballot initiatives that the courts have found to contain illegal language or to be unconstitutional. Polling data were never good for this measure, so it was not surprising that it failed.
Proposition 129: Requires ballot initiatives to address a single subject that must be clearly expressed in the title. Prop. 129 is heading toward passage obtaining 55.2% of the vote at the time of update.
Proposition 132: Requires 60% of the vote to pass initiatives that raise taxes or create new taxes. Prop.132 is headed toward passage obtaining 50.7% at the time of update.
Proposition 130: Moved certain modest property tax exemptions, including business personal property into state statute. This measure easily passed with 63.8% of the vote.
LEGISLATIVE HIGHLIGHTS Republicans are poised to maintain slim majorities in the State Senate and House of Representatives. Both the Democratic and Republican caucuses took a turn away from the center by electing candidates in the primaries who hold more extreme views. Finding consensus between a very conservative legislature and a Democratic Governor will be challenging.
NAIOP Arizona-endorsed candidates (indicated in bold font) prevailed in several tight elections.
State Senate: LD-2 Republican Rep.Steve Kaiser is leading Democrat Jeanne Casteen by nearly 3,000 votes. LD-13 Republican state Sen.J.D. Mesnard’s lead over Democrat Cindy Hans has grown to 3,200 votes. LD-16 Republican Sen.T.J. Shope is headed to re-election over Democrat Taylor Kerby by over 8,000 votes. House of Representatives: LD-2 Republican Rep.Justin Wilmeth has been re-elected to this competitive district. LD-4 Republican Matt Gress finished first in this extremely competitive district. LD-9 Democrat Seth Blattman appears to have secured a seat with a slim 814 vote margin. LD-16 Republican Rep.Teresa Martinez leads by a comfortable margin in this three-candidate race.
Election 2022: Get Involved at the Polls
NAIOP Arizona Developing Leader and Public Policy Committee member Joshua Schifferer of GO Industrial shares his experience volunteering as a poll worker during the primary election.
Ballot Propositions 2022 NAIOP AZ's Official Statements
