Schwan
leads in early voting; Home Rule approved
by
Brian DiTullio
CAREFREE/CAVE
CREEK – David Schwan is the apparent winner of the Carefree
Town Council runoff election while Cave Creek voters approved
home rule by an overwhelming margin.
Schwan,
a current Carefree Town Council member, was returned to
his seat, according to unofficial results from the Maricopa
County Board of Elections. He received 739 votes, compared
to challenger David Burnell Smith’s 583 votes.
Schwan
wasn’t ready to declare victory yet on Wednesday, though,
stating there still are uncounted votes. He cited the
wild swing in voting results from the March election after
the absentee ballots were counted as the main reason for
his hesitancy to proclaim himself a winner.
“Every
vote is important,” said Schwan. “So I’m saying ‘No comment’
until the final numbers are known.”
Schwan
did thank all the people who came out and supported him.
Burnell
Smith, however, conceded victory to Schwan and congratulated
him on his win.
“I’m
glad it’s over,” said Burnell Smith. “We worked hard.
I did everything I could.”
A
representative of the Maricopa County Elections Board
said a count of the provisional ballots wouldn’t be available
until Friday.
In
Cave Creek, Prop 400, or Home Rule, was approved by a
vote of 456 to 122, according to Deputy Town Clerk Anita
Hammerman. The vote allows the town council to override
the State of Arizona’s pre-set budget limits and form
a budget based off of the town’s actual revenue.
Cave
Creek Mayor Vincent Francia said he was pleased by the
outcome on Wednesday.
“It’s
wonderful,” he said. “It shows two things. The community
supports the council and the direction it has been going
in the past few years, and it shows trust in the council
to make decisions about the financial well-being for the
future of the town.”
Shea
Stanfield, who heads the political action committee Creekers
for Fiscal Responsibility, and urged people to vote against
Home Rule, said she wasn’t surprised by the vote but noted
the low voter turnout in no way gives the town council
a mandate.
