Barry Graham wins Scottsdale City Council race
Barry Graham has won the race for Scottsdale's final open City Council seat, securing his place as the city's newest elected official. He will replace termed-out Councilmember Linda Milhaven in January.
Graham held a significant lead lead over his opponent Pamela Carter throughout the race. He consistently controlled about 58% of the votes and was up by about 12,500 as of Tuesday morning, after Maricopa County released its last big tranche of results.
That lead may shrink as smaller batches of results roll in throughout the week, but Carter will not be able to close the gap given the tiny number of votes left to be counted.
"We ran a positive, fact-based, solution-focused campaign," Graham said. "We are very proud of the margin of victory."
Carter was not immediately available for an interview on Tuesday.
She and Graham had been locked in a campaign battle since the primary election in August, when incumbents Kathy Littlefield and Solange Whitehead secured enough votes to win without a runoff election.
Election Day coverage: Arizona election results
The newly elected council member is an accountant who has served on Scottsdale's Planning Commission since 2020. Carter is a businesswoman who runs a nonprofit that produces faith-based films.
Graham has a limited-development stances similar to the majority of Scottsdale's current council. His replacement of Milhaven — one of Scottsdale's two pro-development officials — will likely tilt the council further against new construction in the city.
"My first priority is restoring trust in local government. ... We've heard a lot of concerns from residents about the pace of development across the city," Graham said. "Some of that is (about) slowing down the application process to make sure that everybody has a chance to voice their opinion."
Candidate Q&A: Scottsdale's City Council candidates talk housing, short-term rentals, abortion
Graham outperformed Carter by about 4,500 votes in August's primary election, placing third in that contest while his opponent secured the fourth place spot.
He also raised nearly three times more campaign funds than Carter as of September and garnered the support of multiple high-profile community members such as Councilmember Littlefield.
Follow the money: Check out Graham's latest finance report
Beyond development-related issues, Graham will help shape the city's future by tackling top issues that range from staffing shortages to water conservation. He added that monitoring the city's new short-term rental regulations will also be among his first priorities in office.
Reach Sam at sam.kmack@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @KmackSam.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Barry Graham wins Scottsdale City Council race
