By Philip Haldiman | The Arizona Republic
Cave Creek is one of the last outposts in the Valley where city fades into wilderness, a town known for its cowboy and biker bars and, of course, its Western lifestyle.
This year’s race for Town Council has played out as wild and raucous as the Old West culture that is central to Cave Creek’s character.
The campaign has included accusations over the town’s debt and charges that the town manager’s influence has gone too far. There have been scathing editorials from a local newspaper and a fierce battle between a packed field of candidates sharply split between a slate of incumbents and a group of challengers who outspent the sitting members by a 7-to-1 ratio in an effort to win the seats.
It reached a peak earlier this month when the town manager called The Arizona Republic to announce that one candidate who dropped out of the May 21 runoff election had a change of heart and would be returning to the race.
That action has prompted an outcry from some in town and moved at least one resident to prepare a legal challenge.
