By Eugene Scott and Dustin Gardiner | The Republic | azcentral.com
Phoenix voters on Nov. 5 swept a new generation of city council members into office — Kate Gallego won by a landslide in District 8 in south Phoenix, and Laura Pastor claimed the District 4 seat in central Phoenix by a comfortable margin.
Despite the decisive outcomes, political observers dissecting the results and voter behavior said both contests revealed clear-cut divisions within the council districts themselves, along geographic and racial lines.
For many residents, the results reflect districts undergoing demographic transitions.
Both districts received new boundaries when the city underwent redistricting last year, exacerbating the population shifts. And both races have signaled the districts’ traditional power bases, whether influential neighborhoods or a certain leaders, have lost some of their sway.
Did you vote in the past Phoenix City Council election? See comment box at the end of the story.
