By Laura Gómez and Jen Fifield | Arizona Republic
Voters stuck by incumbents in local races across metro Phoenix, but the final votes tallied this week show it was an oh-so-close race in two cities.
Two challengers in Surprise and Tolleson city council races came up short by a mere 11 votes.
Not enough to trigger an automatic recount, but enough to make conceding the loss tough to swallow.
“It’s hard, because … in my mind I’m like, ‘Who didn’t vote? Who didn’t send out their early ballot?’ There is no way of knowing why I didn’t get 11 votes, or 12 votes,” Adolfo Gámez said.
Gámez, a former Tolleson city councilman and mayor of the Southwest Valley city until 2016, failed to secure one of three council seats in the five-person race. He landed fourth behind incumbent Clorinda Contreras Erives by 11 votes.
Gisele Norberg also finished 11 votes behind incumbent Patrick Duffy in Surprise’s District 3 council election.
