Eloy City Councilmember Jose Garcia speaks June 28 at the 2022 Eloy candidate forum inside the council chambers./David Church/PinalCentral
By DAVID CHURCH | Eloy Enterprise
After a week filled with ballot mistakes and delays in results, Pinal County has reported its final vote tallies for the municipal races in the 2022 primary election.
While the final results will not be official until the county Board of Supervisors canvasses the results Friday, candidates Michelle McKinley-Tarango, Andrew Rodriguez and Jose Garcia will be taking seats on the dais.
McKinley-Tarango and Rodriguez were consistently the top two vote-getters throughout the counting process, leaving candidates Garcia and Reuter vying for the third and final seat.
Although Reuter had kept a slight lead over Garcia, Tuesday night’s final tally saw Garcia move ahead of Reuter. The final count shows McKinley-Tarango with 1,083 votes, Rodriguez with 1,064, Garcia with 1,018 and Reuter with 1,003.
McKinley-Tarango was a challenger and the other three were incumbents.
“I know the numbers are still unofficial until the county meets Friday, but it’s great knowing the citizens still have confidence in me,” Garcia said. “I plan to continue to listen to the citizens to better be able to provide them with the services they need. My goal is to continue to work on bringing in affordable housing, so they have a livable wage. I will also work toward a permanent solution to our landfill issue. I look forward to working with Councilmember-elect Michelle McKinley-Tarango these next four years.”
