What's on the ballot? - August 25, 2015
August 24, 2015
By Ballotpedia staff Follow @ballotpedia
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| Elections on August 25, 2015 |
| Arizona |
| California |
| Florida |
| Mississippi |
Municipalities in three states—Arizona, California and Florida—will feature elections on Tuesday, August 25. A runoff election is also taking place in Mississippi.
Arizona:
In Arizona, voters in Phoenix will cast ballots for mayor and city council. Incumbent mayor Greg Stanton faces Anna Maria Brennan, a medical-spa owner, and Matthew Jette, a local educator. Brennan earned five percent of the vote when she ran for mayor in 2011. Although the race is officially nonpartisan, Stanton is a Democrat, Brennan is a Republican and Jette is an independent.[1]
Phoenix voters will also weigh in on five local ballot measures. One of the measures, Proposition 103, addresses pension reform and is the fourth pension-related measure that city voters have seen in three years.[2][3]
Voters in Chandler, Arizona, will also decide on a local ballot measure, Proposition 484, which would formally amend the city's charter to set candidate elections to a cycle with elections in August and November of even numbered years and January commencement dates.
California:
Five counties in California will each feature one local ballot measure addressing school district boundaries and parcel taxes. One of the more contested measures, Measure V in Nevada County, asks voters whether the district's annual $25 parcel tax—a kind of property tax based on units of property rather than assessed value—should be replaced with a variable parcel tax based on the type of property involved. Supporters argue that if the tax is not passed, a fire station will be closed and several firefighters will be laid off. Opponents point to the State Responsibility Area fee of $117 per year per resident, arguing that residents shouldn't have to pay two fire taxes.[4][5]
Florida:
Voters in St. Petersburg, Florida, will see a primary election that features a five-way race in District 7 to succeed Wengay M. "Newt" Newton Sr. Voters within the district will vote on these candidates in the primary, with the top two vote-getters moving on to the citywide general election on November 3. One issue at stake in the general election is whether the Tampa Bay Rays stay in the city. According to 10 News, "Whoever becomes the new District 7 council member could effectively break a tie and decide whether the City approves a deal reached between the Rays and Mayor Rick Kriseman." If no deal is reached, the Rays may leave the Bay area entirely.[6]
Mississippi:
After no candidate in the Republican primary for Mississippi Public Service Commissioner, South District, garnered 50 percent of the vote, Sam Britton will face off against state Senator Tony Smith in a runoff on August 25, 2015. Britton led the pack in the primary, earning 46.5 percent of the vote, while Smith earned just 28.4 percent. However, with 25.1 percent of the primary votes going to Mike Collier, who won't appear in the runoff, there are plenty of votes up for grabs. Whoever wins the runoff election will face Democratic candidate Tom Blanton and independent candidate Lonny Kenneth Spence in the general election.[7]
Note: Click on the links below for more details about each race and election results.
Arizona
Municipal government
- Phoenix - General elections for mayor and city council
Local ballot measures
- Phoenix and Chandler - Voters to decide transportation funding, pension reform, budgets and more
California
Local ballot measures
- Special district elections - Voters to decide school district boundaries and parcel taxes
Florida
Municipal government
- St. Petersburg - Primary elections for city council
Mississippi
State executives
- Mississippi - runoff election for Public Service Commission
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ AZ Central, "Phoenix mayor, council elections draw fewest candidates in at least 15 years," May 28, 2015
- ↑ AZ Central, "More pension spackling coming to Phoenix ballot," March 6, 2015
- ↑ AZ Central, "Another pension measure headed to Phoenix ballot," March 5, 2015
- ↑ The Union, "Nevada County OKs special election for proposed Higgins Fire Protection District tax," June 10, 2015
- ↑ The Union, "Our View: Fire protection tax — Third time's the charm?" June 13, 2015
- ↑ 10 News, "Vote could decide fate of Rays in Tampa Bay," August 13, 2015
- ↑ Associated Press, "Mississippi - Summary Vote Results," August 04, 2015
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