Morning Digest: With Gallego's win in Phoenix, women will lead two of America's five biggest cities
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Leading Off ● Phoenix, AZ Mayor, AZ-Sen: On Tuesday, Kate Gallego easily defeated fellow Democrat Daniel Valenzuela by a wide 58-42 margin to become Phoenix's new mayor, making her just the second woman ever elected to the post. And with Gallego's victoryMorning Digest: With Gallego's win in Phoenix, women will lead two of America's five biggest cities
Leading Off ● Phoenix, AZ Mayor, AZ-Sen: On Tuesday, Kate Gallego easily defeated fellow Democrat Daniel Valenzuela by a wide 58-42 margin to become Phoenix's new mayor, making her just the second woman ever elected to the post. And with Gallego's victory, two of America's five largest cities will soon be led by women following next month's runoff in Chicago, which features a faceoff between two women, Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle. Campaign Action Gallego won a special election runoff for the rest of former Mayor Greg Stanton's term after Stanton resigned to successfully run for the House in 2018. Gallego had led Valenzuela 45-26 in the first round all the way back in November, so her victory doesn't come as a surprise. She'll face the voters again for the full four-year term in November of 2020. The two Democrats were both former members of the City Council and had similar voting records, but they differed when it came to public financing of sports facilities. The issue sparked great controversy in the city, particularly after the city council committed $150 million to renovate the arena where the NBA's Phoenix Suns play in January—well after both Gallego and Valenzuela had resigned from the Council to run for mayor. Valenzuela supported the deal, and he also helped broker a previous agreement that kept the Milwaukee Brewers' spring training facility in the city, which the Arizona Republic's Jessica Boehm described as «one of the most taxpayer-friendly in Arizona professional sports deals.» Polling, however, showed the Suns' deal was deeply unpopular, and Gallego had opposed the arrangements with both teams, arguing that city resources should not go to supporting sports teams. Gallego is also the former wife of current Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who was strongly in support of her candidacy. The congressman has long been weighing a potential Senate bid for 2020, but he had reportedly been unlikely to announce whether he would run before the mayoral race was over. Gallego himself told the Intercept he would decide by the end of this month, so we may be getting an announcement soon. Read more
