23%
23%
22%
21%
GOVERNMENT
15%
0.15
11%
Those hobbyists aren’t adding any desirable traits to Maricopa’s political gene pool, Coughlin said. “People don’t move to Maricopa to run for the city council,” he said. “They move for some other reason and say, ‘Sh*t, this is a big town, maybe I should be involved.’ A lot of people do this these days, for their own popularity’s sake, like high school.” In more established cities, even much smaller ones, this isn’t the case. Look no further than Fountain Hills. Dickey’s $45,434 came entirely from in- state donors and PACs. Same for Friedel’s $44,819 war chest. Arpaio raised $83,443 from individual donors in and outside Arizona. “A large budget allows for more exposure, which could contribute to turnout,” Dickey said. Goettl had the largest budget in Maricopa this year after pulling in $7,516, more than three losing candidates combined. Two-thirds of the money came from his own pocket, including a personal loan, and the rest came from “donations solicited by me from people I knew,” he said in a candid interview. “I have mixed feelings on the turnout,” Goettl said. “There always has been, and for good reason, a push to get more voters to the polls. That’s the democracy part of our republic. People have their greatest voice in that polling booth.” By the same token, he said, turnout by way of ignorant voters “waters down the votes of people who have paid the price to understand the issues.” If people vote thoughtlessly, it can lead to “serious problems.” Overall, Goettl said low voter turnout was an indicator that the constituency was satisfied with the status quo. As Coughlin put it: “I’m not going to bother to cast a vote unless there’s a crisis. Satisfaction draws apathy.” Both men suggested, barring a vote of protest, municipal elections should expect low engagement. That still doesn’t answer why turnout in Maricopa was so much lower than virtually every comparable city in the state. An El Paso situation? The Texas Tribune’s dissertation on low voter turnout in El Paso after the city recorded a record low 11% turnout in Texas’ primary election this year found an added layer of nuance — elections in which voters are dissatisfied with both or all candidates also breed apathy.
JOB APPROVAL RATINGS IN MARICOPA CITY GOVERNMENT
0
Mayor Nancy Smith
Vice Mayor Amber Liermann
Councilmember Eric Goettl
Councilmember AnnaMarie Knorr Councilmember Vincent Manfredi
Councilmember Bob Marsh
Councilmember Henry Wade
Approve
Disapprove
Neither approve nor disapprove
0.6
53%
Neither approve nor
Approve
Disapprove
51%
disapprove
38% Councilmember Eric Goettl Mayor Nancy Smith Vice Mayor Amber Liermann
38%
51%
11%
47%
45%
33%
45%
22%
43%
43%
43%
0.45
34%
43%
23%
34% 28%
34%
Councilmember AnnaMarie Knorr Councilmember Vincent Manfredi
33%
33%
43%
32% 29%
29%
28% 53%
0.3
32%
15%
23%
23%
22%
Councilmember Bob Marsh
34%
43%
23%
21%
15%
0.15
1
11%
0
Mayor Nancy Smith
Vice Mayor Amber Liermann
Councilmember Eric Goettl
Councilmember AnnaMarie Knorr Councilmember Vincent Manfredi
Councilmember Bob Marsh
Councilmember Henry Wade
Approve
Disapprove
Neither approve nor disapprove
Neither approve nor
Approve Vice Mayor Amber Liermann
Disapprove Councilmember Eric Goettl
Mayor Nancy Smith Vice Mayor Amber Liermann Councilmember Eric Goettl Councilmember AnnaMarie Knorr Mayor Nancy Smith
disapprove Councilmember AnnaMarie Knorr
Councilmember Vincent Manfredi
Councilmember Bob Marsh
Councilmember Henry Wade
38%
51%
11%
33%
45%
22%
34% Source: InMaricopa.com poll of 366 likely voters registered in the city of Maricopa 43% 23%
28%
43%
29%
approval rating. Coughlin asserts “local governments’ favorability ratings far exceed state and most federal governments.” Maricopa might be an exception. Goettl said on the campaign trail he had to contend with “thousands of individuals who don’t like the growing pains, who are scared to lose the neighborhood feel we have currently.” At times, he even questioned if his pro- growth platform was a winning strategy, but ultimately concluded the dissenters were “an echo chamber,” queueing up to bark their gripes while the silent majority sat contently by. Coughlin likes this theory. “They don’t want any growth. They don’t want any more apartments. They’ve had it — keep everybody else out,” he said. “It’s a minority of people making most of the noise.” In the rear-view mirror, it’s hard to tell if that’s the case, or if we’re dealing with an El Paso situation. 15% 23%
El Paso is the farthest major city from its state capital in the country — a nine-hour drive to Austin that’s 70 miles farther than San Diego to Sacramento — and voters there are consistently frustrated by neglect at the state level and tepid local candidates, the Tribune reports. The people want to protest. But they have no one to vote for in protest. Sound familiar? Maricopa and the albatross around its neck, State Route 347, are afterthoughts in the mind of a state government just 35 miles north in a single U.S. state four times the size of Belgium. Ouch. And approval polling could suggest this indignation puts people off voting entirely, even if they’re unhappy with the status quo. InMaricopa polled 366 registered, likely voters in Maricopa in late August and found the Maricopa City Council that was just reelected in a landslide has worse than a 33% 32% 53% 34% 43% 1
Councilmember Vincent Manfredi
Councilmember Bob Marsh
InMaricopa.com | October 2024
20
Powered by FlippingBook