Cook winning assessor race
Town ambulance session set
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
NEWS............................. 13 Experts discuss housing, retail, offices
BUSINESS................20 He finds Gilbert salon complex rewarding.
SPORTS.......................22 AIA releases school sports fall schedule
COMMUNITY....................................... 18 BUSINESS.............................................20 SPORTS....................................... 22 PUZZLE....................................... 23 CLASSIFIED..........................................24
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF GILBERT) | GilbertSunNews.com
Sunday, August 9, 2020
Peterson-Nielsen duel likely for mayor BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
F
ormer Town Council member Brigette Peterson and charter school consultant Matthew Nielsen appear headed for a Nov. 3 ballot duel to be Gilbert’s next mayor. Unofficial results from the Aug. 4 Primary Election on Friday showed Peterson and Nielsen each getting 34 percent of the voted and Peterson leading by 12 votes. Lynne King Smith trailed both of them by more than 1,800 ballots, getting 31 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, the races for two four-year
seats on Town Council appear to have been resolved outright as Councilman Scott Anderson and former Gilbert Chamber CEO Kathy Tilque each getting 29 percent of the vote to local businessman Tyler Hudgins, who got 22 percent and digital consultant Bus Obayomi, who got 20 percent. The race for the two-year seat shows former state Rep. Laurin Hendrix edging out Councilman Bill Spence 51-49 percent, although it was unclear if that race has been resolved or if a runoff will be needed. A majority vote is calculated by dividing the total number of legal votes cast in each candidate’s race by the number of seats to be filled, dividing that number in half and rounding to
Amid reopening uncertainty, Higley ramps up virus fight
the next highest whole number, according to the Town Clerk’s office. The Town Clerk has until Aug. 24 to complete an canvass and issue final results from last week’s vote. Only about a third of Gilbert’s registered voters cast ballots in the council and mayoral races – a turnoput that paled in comparison to the nearly 50 percent turnout in similar races in Apache Junction and Scottsdale and on par roughly to the turnout in Mesa and Chandler’s local elections. Town Clerk Lisa Maxwell declined to say if any Council candidates won their seats out-
see ELECTION page 6
Downtown addition
BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
H
igley Unified School District is upgrading efforts to create safe environments for students – even testing a machine that purportedly cleans indoor air naturally – as officials prepare for a return to in-class learning when it is safe to do so. The two pilot sites at Cortina and Chaparral elementary schools are using Global Plasma Solution’s patented needlepoint bipolar ionization technology to fight COVID-19. But despite a broad array of efforts that range from better air filters to hiring more custodians, it remained unclear last week whether Higley Unified would reopen classrooms Aug. 17 as originally planned. The Governing Board was to hold a special meeting yesterday, Aug. 8, to discuss the newly released state benchmarks for reopening. Maricopa County health officials last week said that current data suggests it would be unsafe to reopen campuses.
see HUSD page 4
Artist Edgar Fernandez was busy this year adding a new mural idowntown on the back wall of Flashback Antiques. To learn about its significance, see page 18. (Courtesy of Edgar Fernandez)