Yung Koprowski carries small lead in 10-candidate race for Gilbert Town Council
Incumbent Yung Koprowski holds a small lead over nine other candidates vying for four seats on Gilbert’s Town Council, according to in early results on Wednesday.
The next three top voter-getters were:
Chuck Bongiovanni, a CEO and co-founder of a senior residential home franchise.
Jim Torgeson, who owns a custom sign shop and has filed to run for Town Council in the past.
Bill Spence, who served as an appointed Town Council member in 2020 and a retired Naval lieutenant commander and nuclear engineering officer.
The council was guaranteed two new members as incumbents Lauren Hendrix and Aimee Yentes didn't run.
Based on the total votes cast in the race, Koprowski, Bongiovanni and Torgeson would win outright if Wednesday's results hold.
Spence had not garnered the minimum number of votes the town requires to win outright. Unless that changes as final votes are counted, he could head to a runoff election in November against the fifth highest vote-getter, which currently is real estate broker Bobbi Buchli.
Maricopa County election officials on Wednesday were tallying drop-off and provisional ballots.
Election coverage: Live updates across Arizona | Results at 8 p.m.
In all, 10 candidates were vying to represent the nation’s most populous town with more than 270,000 residents.
In-person voting on Tuesday appeared to go smoothly in Gilbert although there was some controversy early in the day when Gilbert police responded to call involving candidate Scott September at the Southeast Regional Library voting center. Several people accused him of illegally pulling up political opponents’ campaign signs. September did not respond to The Arizona Republic's request for comment.
Front runner reflects on early results
Koprowski was confident on Wednesday that the results would hold and she could avoid a runoff. She said she feels blessed and thankful to continue her work on the Town Council.
This would be the first elected win for Koprowski, a civil engineer, who was appointed to fill a council vacancy in 2020.
"I will strive to work with any other council members that are elected to get them up to speed, get them integrated and do what's best so we work together for the betterment of the town," she said.
Koprowski hopes to focus on addressing water issues within the town and regionally, as well as to work on transportation, pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
One way she plans to address that is by supporting the formation of a public works board to garner input from experts and residents on those issues.
The results so far show September, who was appointed to the council at around the same times Koprowski, trailing in sixth place.
He was followed by Mario Chicas, Bus Obayomi, Michael Clark and write-in candidate Garrett Glover.
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Nearly all of the candidates had ranked issues surrounding growth among the town's top issues, from affordable housing to making smart decisions as the town is expected to reach buildout by 2030.
Like many Arizona cities, Gilbert has grown rapidly, doubling its population every five years from 1980 to 2000.
The Republic asked each candidate about growth, roads, housing affordability and leadership at a time when the council has experienced infighting, ethics probes and an Open Meeting Law violation. Read their responses here.
Several of the candidates at a recent forum fielded questions on growth, leadership and whether the town was welcoming enough to all.
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Reporter Maritza Dominguez can be reached at maritza.dominguez@arizonarepublic.com or 480-271-0646. Follow her on Twitter @maritzacdom.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gilbert election results: Yung Koprowski with a small lead in busy race
