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Five to vie for Buckeye mayor, three council seats

District 1 is the only contested race

Posted 4/6/20

Five names will be on the ballot when Buckeye voters head to the polls Aug. 4 to choose a new mayor and fill three City Council seats, but only one race is contested.

District 1 incumbent Tony …

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Five to vie for Buckeye mayor, three council seats

District 1 is the only contested race

Posted

Five names will be on the ballot when Buckeye voters head to the polls Aug. 4 to choose a new mayor and fill three City Council seats, but only one race is contested.

District 1 incumbent Tony Youngker, who was elected to the council in 2016, will face off against challenger Tedy Burton.

Mr. Youngker is a Buckeye native. The Buckeye Union High School and Scottsdale Culinary Institute graduate owns Café 25:35, a restaurant in Downtown Buckeye. He lives with his wife and four children on his family’s homestead.

Mr. Burton, who also sought the District 1 seat in 2016, is the Buckeye Planning and Zoning Commission’s at-large alternate, serves on the Buckeye Elementary School District Override Committee and is a former member of the Buckeye Airport Board. He is the Buckeye Valley Chamber of Commerce’s friendraiser, campus pastor for The Citadel Church of Buckeye and previously worked as a math tutor at Odyssey Preparatory Academy and as program director for Buckeye Outreach Social Services. He is a member of Buckeye Elks Lodge #2686. He and his wife, Linda, moved to Buckeye with their family nine years ago.

Unopposed races

Eric Orsborn, who resigned his District 6 council seat April 2 to run for mayor, is unopposed in his bid to succeed longtime Mayor Jackie A. Meck, who announced he would not seek a fourth term as mayor.

Mr. Orsborn owns OCM, a construction and maintenance company that works on commercial and industrial renovations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Arizona State University and has worked in the industry for nearly 20 years. He lives in Buckeye with his wife, Tina, and their two children.

He was first elected to the council in 2010, and reelected in 2014 and 2018. His term expires in 2022. The council is expected to discuss options for the seat in May, city of Buckeye Communications Manager Annie DeChance said April 7.

Also running unopposed are are District 2 incumbent Jeanine Guy and District 3 incumbent Michelle Hess.

Ms. Guy joined the city of Buckeye as library director in 1992, working her way up to town manager before retiring in 2010. She was elected to the council in 2016. Her prior elected positions include Buckeye Union High School District Governing Board, 1997-2004; and Western Maricopa County Education District Governing Board, 2012-2016. She has lived in Buckeye with her husband, Jerry, for 36 years. The couple has three sons and eight grandchildren.

Ms. Hess was first elected to the council in 2012. She is executive director/program director of Leadership West. She a graduate of Grand Canyon University and holds a master’s in ministry from Johnson University. She is a fellow of the Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy, an alumnus of Leadership West and participated in the Harvard University Senior Executives in State and Local Government leadership course. She has lived in Buckeye with her husband, McKenzie, and their children for nine years.

Deadline to register to vote in the Aug. 4 primary is Monday, July 6.

Kelly O’Sullivan can be reached at kosullivan@newszap.com or 760-963-1697. For up-to-date local reporting on all things COVID-19, Independent Newsmedia has created a webpage dedicated to coverage of the novel coronavirus.