Kalivianakis concedes Fountain Hills mayor's race to Friedel

As votes in four small northeast Valley towns continued to be counted July 22, Brenda Kalivianakis conceded defeat in the most closely watched race there, that for mayor of Fountain Hills.

She abandoned her council seat to challenge incumbent Mayor Gerry Friedel, who held a sizeable lead in a high-octane election with lower-than-typical voter turnout.

After a contentious and vitriolic race, Friedel posted a sizable lead over Kalivianakis. She conceded on July 22 but hinted that she will stay involved in local politics.

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"I am not going anywhere," she wrote in a prepared statement. "The work we started together does not end tonight."

Elsewhere in the area, Carefree, Cave Creek and Paradise Valley voters all considered elections marked by few incumbent candidates.

In the Fountain Hills council race, a slate of self-described conservatives led the pack of six by a razor-thin margin.

Full, unofficial results typically take days. Races may be called sooner, depending on margins and the number of early ballots that remain to be counted.

We will be tracking the results as ballots are counted throughout the evening. Check back for updates on the remaining races.

Fountain Hills mayor and council

Mayor's race:

Friedel's comfortable early lead never slipped as more ballots were counted in the next 24 hours.

The small northeast Valley town has become a hotbed for vitriolic campaigning. This election cycle, a local political action committee, Reclaim Our Town, created a sign that suggested Brenda Kalivianakis, who is running for mayor, lied about her gender identity. She told The Republic in an exclusive interview that she was a transgender woman.

Gerry Friedel (incumbent): Friedel worked in the banking industry for nearly 40 years. He previously served on the Town Council and as a precinct and state committeeman. He is seeking his second, two-year term as mayor.

Brenda Kalivianakis: Kalivianakis was elected to serve on the Town Council in 2022. She was previously a prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer. She said she was running for Fountain Hills mayor because of the political division in the town, saying that political theatre on the dais is causing basic expectations to go unnoticed.

Council race:

Partisan ideology divided Town Council candidates, who all ran for the first time, into two factions. Early election results showed a toss-up between the right-wing slate of Mathew Corrigan, Dan Kovacevic and Benjamin Larrabee and the centrist slate of Susan DeGennaro, Catherine Mirick and Jeff Tate.

On July 22, though, Tate and Mirick posted on Facebook conceding the race. They were the bottom two vote-getters after early ballot counting.

The same PAC, Reclaim Our Town, has promoted a slate of candidates based on party affiliation and protecting the town from liberal ideology. The PAC has attacked the other three candidates for "hiding behind civility."

Mathew Corrigan: Corrigan serves on the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission. He previously worked in sales at Fortune 500 companies. 

Susan DeGennaro: DeGennaro is a software engineer and specializes in machine learning and generative artificial intelligence. She graduated from the Fountain Hills Leadership Academy and has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and St. Mary’s Food Bank. DeGennaro said her priorities on council will be to increase sales tax revenue for the long term.

Dan Kovacevic: The Pennsylvania native worked as a real estate developer in Chicago and across the Valley. He serves on the Planning and Zoning Commission and is in his second year as chairman. His campaign has focused on smart development and protecting the unique character and charm of Fountain Hills.

Benjamin Larrabee: Larrabee works at Turning Point Action and is married to current Councilmember Hannah Larrabee.  

Catherine Mirick: Mirick moved to Fountain Hills from Massachusetts, where she served 12 years in elected office, including four years on the local school board. She graduated from the Fountain Hills Leadership Academy and volunteers around the town. Mirick said she will focus on keeping partisan politics out of regular town business.

Jeff Tate: Tate built a small business in New Hampshire and served on his town’s budget committee and school board, as well as in other positions. He moved to Fountain Hills four years ago. Tate said he is running to return civility and decorum to the dais.

Paradise Valley council

Paradise Valley Mayor Mark Stanton ran unopposed and will win a second two-year term.

Four candidates, including one incumbent, were running for three at-large seats. Early returns showed incumbent Anna Thomasson narrowly leading with Bob Brown and Bill Nassikas behind her.

Bob Brown: He previously led a homeowner association management company. He serves on the town’s planning and zoning commission.

Bill Nassikas: He is the president of Westroc Hospitality, a hotel management company. He also serves on the town’s planning and zoning commission.

Anna Thomasson (incumbent): She is running for a third term on Town Council. She has a background in corporate finance and human resources and serves on the Arizona Supreme Court Judicial Council.

Daran Wastchak: He runs an educational company hosting workshops for home builders, contractors and realtors.  He previously served on the town’s planning committee.

Carefree mayor and council

Mayor's race: 

Incumbent Mayor John Crane held a commanding lead over incumbent former Councilmember Melissa Price in the mayoral race after early ballot counting.

John Crane (incumbent): Crane served as a councilmember for seven years before being elected as mayor in 2022. Crane served seven years as a nuclear submarine officer and works as a sales representative for international semiconductor and equipment suppliers.  

Melissa Price: Price is the vice president of finance and communications at D2M2 LLC. She previously served on the Town Council.  

Council races: Five candidates were jostling for three at-large seats, with only one seeking reelection.

After early ballots were counted, incumbent Sheila Amoroso led with wide margins. The next top vote-getters were Les Hardie and Ted Taylor.

Sheila Amoroso (incumbent): Amoroso retired as the director of the municipal bond department at Franklin Templeton Investments in 2020 and moved to Carefree. She was elected to her first term on council in 2022.  

Peter Gladkin: Gladkin is a real estate agent with Kin Home Sales. 

Les Hardie: Hardie did not disclose personal details in his candidacy paper, has no known social media presence and did not return calls or emails.

George Nelson:  Nelson did not disclose personal details in his candidacy paper, has no known social media presence and did not return calls or emails.

Ted Taylor: Taylor is an Army veteran who led troops in the Army Special Forces. He worked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for over 25 years.   

Cave Creek mayor and council

Mayor's race: Two candidates were vying to replace Robert Morris, who is not seeking reelection. Former Town Councilmember Kathryn Royer held a wide lead over Brian Hardy, according to early ballot counts.

Brian Hardy: He has about 30 years of experience managing businesses, namely in the auto industry, and owns a specialized exotic luxury auto dealership in Scottsdale.

Kathryn Royer: She worked in the communications field and was first elected to the Town Council in 2018. She’s served as the town’s vice mayor for the last four years.

Council races: Seven candidates, four of them seeking reelection, were jostling for six at-large council positions. Early ballot counts showed voters favored the incumbents, with Tom Augherton, Cynthia Driskell and Joe Freedman leading in the competitive race.

Kathleen Abaie: She helped her husband run his company until he retired, and now runs her own small business providing bookkeeping services to other small businesses in the community.

David Ackerman: He is a business owner and a longtime executive in the food industry. As a volunteer, he serves on various boards and commissions, including for the Cave Creek Museum.

Tom Augherton (incumbent): He was first elected to the Town Council in 1993 before serving one term as mayor from 1997 to 1999. He returned to the council in 2022 and was reelected in 2024.

Cynthia Dirskell (incumbent): She is a longtime physical therapy professional, serving her first full term on the Town Council. She was first appointed to fill a vacant seat in September 2024 and was later elected in December 2024.

Joe Freedman (incumbent): Following a long career in sports marketing, he entered local politics and is serving his first term on Town Council.

Thomas McGuire (incumbent): He is a retired science teacher who has served on the Town Council, cumulatively, for nearly two decades, first from 2005 to 2009 and from 2012 until now.

Patricia Murphy: She owns a landscaping and home care company in the town. In 2005, she worked with a local committee to preserve the town’s cottage lifestyle. 

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(This story has been updated to add new information.)

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kalivianakis concedes Fountain Hills mayor's race to Friedel