Now it’s 21 candidates running for Phoenix Council 6 seat

[Source: Scott Wong, Arizona Republic] — Is it a sign of tough economic times?  The applications and resumes trickling in minutes before Thursday’s 5 p.m. deadline brought to 21 the number of candidates who have applied to replace Phoenix City Councilman Greg Stanton.  The nine-year council veteran resigned this week to take a top position in the state Attorney General’s Office.  Among those seeking an appointment to the District 6 seat are three former council members, two retired police lieutenants, and a handful of attorneys.  Council hopefuls must live in the district and be a registered voter.

On Tuesday, the eight sitting council members are expected to interview all candidates and name an interim replacement for the balance of Stanton’s term, which ends in January 2010.  The seat in District 6, which includes the Ahwatukee, Arcadia, and Biltmore neighborhoods, will be up for grabs in the Sept. 1 city election.  Those vying for the interim $60,000-plus job are:

COUNCIL EXPATRIATES

• Sal DiCiccio, Ahwatukee developer, whom Stanton replaced on the council in 2000.
• Kathy Dubs, a small-business owner who preceded DiCiccio on the council from 1992 to 1993.
• Gary Peter Klahr, retired attorney and a former Phoenix Union High School District board member who served on the City Council from 1974 to 1976.

LAW ENFORCEMENT HISTORY

• Lawrence Cutler, a real-estate attorney and former Maricopa County prosecutor.
• Chris Gentis, former police lieutenant and current president of his 5,100-home Ahwatukee homeowners association who serves on a neighborhood planning panel.
• Walter “Rob” Robinson, former police lueutenant and a member of the Ahwatukee Foothills Planning Committee who also has held leadership roles in his homeowners association.

CITY TIES

• Robert Frank, former chair of the Phoenix Planning and Zoning Committee.
• Eric Gorsegner, associate director of the Sonoran Institute and a former aide to ex-Mayor Skip Rimsza.
• Alexander Tauber, neighborhood leader who co-chaired 2007’s Proposition 1, which increased funding for police officers and firefighters.

LAWYERS

• Chris DeRose
• Sal Rivera
• Tamera Shanker
• Michael Widener

OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY

• Ephram Cordova, a former state House and council candidate who works as a project manager for Cactus Asphalt.
• Michael Cowley, who runs a family real-estate business and serves on the Maricopa Health Foundation board.
• Michael Hinz, real-estate investor, who sits on the Foothills Club West Homeowners Association board.
• Scott Jacobson, owner of a corporate-strategy consulting firm and former executive director of Valley Leadership, a leadership development group.
• Dana Kennedy, AFL-CIO spokeswoman, who heads a group that promotes Democratic women in politics.
• Marvin Millsap, accountant, who held city clerk and finance roles with Wickenburg and Mesa.
• Cory Sanders, electronics sales representative.
• Sherry Williams, an Arizona Democratic Party employee and Mary Kay Cosmetics sales director.