Recall of Glendale Councilman Gary Sherwood passes

Glendale residents decided they were ready to move on from first-term Councilman Gary Sherwood, an outspoken supporter of a West Valley casino and the Arizona Coyotes hockey team, according to unofficial results in Tuesday's recall election.

Ray Malnar, a Republican Party committee chairman of state Legislative District 20, who gave up the seat to run for the municipal office, will be the new councilman from Sahuaro District starting Dec. 8, according to unofficial vote returns.

Malnar took 54 percent of the vote to Sherwood's 46 percent.

"The voters want a change. That's what it tells you," Malnar said. "A lot of it has to do with Gary, what he did, with the increases in taxes, with his flip-flopping on issues."

The election is serving as an after-the-fact referendum on the West Valley casino and how district residents gauged the job that Sherwood had been doing during the first three years of his first term in office.

"What drove me into this race was the residents, the constituents, were not being represented. They didn't feel like they had a voice. They had lost their voice," Malnar said.

Sherwood said he wanted to wait out the final vote count, but acknowledged indications were against him staying in office.

He said his high-profile positions on a number of issues cost him at the ballot box.

"People got tired of seeing me in the paper, but I was the only one talking. That's part of it," Sherwood said. "I certainly haven't been in the majority this past year, which really sucks, but you know. It's always nice when you get in the majority."

Sherwood served as the de facto leader of a frequent four-member majority of the council when he won office in 2012, but fell into a frequent three-member minority following the 2014 elections.

In addition to the casino, the other major issues called into question during the recall campaign were Sherwood's support for the Arizona Coyotes to manage Glendale's arena and his support for billboards along the Loop 101 freeway.

The recall effort, though, was launched by casino critics with funding from the Gila River Indian Community, which operates three casinos in the Valley. Gila River officials sought to keep out competition from other tribes.

Sherwood campaigned against a proposed casino operated by the Tohono O'odham Indian Nation near Glendale during his 2012 campaign for the City Council.

Sherwood helped negotiate a settlement with the tribe from southern Arizona, ending years of costly legal opposition. According to the settlement, the tribe agreed to pay Glendale more than $25 million over 20 years.Once elected, he said he changed his mind when it became clear the the Tohono O'odham would be granted reservation status for its land at 95th and Northern avenues.

Malnar, a longtime Glendale resident and owner of a residential floor-cleaning and restoration business, said he's opposed to gambling, but recognized that the fight over the casino is over. The gambling facility is set to open Dec. 20.

Malnar said he was not part of the political committee that forced the recall vote, but decided to run because after just three years on the job, Sherwood had lost touch with residents.

"The biggest issue really was people were feeling like they didn't have a voice with the council," Malnar told The Arizona Republic before the election.

Sherwood also championed the city's agreement in July 2013 to pay the NHL team $15 million annually to manage the city-owned Gila River Arena. He was one of two council members who opposed ending the deal in June.

In contrast, Malnar said he opposed subsidies for the Coyotes and supported the council majority's decision to end the previous 15-year deal. The council is seeking bids by arena management companies to run the facility, a move that he warns may prompt the Coyotes to leave Glendale.

Sherwood also supported 85-foot-tall billboards that were proposed in 2014 for the Loop 101 and Bell Road. The proposal was rejected.

Malnar sought support from residents who opposed the measure.

Victory in the recall election could be short-lived. The winner will have to run again in August 2016 to retain the council seat for the next term. Sherwood said he plans to run no matter the final count in Tuesday's election.

"Starting Monday, we start the next one," he said.

Reporter Peter Corbett contributed to this article.