Black Community In Phoenix Loses City Council Seat It Controlled for Nearly 50 Years

A seat on the Phoenix City Council held for nearly five decades by an African American was lost today.

Kate Widland Gallego handily beat her opponent, Pastor Warren Stewart, with nearly 63 percent of the vote to represent District 8, a predominately Latino district.

In a concession speech, Stewart congratulated Widland Gallego on her victory and said he prays that she "will connect with all of the residents of District 8, especially those who have expressed ... during this campaign that they are tired of being ignored and feel like "second-class Phoenicians."

Stewart said those residents feel city has neglected to "equitably address the pressing needs of the underserved residents of the district, many of whom are people of color."

Phoenix election officials are reporting that, based on unofficial results, District 4 candidate Laura Pastor and District 8 candidate Kate Gallego are still leading -- with 51.76 and 62.47 percent of the vote respectively.

There are still about 4,000 ballots that have to be processed, and there may still may be others that were dropped off at Maricopa County polling places. It will take a few days for those to get kicked back to the city, according to election officials. .

Counting will resume on Wednesday morning and election crews expect to have the remaining ballots counted by November 8.

Council District 4 Justin Johnson - 6,810 (48.24 percent) Laura Pastor - 7,308 (51.76 percent).

Council District 8 Kate Gallego - 7,183 (62.47 percent) Warren Stewart - 4,316 (37.53 percent).