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Endorses 3
The race
This is a real November 3, 2026 race — the only municipal runoff in this batch. El Mirage decided most of its 2026 election on July 21: Mayor Alexis Hermosillo won a third term in a landslide over Anita Norton-McDaniel and John Garza, and two council seats were won outright by Monica Dorcey (1,653 primary votes) and Donna Winston (1,480). The third council seat goes to a November 3 runoff between the third- and fourth-place primary finishers: Cindy Gentry-Oliveres (1,262 votes) and Todd Balash (1,008). Also-rans James "Jim" McPhetres (922), Phillip Bynum (784), and Ismael Gonzalez (668) were eliminated, as was a write-in campaign by Melissa Saenz. Primary turnout was 19%. Balash's campaign site documents the legal mechanics: the council canvassed the primary and certified him for the November 3 runoff by a resolution adopted August 4, 2026, under A.R.S. §§ 9-821.01 and 16-645. azcentral frames the runoff as a contest between two council newcomers, noting that neither finalist sided with the incumbent leadership slate.
The candidates
Todd Balash — runoff candidate. A retired U.S. Army major and veteran of Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan with a counterintelligence background. He ran in July as part of "Veterans for El Mirage City Council" alongside McPhetres. His campaign platform, in his own materials: professionalism, transparency, and fiscal stewardship. His Vote411 (League of Women Voters) entry is the most substantive voter-facing record in this race: Indiana University B.S. in Business, Grand Canyon University M.B.A. and M.B.A. in Project Management, Phoenix Elks Lodge #335, Rotary Paul Harris Fellow — and a detailed water answer committing to guard the city's 100-year assured water supply and to target low-water-use industries for economic development. That is a desert-city platform stated in specifics.
Cindy Gentry-Oliveres — runoff candidate. An insurance representative for the Maricopa Water District — a relevant employment fact in a city whose growth runs on water. She ran in partnership with mayoral candidate John Garza, who finished last in the mayor's race. Her statement to the Republic: she wants to make the city "more transparent, responsive, and effective… in a kind and respectful manner." She led Balash by 254 votes in the primary. She did not respond to the Vote411 question on the economy and water that Balash answered in detail — a documented gap, stated as a fact about responsiveness, not a motive.
Pros and cons
- Balash — Pro: A full record to judge: four-deployment Army career in counterintelligence, two business master's degrees, and the race's only detailed, specific answers on water and economic development, published where voters can read them before the runoff. Con: He finished fourth in July — 254 votes behind the woman he now faces — and his fiscal promises are campaign commitments, not yet a governing record.
- Gentry-Oliveres — Pro: She won the primary head-to-head ordering (third to his fourth), works professionally in the water-district world El Mirage depends on, and runs on transparency and responsiveness — the same themes, in kinder language. Con: The thinner file: no Vote411 response on the economy/water question, and a campaign partnership with the mayoral field's last-place finisher. Voters choosing her are choosing a disposition more than a documented program.
OUR CALL
Our call: endorse Todd Balash for the El Mirage City Council runoff on November 3. Both finalists are newcomers and neither carries the incumbent slate's record, so the race is decided on what each candidate put in front of voters — and on that evidence it is not close. Balash published specific, checkable commitments on the two questions that govern El Mirage's future (the 100-year water supply and low-water industry recruitment) and brings a documented leadership record from four deployments. Gentry-Oliveres may yet publish the same; as of this writing she has not, and endorsements are made on the verified record, not on what a campaign might still produce. We note plainly that she led the primary; November voters get the final word, and it should be an informed one.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website. Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same. --- Sources
- azcentral, "What to know about El Mirage's 2026 elections" (September 29, 2026) — Hermosillo's third term; Dorcey and Winston elected in July; Gentry-Oliveres vs. Balash runoff for the third seat; neither finalist aligned with the incumbent slate; candidate biographies (Balash: retired Army major, Bosnia/Kosovo/Iraq/Afghanistan, counterintelligence; Gentry-Oliveres: Maricopa Water District insurance representative, partnered with Garza) — https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/southwest-valley/2026/09/29/el-mirage-arizona-2026-elections/90477352007/
- Maricopa County / azcentral primary results (July 21, 2026) — Dorcey 1,653; Winston 1,480; Gentry-Oliveres 1,262; Balash 1,008; McPhetres 922; Bynum 784; Gonzalez 668; turnout 19% — via azcentral results coverage
- Vote411 (League of Women Voters) — Balash biography and water/economy answers (Indiana University B.S.; GCU M.B.A. × 2; Elks #335; Rotary Paul Harris Fellow; 100-year assured supply; low-water-use industries); Gentry-Oliveres did not respond to the question — https://www.vote411.org/
- Todd Balash campaign — runoff certification (canvass; resolution adopted August 4, 2026; A.R.S. §§ 9-821.01, 16-645); "Veterans for El Mirage City Council"; platform of professionalism, transparency, fiscal stewardship — https://toddforelmirage.com/
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.