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Our call — see the breakdown
The race
Decided earlier — Florence filled all four of its 2026 council seats at the July 21, 2026 primary; no Florence candidate race is on the November 3 ballot. Florence Town Code § 30.70 provides that a candidate receiving a majority of votes cast for an office at the primary is declared elected (tracking A.R.S. § 9-821.01). The town council's post-primary agenda item — adoption of Resolution No. 1998-26 declaring and adopting the primary results — carries certificates of election for three four-year terms and one two-year term: Greg Curl, Les Buchner, and Rita Ann Ezzai (four-year terms) and Nicolle Buccellato (two-year term; the town's elections page spells the name "Nicole Buccellato"). The four-year contest drew four candidates for three seats — Buchner, Curl, Ezzai, and incumbent Jose "Mo" Maldonado — so Maldonado is the candidate the primary eliminated. Buccellato ran unopposed for the two-year term.
The candidates
Greg Curl, Les Buchner, Rita Ann Ezzai — elected to four-year terms. The three winners of a genuinely contested four-for-three primary. The sources worked in this pass — the town's elections page, its council agenda records, and the town code — establish the field, the result, and the terms. Detailed campaign platforms and biographies for the three were not published in the sources we could retrieve; we print the verified outcome and do not invent profiles.
Jose "Mo" Maldonado — incumbent, defeated. The sitting councilmember in the field, and the one candidate voters did not return. In a four-candidate race for three seats, that is the primary's clearest verdict.
Nicolle Buccellato — elected to the two-year term, unopposed. The town elections page listed her as the sole candidate for the two-year seat.
Pros and cons
- The field — Pro: A contested primary with an incumbent actually losing is the healthiest outcome in this municipal batch: voters had a real choice and used it. Con: The public record available on the winners' platforms is thin — Florence voters decided on local knowledge that does not travel into published sources, and this article will not pretend otherwise.
- Maldonado (lost) — the priced fact: An incumbent eliminated in a four-for-three primary, recorded without embroidery.
Record gaps
This article documents its search on the race: the Town of Florence elections page and council agenda system (including the Resolution No. 1998-26 canvass item), Florence Town Code § 30.70, and news and candidate-guide searches. Those sources verify the roster, the result, the terms, and the election rule. They do not yield sourced biographies or platforms for Curl, Buchner, Ezzai, or Buccellato — a gap we state rather than fill.
OUR CALL
Our call: no November call — decided July 21, 2026; we record the outcome. Curl, Buchner, and Ezzai (four-year terms) and Buccellato (two-year term) are elected; Maldonado is out. With no November decision for Florence voters in this race and no verified record that would support retroactive endorsements, the outcome — with its sourcing — is the finished coverage.
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
- Town of Florence, Elections page — 2026 candidates: four-year contest (Les Buchner, Greg Curl, Rita Ann Ezzai, Jose "Mo" Maldonado) and two-year contest (sole candidate Nicole Buccellato); majority-at-primary rule summary — https://www.florenceaz.gov/elections
- Town of Florence, council agenda item — Resolution No. 1998-26 declaring and adopting the July 21, 2026 primary results; certificates of election to Greg Curl, Les Buchner, Rita Ann Ezzai (four-year terms) and Nicolle Buccellato (two-year term) — https://florenceaz.portal.civicclerk.com/event/870/files/agenda/5662
- Florence Town Code § 30.70 — a candidate receiving a majority of votes cast at the primary is declared elected when the council adopts the canvass — https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/florenceaz/latest/florence_az/0-0-0-68
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.