The upside of the “non-partisan” elections is the fun in guessing each candidate’s party affiliation.  I live in Phoenix City Council District 3 and just received mailers from the three main candidates.

If I were a casual voter, these would be my guesses:

Mapstead is the Republican.  He wants to prevent city contractors from hiring illegals, is against tax increases and wants to cut back regulations. 

Jon Altmann is a moderate Republican.  He’s a military veteran and tough on crime. 

Maria Baier is the typical Democrat running for office in a Republican district.  She’s cute and smiley, has good sounding phrases that no one can really be against, but provides no detail on the tough issues.  These catch phrases include “Improving Traffic” and  “Protecting Neighborhoods.” 

In reality, Mapstead is the Democrat and the local “D” party is helping his campaign.  Altman is a Republican, and the most conservative of the lot.  Baier is a liberal Republican.