State And County Candidates Are Off And Running

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    By Linda Kor
    Thirty-four candidates have filed to run for Navajo County offices in the Sept. 2 primary elections, with nearly a third of that number seeking the job of county sheriff.
    Democrats seeking election as sheriff include Kelly “K.C.” Clark of Holbrook, Grady Hillis of Lake-side, Bernard W. Huser of Pinetop, Mike Mellor of Snowflake, Thomas Valencia of Lakeside and Larry Wallen of Piñon. Republican hopefuls are Larry Dunagan of Overgaard, Kevin Halbig of Snowflake and Cameron Peterson of Snowflake.
    All five county supervisor positions are up for election. District I Supervisor Percy Deal of Oraibi, a Democrat, is being challenged by Roy Laughter of Kayenta, Albert Laughter of Tonalea, Jonathan M. Nez of Shonto and Julius C. Young II of Kayenta, all Democrats. District II Supervisor Jesse Thompson  of Kykotsmovi is being challenged by Eula C. Yazzie of Indian Wells. Both are Democrats. Incumbents J.R. DeSpain of Joseph City, D-District III, David Tenney of Show Low, R-District IV, and Jerry Brownlow of Pinetop, D-District V, are running unopposed.
    Democrats Christian Ackerley of Lakeside and Brad Carlyon of Show Low will be vying for the county attorney’s seat.
    Division II Superior Court Judge Dale Nielson of Snowflake, a Republican, will stand for re-election. Democrat Carolyn Holliday of Lakeside is also seeking the post.
    County Recorder Laurette Justman of Holbrook is being challenged by fellow Democrat Evelyn M. Meadows of Piñon.
    Those seeking re-election who are unopposed include County Assessor Cammy Darris of Holbrook, County Treasurer Manny Hernandez of Winslow, County School Superintendent Linda Morrow of Lake-side, Division III Superior Court Judge John Lamb of Holbrook and Division IV Superior Court Judge Michala Ruechel of Holbrook, all Democrats.
    Dave Wood of Snowflake, a Republican who was appointed as constable of the Snowflake precinct last year, will seek election to the post this year, and will be running against Democrat Michael Bluse of Taylor.
    Democrat Susie Nelson of Tonalea will seek election as Kayenta Justice of the Peace.
    There are three positions that drew no candidates, including Kayenta constable; and Navajo County Community College District Government Board members representing District 1, which encompasses the northern Navajo Nation, and District 4, which includes the Taylor, Show Low, Heber/Overgaard and Lin-den areas.
    On the state level, more than 237 candidates filed enough signatures to stand for office. There were 39 Congressional candidates, 12 Corporation Commission candidates, 56 State Senate candidates and 130 State House of Representative candidates.
    The District 1 Congressional race is nearly as crowded as the race for sheriff. Democrats seeking the post include Jeffrey Brown of Munds Park, Ann Kirkpatrick of Flagstaff, Howard Shanker of Flagstaff and Mary Kim Titla of Globe. The Republican field includes Barry Hall of Sedona, Tom Hansen of St. Johns, Sydney Hay of Munds Park, Preston Korn of Flagstaff and Sandra L.B. Livingstone of Prescott.
    District 5 State Sen. Jake Flake, R-Snowflake, who died on Sunday, June 8, was unopposed in his bid for re-election. According to state law, the Navajo County Board of Supervisors will name the late sena-tor’s successor after first selecting a citizens panel to recommend three qualified individuals for the posi-tion. The entire process must be completed within 15 business days of his death. Republican party officials will determine who will be listed as a candidate for the seat on the ballot this fall.
    District 5 State Reps. Jack Brown, D-St. Johns, and Bill Konopnicki, R-Safford, are joined in the race by Sylvia Tenney Allen, R-Snowflake.
    According to Arizona statutes, any voter can file in court to challenge the nomination of a candidate no later than 5 p.m. 10 business days after the last day to file nomination papers and petitions, which will be June 18.
    The deadline for Arizona citizens to file initiative petitions to qualify a measure for the Nov. 4 General Election is July 3. To view a list of all of the state candidates, go online to www.azsos.gov.