Nov. 2 was Election Day, and it brought voters out in steady numbers across polling places in Camp Verde.
While no official breakdown of participation by precinct was available as of press time, across Yavapai County just over 63 percent of 121,118 registers voters had cast their ballots, according to unofficial numbers from the county elections office.
That adds up to 76,778 ballots, slightly more people than voted in the last midterm congressional election in 2006. Still, the percentage was lower as the county has added nearly 20,000 registered voters to the rolls since then.
Midterm elections tend to have lower voter turnout than in years when an American president is chosen. In 2008, just over 100,000 people voted in Yavapai County.
At the Camp Verde Seventh Day Adventist Church, one of Camp Verde’s polling places, turnout had been strong. As of 5 p.m. Nov. 2, more than 500 people had come through the doors to vote, said County Elections Inspector Sharon Marmaduke.
“But they’ve gotten through here quickly,” Marmaduke said. “The longest lines we’ve had all day were probably about two minutes.”
While voters here and around the region voted on several statewide contests, Camp Verde voters had their say in deciding some specifically local issues.
The four-way race for two open seats on the Camp Verde Unified School District Governing board was ostensibly settled, according to unofficial results.
With nearly 32 percent of the vote, or 1,440, Judy Gilbert was elected to continue serving a four-year term. Gilbert was appointed to a seat on the board following the resignation of former board president Dennis Sterrett in April 2009. Gilbert is retired from owning a business in the highway construction industry, and has been a longtime volunteer in the school district.
Gilbert ran on her view that, among other things, the district needs to provide more vocational and technical educational opportunities.
Coming in second to win the seat on the board currently held by board member Andrea Wrubel was Trent Hackett with 1,155 votes.
Hacket, a pastor at Parkside Community Church, ran on a platform of providing greater financial oversight in the district and working to foster more cooperation between students, parents, teachers, the administration and the community.
Hackett was, according to unofficial votes, only 21 votes ahead of the third place challenger Mark Larson, a director of educational programs at Rainbow Acres, the Camp Verde-based home for developmentally disabled adults.
Wrubel came in fourth, losing her bid for reelection with 765 votes. Fifteen votes went to write-in candidates.
This election was also a unique one in Camp Verde because it was the first time voters decided on a five-member governing board for the Camp Verde Fire District. Most districts across the state are set up this way, but for years the local district has been run by a two-person president/secretary system. Just under 9,200 votes were cast for seven candidates plus write-in candidates.
Gwen Gunnell was the top vote-getter with 1,544, according to the unofficial count.
Steve Darby came in second with 1,485, followed by Jack Blum with 1,444. Fourth was James Wingate with 1,427, with Theresa Cochrane in fifth with 1,208.
The top three winners will serve four-year seats, followed by two members who will have two-year terms once sworn in during December.
Finishing further back were George Kleinienst with 1,150 votes and Marcy Poletick with 910.
The election results must be canvased by the Yavapai County Elections office before they are finalized and made official.
