Randy Garrison was elected to the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors for District 3 in 2016, and this fall, he is running for re-election to that position.
“I’m looking forward to serving another four years,” Garrison said. “I think over the past three-and-a-half years, we’ve been very successful for this district. I think citizens have been well served and I really enjoy this job. It’s given me a chance to utilize a lot of skills, and a lot of knowledge over the years. I think it’s worked out well for everybody and I think we’ve been well served.”
Donna Michaels, a Village of Oak Creek resident who has been involved previously in planning and development issues in the area, has registered to be Garrison’s election opponent in November. Michaels is a Democrat and Garrison is a Republican, so there will be no primary election, with the two instead battling in the general election in November.
Michaels is running on a belief that growth and development projects in the Verde Valley — with examples such as the planned Verde Connect project building a road between State Route 260 and Cornville Road at Beaverhead Flats, which Garrison has been a major advocate of — have not had enough community input.
“We have to have the right kind of growth,” Michaels said. “It’s really about making sure we are aligning with each community’s vision of its own sense of place, and a supervisor’s job — it’s hard work, but as it’s simply understood — is to protect each community’s sense of place.”
The only race in Yavapai County government outside of the Board of Supervisor seats to be contested is the race for County Attorney. Incumbent Sheila Polk is facing former Arizona Rep. David Stringer, who resigned his seat amid a scandal related to child sex-crimes charges in the 1980s.
