The deadline for candidates to file to run for Cottonwood city offices in 2020 was April 6, ending the period for candidates to collect signatures to get their name on the ballot.
With several council members having left their posts since the 2018 elections, leading to appointments of temporary replacements, there is an unusually high number of races up for election this year.
Cottonwood’s mayor, as well as four of the six council seats, are all up for election, with all except one of those positions being for four-year terms.
Mayor Tim Elinski, elected in 2016, is running unopposed for the position of mayor, all but guaranteeing he will hold the position through 2024. With so many seats open on the council, those seats will all be unopposed as well — three candidates are running for the three four-year seats and one for the two-year term.
Councilwoman Tosca Henry is running for one of those seats, after last having been elected in 2016. Jackie Nairn, who was appointed in February 2019 after Kyla Allen left the council due
to moving out of city limits, is running for re-election for a four- year seat.
Debbie Wilden, who was appointed to the council in October 2019 to replace Deb Althouse, who also moved out of the area, is also running.
Helaine Kurot, the owner of 360 Automotive on S. Main St. and frequent public participant in council meetings, is running for the last four-year council seat, making her the only new member of the anticipated city council after this year’s election on Aug. 4.
Ruben Jauregui, who has been on the council since 1995 and served as mayor for three terms from 1997 through 2007, did not file to run for re-election, marking the end of a long record of service in the Cottonwood city government. Look for a retrospective with Jauregui in an upcoming edition.
Correction: The print version of this story identified Tosca Henry as Cottonwood’s Vice Mayor. She no longer holds that position, with Michael Mathews having since taken it over.
