In most election years, the League of Women Voters of Greater Verde Valley holds public forums to ask questions of candidates for public offices in competitive elections.
This year, the COVID- 19 pandemic and resulting restrictions on public gatherings meant that the debate between mayoral candidates Mayor Charlie German and Vice Mayor Dee Jenkins was not held in a public forum, but in a more intimate format, where both were asked questions by moderator Barbara Litrell in an event that was filmed and then posted online.
German has been the mayor of Camp Verde since 2013, while Jenkins has been on council since being elected in 2016 and the town’s vice mayor since 2018. The two have worked together on the council and have frequently voted together and agreed on many of the issues that face the town.
As a result, the two candidates did not heavily differentiate themselves in the LWV forum through disagreements on policy. They both agreed on responses to protests over racial discrimination and policing by praising the Camp Verde Marshal’s Office and expressing opposition to any form of racial discrimination, especially in policing.
They both agreed that the council needs to listen to concerns from residents about the proposed Verde Connect road project that would connect State Route 260 with Cornville Road, potentially affecting the rural character of the Middle Verde neighborhood.
They both agreed that purchasing the water company remains a valuable goal for the town that they believe could lower water rates for residents in the long run.
With the two mostly agreeing on policy issues and their views on the direction of the town, they made their cases for election mostly based on their personal characteristics and experiences that they argued would well serve the town. German pointed to his seven years of experience as mayor, while Jenkins positioned herself as a savvy and effective businesswoman based on her years running and managing Quintus, a local contract manufacturer.
“The time at Quintus has given me a unique skill set that would serve Camp Verde well as mayor. I have management, leadership and financial skills that are critical to a well-run community,” Jenkins said in her opening statement. “one of my goals as mayor would be to work with town council, manager and staff to recruit economic development opportunities to our community that fit well with our rural Western environment. Economic development is much more than bringing new businesses to our community. We must also take steps to provide the sustainability of our existing business. It is critical that we form a partnership with our businesses that will strengthen our community.”
“I’ve spent the past seven years working on improvements to our infrastructure, which is necessary to have families and businesses locate in Camp Verde,” German said. “Growth is coming, we cannot stop it, but we can certainly plan and approach it through smart applications of our general plan, best practices and careful management of our resources within our grasp.”
When asked, both candidates said that the most important issues facing Camp Verde were developing a skilled work- force to bring businesses into town and ensuring that housing in the area is afford- able for workers.
“We have to have a skilled workforce if we want to grow the economy,” Jenkins said. “Businesses are not going to come to Camp Verde if there are not skilled laborers to fill the positions. But it’s difficult because housing is such a challenge. It’s expensive to live. It’s like a never- ending circle.”
“People that have a job at, for example, Burger King or some of the lower paying jobs — it’s really difficult for them, especially when there’s a pandemic like this, that the hours are cut or they’re out,” German said. “What do they do when they’re waiting for things to pass. A lot of them could wind up being homeless.”
Jenkins argued that an important step would be encouraging Yavapai College to open a career and technical education school to train local residents for trades needed in the area, which advocates have been pushing for. German agreed, and added that the town’s general plan is designed to bring businesses in through clarity on what areas are designed for what types of businesses or residential zoning.
When asked for their greatest accomplishments, German pointed to work to bring the Northern Arizona Healthcare Immediate Care facility to Camp Verde and help on the realignment of State Route 260.
Jenkins pointed toward behind-the- scenes work to increase the pay for CVMO deputies, as well as her work on the town manager’s contract.
Both of the two candidates view the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a serious problem that will affect the town and many aspects of government for months to come.
“I believe especially with the resurgence of some cases in Arizona, we’ll continue to see this possibly through the end of the year,” Jenkins said. “Over time, things become normal, and this may continue to be normal.”
“It’s very unfortunate that we didn’t get a closer jump on the pandemic as it came out,” German said. “The whole world, in essence, was caught by surprise.”
The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 3. Early ballots will begin to be mailed on on Wednesday, July 8.
