“There was one seat available for mayor,” Camp Verde Town Clerk Cindy Pemberton read out at the meeting of the town council on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
“Candidate Dee Jenkins received a majority of votes for the primary mayoral election and is duly elected to the office of mayor for the term of two years, beginning on Nov. 4, 2020. Congratulations to you, and your certificate has also been placed at the inbox at the clerk’s office,” Pemberton concluded.
With that, Jenkins’ victory, which had been far from assured in the weeks since the Aug. 4 election, became official, making her the next mayor of Camp Verde.
The mayoral race in Camp Verde had been extremely close, with a final difference of 34 votes separating Jenkins from incumbent Mayor Charlie German. In the final tally, Jenkins received 1,507 votes to German’s 1,473, putting her at 50.38%, high enough to avoid a runoff [which would have been necessary if she had not surpassed 50%] and a recount [which would have been necessary if the two candidates had been within 0.1% of each other].
Because there is no runoff, Jenkins will be assuming office the week of the general election in November. If there had been one, that would wait until December.
On Aug. 13, the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors certified the election results at a meeting by unanimous vote.
“I am humbled by the number of people who voted for me,” Jenkins said. “I am forever grateful to have that kind of support. It’s surprising how many people voted for me. You don’t always go into a campaign hoping to be successful. I need to follow through
on what the campaign stood for. I need to be accountable.”
Jenkins said that her first priority as mayor would be to try to improve the economy of Camp Verde, which she said would be through consulting with council to develop goals for town staff.
“It’s a priority to get the park done,” Jenkins added. “We just have to find a way to get it done.”
Exiting four-term Mayor Charlie German said that he expected to stay involved in town projects, including the library endowment and the Cash for Trash program that he has been trying to get local businesses involved with.
“I hope that without being mayor I’ll have time to do it,” German said. “I don’t plan to do anything really major for at least six months. I’m going to do some traveling.”
German lamented what he felt was low turnout for the primary election but wished the best to the new mayor and the council.
“I’m content with what I’ve done and I hope the council will continue with what we’ve done,” German said.
In addition to Jenkins, three members-elect of the Camp Verde Town Council also had their elections certified on Wednesday night, though they all had unopposed elections, so the proceedings lacked the drama of the extremely close mayoral race.
Chris McPhail, Jackie Baker and Jessie Murdock all received certificates attesting to their elections and will begin their new terms on Wednesday, Nov. 4, along with the new mayor.
