The Yavapai County Board of Supervisors appointed current Camp Verde Mayor Dee Jenkins to fill the District 2 seat during their Wednesday, April 16, meeting.
The seat had been vacated by James Gregory on Feb. 19 after he resigned to take over as chief of police in Williams.
The applicants for the post included Jenkins; Cornville resident Wiley Cline, whom Gregory defeated in the 2024 Republican primary election; John Hughes, a small businessman; Tony Utz, owner of Utz Metalcraft; and former fourterm Yavapai County Supervisor Thomas Thurman, who served in the same seat from 2005 to 2021.
Daulton Venglar/Larson Newspapers
Daulton Venglar/Larson Newspapers
Prior to voting, the board interviewed each of the applicants on their feelings about whether there was a disconnect between Prescott and the Verde Valley, especially in terms of services offered; what they perceived as the challenges facing the board; and what their vision was for the county as a whole.
Following the interviews, Vice Chairman and District 1 Supervisor Brooks Compton [R] made a motion to appoint Jenkins to the vacant seat, seconded by Chairwoman and District 5 Supervisor Mary Mallory [R].
District 4 Supervisor Chris Kuknyo [R] then called for an executive session to discuss the candidates, seconded by District 3 Supervisor Nikki Check [D]. Mallory subsequently rescinded her support for Compton’s motion, allowing it to die, and the board went into an executive session.
Compton said afterward that he had made the motion as “an action item.” The board selected Jenkins to fill the vacancy after the executive session, pending her resignation as mayor of Camp Verde, which Jenkins executed before being sworn in as a supervisor.
Daulton Venglar/Larson Newspapers
Daulton Venglar/Larson Newspapers
Camp Verde Vice Mayor Marie Moore assumed the role of mayor.
Camp Verde Town Manager Miranda Fisher said the town will release details on filling the open seat on the Town Council in May.
