With the primary election on Tuesday, July 21, voters have weighed in on town and city council elections and decided their leaders for the next two year cycle.
Well, almost; the race for the third seat on the Camp Verde Town Council separates incumbent Councilwoman Robin Godwin and Jackie Baker, a longtime former councilwoman, by only eight votes. Both have served Camp Verde for decades and their race will head to an automatic recount after the official canvass because they differ by less than 0.5% of the votes cast.
That aside, the races for Camp Verde mayor and the two Camp Verde Town Council seats and the three Cottonwood City Council seats are decided. Clarkdale only had two candidates running for two seats, so that race was decided when the deadline passed for submitting nominating petitions back in April.
The town of Jerome has an interesting final tally with a double tie. Incumbent Mayor Christina “Alex” Barber and incumbent Vice Mayor Jane Moore are both tied at 106 votes while incumbent Sonia Sheffield and newcomer Becca Miller are both tied at 99 votes. They’ll be joined by Tyler Christensen, who came in fifth with 86 votes. It doesn’t change who was elected to council overall, but it is an electoral oddity only possible because of small number of total voters — just 174.
What advice would you give those elected about their focus for the next two years, four years and beyond? What pressing issues should council focus on? How should the new leaders better communicate those goals to residents and how to you want council members to carry out the will of the voters who elected them?
There are other local and national issues, and we and other readers want to hear what you think. So send us a letter. The rules for our letters to the editor are simple:
- Letters must include the author’s name, street address and phone number, in case we have a question and to properly include the author’s name and hometown at the end of the letter. Without this information, the letter won’t be published.
- Letters discussing a local issue or addressing a national issue in a local context take priority over letters solely addressing national issues.
- Letters must be 300 words or less. Our word limit is a strict one. If letters are slightly over, we’ll cut them to fit, but if letters are more than 350 words, we’ll ask the authors to cut them and resubmit. Authors should determine which points they want to make rather than have us guess.
If you have a lot to say, break it up and send letters addressing different topics.
- No personal attacks. You can address previous letters, but direct your commentary at the content of the letter, do not attack other authors or private persons.
- While many government employees can be “private citizens” when off-duty, elected officials are never so. Elected officials are always “public figures,” whether on the dais, speaking at a podium, at a grocery store, promoting themselves on Facebook, meeting in the back of a restaurant or standing on the corner. Thus, their actions are fair game for a letter. When people criticize “the mayor” or “college board president” for his or her actions, they are criticizing “the chair,” not “the person.” That said, remember that ranting against a politician doesn’t win readers to your side of an argument like a logical analysis of his or her behavior does.
- We do not publish form letters from third-party political groups or activist organizations. If you have an opinion on an issue, put it in your own words.
- No anonymous letters have been nor ever will be published in our newspaper. We don’t even read them, so don’t bother. All letters must include the author’s name, street address and phone number. If you don’t provide your name, address and phone number, you’ve written an email, not a letter. Bottom line, it won’t be published.
- Letters citing facts must have supporting documents. If you include statistics, attach the document or website link to it so we can double-check your numbers. Likewise, if you quote someone or a document, include the email, website screenshot or website link so we can verify the quote you include. If you already found it, you can help us and streamline the fact-checking process. Letters stating just opinions with no numbers, however, don’t need any documents.
- You can drop letters off at our newsrooms at 298 Van Deren, Sedona, in Uptown, or 830 S. Main St. in Cottonwood, or email them to editor@larsonnewspapers.com. We prefer email so we don’t have to retype your letter and possibly make an error.
