Newton wins Justice of the Peace race
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – While there weren’t many contested races (especially on the Democrats’ side), the Primary Election has decided who the next Justice of the Peace will be and who will represent the city of Safford and the town of Thatcher. A total of 5,377 ballots were cast (1,088 on election day, 4,016 Republican, 1,290 Democratic). Voter turnout was 23.64 percent.
The Graham County Board of Supervisors previously unanimously appointed Stephanie Newton, Chief Court Clerk at the Gila Valley Municipal Court, as Interim Justice of the Peace to complete the term of former Judge Wyatt J. Palmer.
After the second release of vote totals, Newton (2,480 votes) was so far ahead of Michael Andazola (1,270 votes) that the Gila Herald has called the race for Newton. She will now run unopposed in the general election in November.
Graham County Elections Director Hannah Duderstadt said the primary went smoothly with no troubles, issues, or anything out of the ordinary.
“We have a great team, and it went really well,” Duderstadt said. “I’m really proud of our team.”
Safford City Council
A return of a former member has shaken up the Safford City Council.
After the most recent data release, incumbent Luke Arbizo has been re-elected with 996 votes, followed by former council member Mary Bingham with 813 votes and incumbent Steve McGaughey with 773 votes. A total of 668 votes were needed for outright victory since a candidate needs 50 percent plus one of one-third of the votes.
Vice-Mayor Arnold Lopez was just squeezed out with 703 votes to finish fourth, and newcomers Jacob Garcia had 450 votes, and Monique Ungerman had 269 votes.
Thatcher Town Council
It looks like more of the same in Thatcher as Mayor Jenny Howard led the way and was re-elected with 673 votes. She was followed by incumbents Mike McEuen with 552 votes and Ryan Allen with 542 votes. A total of 428 votes were needed for an outright victory.
Those who just missed the cut include Eric Wright with 476 votes and Brandon Homer with 318 votes.
The races for town councils in Pima, Clifton, and Duncan were all unopposed.
State races
For State Representative District 19 on the Republican side, David Gowan got the nod for the November general election with 14,570 votes, and Lupe Diaz will be the second representative candidate with 10,653 votes compared to 7,679 for newcomer Cheryl Caswell.
For Superintendent of Public Instruction, Kimberlee Yee leads incumbent Tom Horne by 32,929 votes and appears to have defeated him.
In the governor’s race, Andy Biggs soundly defeated David Schweikert to receive the Republican nod to take on incumbent Democrat Katie Hobbs in November.
This article was updated Wednesday to include new vote totals.
