Critical Jail Vote To Move Forward With Cochise Recorder As Interim Elections Director

officials
Former elections director Lisa Marra and Cochise County Recorder David Stevens

An election on whether Cochise County will fund a new jail through a 20-year sales tax increase will move forward with County Recorder David Stevens overseeing his statutory election duties and as well as those duties normally performed by the county’s appointed elections director.

The May 16 election was put in jeopardy in early February when Lisa Marra, the longtime elections director, quit following disputes with two of the county’s three board supervisors. Her departure and a previous retirement left only one employee in the normally three-member Elections Department.

But on Tuesday, a 2-to-1 vote of the supervisors named Stevens as Interim Elections Director to ensure a state certified elections official is overseeing the elections department. That means the May 16 jail funding vote has a green light, with the arrangement possibly lasting through the end of 2024.

The vote about the elections department was not without drama.

Solicitor General Joshua D. Bendor, recently appointed to the role by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, recently sent a letter to Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre expressing concern with the legality of having Stevens accept temporary responsibility for the elections department.

However, the Intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the board of supervisors and Stevens was drafted by McIntyre’s chief deputy. It was also reviewed by County Administrator Richard Karwaczka, another attorney.

In addition, Bendor’s letter ignores the fact that having an election department overseen by a county recorder is not a new arrangement. The supervisors and the county attorney’s office discussed Bendor’s letter during an executive session prior to the vote; the discussions are confidential under state law.

Inaccuracies Taint Discussion Of Cochise County’s Plan For Recorder To Handle More Elections Duties

Stevens will be very busy now that he has the new temporary duties. He says his first action on Wednesday will be to issue two help wanted ads in order to fill the vacant positions in the Elections Department.

He must also take steps to retain the one employee, Daniel Vertrees, who is seen by many within the county government as an eventual elections director candidate once his training and certification is finalized.

The jail funding election will likely be Cochise County’s simplest election in recent history, as each of the county’s 78,000 registered voters will receive a ballot by mail, something Stevens is already responsible for as recorder.

And there will only be one race on that ballot – a simple yes or no on the sales tax increase to pay for Cochise County’s long-awaited state-of-the-art jail project. Those ballots need to designed and approved for printing in just a few weeks.

Marra brought several years of stability to a department that suffered turnover and a lack of funding by various supervisors in the past. Her departure stems in part efforts by Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd to have Marra conduct an expanded hand count audit after the 2022 General Election.

The county board was enjoined by a judge from pursuing the matter at the time, but the Arizona Court of Appeals has been asked to weigh in on the legal issue.

Appeal Brief Points To ‘Absurd’ Ruling That Barred Cochise County’s 100 Percent Hand Count Audit