By Tammy Gray The Holbrook City Council passed an ordinance that changes the city’s election dates and extends the terms of all seated council members in a split 4-3 vote during a meeting on April 22. City representatives who voted in favor of the ordinance included Mayor Merrill Young, Councilman Tim Dixon, Councilman Adam Marsh and Councilman Mike Nilsson. Those who voted against the ordinance were Vice Mayor Francie Payne, Councilman Kip Woolford and Councilman Earl Kester. According to the city charter, a primary election should have been held in March of this year to fill three council seats that are set to expire next month in May. That election was not held. The ordinance changing the election dates was first presented to the council on April 8. According to the ordinance, the next primary election will be held in August of 2022, and if necessary a general election will follow in November 2022. The terms that would have expired in May of 2021 will be extended to December 2022. Those include seats currently held by Marsh, Kester and Woolford. Terms previously scheduled to end in May 2023 will be extended to December 2024, including Young, Dixon, Payne and Nilsson. The text of the ordinance notes that the city seeks to participate in consolidated elections, that the city’s election cycle established in the charter is in conflict with the state’s consolidated election cycle, and that Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 16-204 and ARS 16-204.01 “preempt the city charter.” Mayor Young explained that the reason for moving the ordinance forward was not actually based on the specific statutes cited in the ordinance, but rather on what has recently been interpreted as a conflict between different sections of the charter. A council action form signed by City Manager Ted Soltis states that “The City of Holbrook’s election cycle is in conflict with Arizona’s consolidated election cycle. Per charter this conflict must be eliminated.” It goes on to cite city charter sections 9.10 and 9.11. Young, Dixon and Marsh, all explained in turn that their interpretation of the charter is that sections 9.10 and 9.11 are in conflict with section 2.03 of the charter. The wording of those sections in their entirety follows. Section 2.03, titled “Elections” states, “The first election for the offices of Mayor and Council Members under the terms of this Charter shall be held in 1995 and every two years thereafter.” Section 9.10, titled “Time of Holding Primary Elections” states, “Primary elections shall be held on dates that conform to State and Federal law.” Section 9.11, titled “Time of Holding General Elections” states, “General elections shall be held on dates that conform to State and Federal law.” The council did not refer to section 9.02 of the charter, but Holbrook resident and former councilman Richard Peterson brought it to the council’s attention during the call to the public. Section 9.02, titled “Application of State Law” states in its entirety, “The provisions of the laws of this State relating to and governing the nominations of elective officers and the conduct of elections, and each and every provision of said law, with all amendments thereto, shall apply and shall govern the nomination of elective officers and the conduct of elections, except as otherwise provided in this Charter or in ordinances adopted pursuant to this Charter. The Council shall have the power to make any additional provisions relating to the nominations of officers and to the conduct of elections not in conflict with or contrary to the provisions of the laws of this State or the provisions of the Charter.” Peterson also told the council that it appears to him that the statutes cited in the ordinance itself are not applicable to the situation. Peterson explained that A.R.S. 16-204 was amended in 2014 to exempt charter following a ruling on the matter by the Arizona Court of Appeals; and that A.R.S. 16-204.01 was found to be unconstitutional by the Arizona Supreme Court as it applies to charter cities. He told the council that he does not believe they have the authority to change election dates by passing an ordinance. Peterson explained that his position is that any amendment to the city charter, including cleaning up conflicting language, if it does exist, must be done through a vote of the people, as set forth in A.R.S. 9-283. Several other citizens also spoke up in opposition to the ordinance, including Holbrook residents Gerald Hancock, David Shumway, Kent Darris, Kathleen Smith, and former city councilman and mayor Phil Cobb. In brief summary, they told the council they believed the city should have held the 2021 election and allowed citizens to choose their elected officials for the terms that were set to end in May. Several noted that if a correction to the charter were necessary, it could have done in a manner that did not include skipping the 2021 city election. “Democracy demands elections,” Cobb said. “To extend your own term without a vote of the people is what I consider breaking democracy.” “If you don’t see the conflict of interest, you’re blind,” Shumway told the council. “You should go to the citizens for a vote.” Nearly every council member stated that they were not interested in extending their own terms, but in complying with the law. Mayor Young reiterated that the conflict within the charter as he interpreted it needed to be resolved. Vice Mayor Payne noted that at first she believed the ordinance was necessary due to state laws, but that she could no longer support it. Marsh explained that he also believes the charter is in conflict with itself. He pointed out that City Manager Ted Soltis informed him that he had spoken extensively with the city attorney about the issue. Nilsson told council members that he too had initially believed the ordinance was necessary because of state law, but after receiving further information believes that any issues with the charter should be resolved by a vote of the people. “We need to clean up the charter in the upcoming election,” he said. Kester noted that he believes the council should abide by the charter and hold an election. Woolford explained that he has a number of concerns with the council interpreting the city charter and that an election should have taken place. He pointed out that the city website had already been updated to reflect extended terms even prior to the council’s vote, and that if there was an issue with holding the 2021 election it should have been addressed long before the election dates had passed. “Why has it taken us over 25 years to figure out this was wrong?” he said. “We’ve got to get our charter in order before we address this issue.” Young concluded the discussion on the matter, stating, “I’m not interested in extending my term, but I am interested in fixing this.” He also noted that he ran for mayor in order to serve Holbrook, and explained to the audience that he had long-time family ties to the area and wanted what was best for the city. “I’ve been here just as long or longer than most of you in this room,” he said. Finally, Young noted, while holding up a copy of the charter, “I want to see us fix this garbage.”
