A few weeks ago when we put out a call for your input on elections coverage, we heard from member @Wayne Switzer who was curious about the results of the primary elections for local districts he was interested in, including Valley Union's school board and Willcox city races.
Building off Herald/Review journalist @Shar Porier 's previous coverage, I assembled this chart of all the local election positions that were decided and appointed following the Aug. 4 primary elections. (Scroll down for full table!) For these races, the number of candidates coming out of the primary was less than or equal to the number of vacancies, so the candidates were directly appointed.
However, 18 governing boards had their elections cancelled for lack of candidates. These included: Sunsites/Pearce Fire District, Elfrida Water Improvement District, Pomerene Water Improvement District, St. David Water Improvement District, Fairfield Estates Road Improvement and Maintenance District, Pirtleville Fire District, Pomerene Fire District, San Jose Fire District, St. David Fire District, Ash Creek Elementary, Cochise Technology, Double Adobe Elementary, Douglas Unified District, McNeal Elementary, Palominas Elementary, Pearce Elementary, Tombstone Unified and Valley Union High School.
As a community, how can we encourage more people to participate in local government through special district or school district governing boards? Have you ever thought about running for local office?
I spoke to Naco Sanitary District board chairperson David Loyd about the challenges of recruiting board members for small districts. "For the NSD, our billing district is 160 people - a very... (More)
