The race for Cortez City Council is gearing up, and this spring, voters will have 14 candidates to choose from.
Nominating petitions have been circulated and turned in, and on Monday evening, candidates gathered at City Hall to informally introduce themselves and find out where their names will fall on the ballot this April. Cortez Fire Protection District Chief Jay Balfour performed the honors this year of ceremonially pulling candidates’ names out of a hat, determining their ballot placement.
“I know it’s not something that really plays into the voting part, but it’s always fun to watch,” City Clerk Linda Smith said before the names were drawn.
The candidates, in the order they will appear on the ballot, are: Stephanie Carver, Jason A. Witt, Arlina Yazzie, Raymond Ralph Goodall, Rafe M. O’Brien, Sue Betts, Justin Vasterling, David N. Rainey, Rachel Medina, Amy Huckins, Geof Byerly, Joe Farley, Bill Banks, and Leroy A. Roberts.
Residents will be able to vote for as many as five candidates.
They will vie for five open seats on April 7 municipal election. The top three vote-getters will be elected for four-year terms, and fourth- and fifth-place candidates will serve two-year terms.
Winners will be sworn in at the City Council meeting April 28.
The City Council will see at least four new faces after the election.
Currently, the council includes Mayor Karen Sheek, Mayor Pro Tem Orly Lucero and councilors Mike Lavey, Gary Noyes, Sue Betts, and Ty Keel. Former Councilor Jill Carlson announced her resignation in December, with two years remaining on her term – leaving a vacancy until the election.
Sheek and Keel are term-limited. They’ve served the maximum number of permitted terms, two, and Noyes and Betts account for the two remaining open seats, as they were both elected in April 2018 for two-year terms.
However, Noyes is not seeking reelection this year, meaning Betts is the only incumbent in the race.
Lavey and Lucero will retain their seats through 2022.
ealvero@the-journal.com