It appears Sandy Moriarty may soon be entering her fourth two-year term as Sedona mayor.
As of press time, unofficial primary election figures from Tuesday, Aug. 4, show incumbent Moriarty garnering 1,116 votes on the Yavapai County side of Sedona and another 489 votes on the Coconino County side — or 52.49% of the overall vote.
Mayoral candidate Kurt Gehlbach brought in 943 votes on the Yavapai side of the city and 445 in Coconino, tallying 45.39% of the vote.
Write-in candidate Michael Werner captured a total of 48 votes, or 1.57%, from both counties combined.
As of press time, there are still several thousand votes being tallied in both Yavapai and Coconino counties, so the numbers are not yet final nor official.
Each of the three mayoral candidates were contacted by email to comment on the election. Gehlbach did not respond.
“It has truly been an honor and a privilege to serve as the mayor of Sedona for nearly six years, and I look forward to serving for two more years with Jessica [Williamson] and the three continuing councilors, Scott [Jablow], Bill [Chisholm] and Tom [Lamkin], our two new councilors, Holli [Ploog] and Kathy [Kinsella],” Moriarty said.
She added that she looks forward to continue working with the “excellent” city staff as they “navigate through the most challenging times we have witnessed in our lifetimes.”
“The campaign changed dramatically due to the two intermingled crises of public health and the resulting economic downturn, and as in all things, we had to adapt,” Moriarty said. “I found I simply had to prioritize my job as mayor rather than focus on a campaign, so I very much appreciate the show of support I got from the community in the election. I know Sedonans are resilient and innovative and will emerge in an even stronger position to continue to move forward, as we must.”
Werner said this year’s election has been a very informative one.
“The amount of votes I received is incredible,” he said. “Now knowing I have the support of the locals in Sedona I believe I can only come back more humble and stronger for the next election. In the meantime I will be learning all that I can and will be an official electoral candidate in 2022.” “Everything went quite well,” Yavapai County Recorder Leslie Hoffman said the day after the election. “With the increase in our Permanent Early Voter List, the in-person Election Day voters were just over 7,200.”
Prior to the election, Hoffman’s office issued several guidelines as a result of COVID-19. A press release on July 30 stated that, “We will be cleaning surfaces, pens and equipment between voters, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces such as doors and poll booths.
“We have a person stationed at each location to monitor the number of people voting at any one time, being aware of social distancing recommendations. Voters can help by wearing a mask or cloth face covering, maintaining social distance from others and using the disposable items provided. Masks are not required; however, we are strongly encouraging their use.”
