The battle over Yavapai County District 3 Supervisor came down to the wire when Democrat Donna Michaels, who opened up a large lead in mail-in and early votes counted first, had her lead dwindle to just 179 votes [.69%] after the influx of some of the last ballots to be counted. As of Nov. 11, Michaels leads, 12,982 votes [50.35%] to incumbent Republican Randy Garrison’s 12,803 [49.65%].
According to Yavapai County Recorder Leslie Hoffman, the last batch of votes were processed after the Tuesday deadline to validate signatures for ballots with problems.
It is unlikely that those ballots will be enough to put Garrison over the top to beat Michaels, but they could trigger an automatic recount if the vote totals are less than 10 votes apart [for state races, the threshold is 200 votes].
Michaels has hesitated to declare victory due to the uncertainty about remaining votes.
“It is however, a victory irrespective of election outcome in that District 3 voters turned out in double the percentage of past elections many of whom to vote for electing a supervisor who promises to listen and advocate for her constituency,” Michaels wrote in an email, though she didn’t clarify which election. Yavapai County voter turnout in 2020 was 86.67%, with 84.47% in 2016 and 81.57% in 2012.
“The campaign has provided me with the personal opportunity to meet residents in all of our communities who want their vision statements, community plans and voices to be heard and respected,” Michaels said. “I look forward to working with them in either the role of a supervisor or as a fellow resident of District 3. I thank each and every one of the residents who have worked so hard to be a voice for stewardship of our resources and precious rural way of life.”
Garrison did not respond to requests for comment.
Garrison was elected to the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors in 2016 after spending time on the Cottonwood City Council. In county government, he has been active in trying to bring federal dollars into the area for development projects, most notably the Verde Connect road project that would connect State Route 260 with Beaverhead Flat Road, and which the Board of Supervisors is expected to award a construction bid for in the coming weeks, before a new board is approved.
Michaels ran against Verde Connect, as well as against the proposed Spring Creek Ranch housing development off of State Route 89A, though that project is likely to become Cottonwood’s jurisdiction as the city plans to annex county land.
She has said that once sworn in, she would try to undo the contract to build Verde Connect if the previous board creates one.
