4 mayoral, 6 council candidates on ballot2 min read

Sedona City Council approved fee changes for the Red Rock Ranger District.

The ballots are set for the upcoming Sedona City Council and Mayoral elections.

With the primaries on August 2 and the general election on Nov. 8, the city will be looking for three four-year councilors and the mayor for a two-year term.

Right after the candidates’ packets were available to be picked up on Nov. 1, many Sedona candidates immediately began their campaigns.

The packets were all due on April 4 at 5 p.m. This determined the final candi­date ballot.

Kurt Gehlbach, Sandra J. “Sandy” Moriarty, Samaire Armstrong and Scott Jablow are this election cycle’s mayoral candidates.

For Armstrong and Jablow this is their first run for mayor, while Gehlbach and Moriarty ran against each other in 2020. This two-year mayoral seat will have all eyes on the race as Moriarty is running for her fifth term as mayor and Jablow will be giving up his vice mayor posi­tion for the possible election.

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The winner will be determined on Nov. 8 to serve until November 2024. However, a candidate could also win the election by receiving a majority of all votes cast in the Primary Election without running in the General Election.

Although the focus may be on the mayoral election, there are six candi­dates running for the available three slots on the City Council including Scott Moffatt, Brian Fultz, Jennifer J. Strait, Melissa Dunn, Pete Furman and Jon “JT” Thompson.

Thompson is the only current coun­cilor running for office, as Tom Lamkin is not running again, along with Jablow due to his mayoral candidacy. And Councilmembers Jessica Williamson, Holli Ploog and Kathy Kinsella will be returning for another two years to finish out their elected term.

All residents who live within the city limits and are registered to vote at least 29 days prior to the election are eligible to cast their ballots. The deadline for registration is July 5.

Juliana Walter

Juliana Walter was born and raised on the East Coast, originating from Maryland and earning her degree in Florida. After graduating from the University of Tampa, she traveled all over the West for months before settling in Sedona. She has previously covered politics, student life, sports and arts for Tampa Magazine and The Minaret. When she’s not working, you can find Juliana hiking and camping all over the Southwest. If you hear something interesting around the city, she might also find it interesting and can be contacted at jwalter@larsonnewspapers.com.

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