It took a while but the final election numbers are in.
Arizona’s primary election was a little more than two weeks ago and at the time, the race for Sedona mayor was too close to call. But final numbers released on Monday, Aug. 17, show that Sandy Moriarty will, in fact, be elected to a fourth two-year term as mayor.
Sedona City Clerk Susan Irvine confirmed that a runoff — or general election — will not be needed in the mayoral race or for city council.
Moriarty ended up with 2,037 total votes with 1,450 coming from voters on the Yavapai County side of the city and 587 on the Coconino County side.
Kurt Gehlbach garnered 1,826 votes — 1,282 and 544 respectively, or 46.37%. Write-in candidate Michael Werner received 54 total votes.
By winning 51.17%, Moriarty avoided a runnoff by 68 votes, narrower than her 157-vote win over Cliff Hamilton in 2014 and her 166-vote defeat of two candidates in 2018. She ran unopposed in 2016.
Results the day after the primary election showed Moriarty in the lead. She said at the time, “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.”
On the council side — which are four-year seats — there were three seats open. Holli Ploog topped the voting with 2,810 votes [1,958 on the Yavapai County side and 852 on the Coconino County side] followed by Kathy Kinsella bringing in 2,808 total votes [1,965 and 843] with Jessica Williamson tallying 2,451 votes [1,695 and 756]. Write-in candidate Ed Larrieu collected a total of 171 votes.
