This April, an expected 14 people will be running for Cortez City Council.
They will be vying for five open seats on April 7, the day of the municipal election. Prospective candidates had until Jan. 27 to gather signatures and turn in nominating petitions and until Feb. 3 to submit nominating petitions.
In alphabetical order, the candidates are Bill Banks, Sue Betts, Geof Byerly, Stephanie Carver, Joe Farley, Raymond Ralph Goodall, Amy Huckins, Rachel Medina, Rafe M. O’Brien, David N. Rainey, Leroy A. Roberts, Justin Vasterling, Jason A. Witt and Arlina Yazzie, according to a draft ballot compiled by City Clerk Linda Smith.
Residents will be able to vote for up to five candidates.
The official placement order of the candidates’ names on the ballot will be determined Feb. 3, when Cortez Fire Chief Jay Balfour will draw them out of a hat at Cortez City Hall.
The top three vote-getters will be elected for four-year terms, and fourth- and fifth-place candidates will serve two-year terms. The winners will be sworn in at the City Council meeting April 28.
Right now, the council includes Mayor Karen Sheek, Mayor Pro Tem Orly Lucero and councilors Mike Lavey, Gary Noyes, Sue Betts and Ty Keel. Councilor Jill Carlson announced her resignation at the December council meeting, with two years remaining on her term – leaving a vacancy on the council until the election.
Sheek and Keel have reached the term limit allowed for holding the office, and Noyes and Betts account for the two remaining open seats, as they were both elected in April 2018 for two-year terms.
Lavey and Lucero retain their seats through 2022.
