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Throughout our Towns, Cities, State and Nation the majority of everyone’s focus has been on COVID-19 and its impacts on community health and the economy. Despite the defined focus on the virus, the regular and day-to-day work continues for the local communities of the Copper Corridor.
Incorporated communities of Kearny, Hayden, Mammoth, Superior and Winkelman all have scheduled municipal elections. Most of the races are un-contested with the exception of the Kearny and Mammoth Mayoral races. Here’s your local run down of who’s running in each community.
Kearny: Debra Sommers, incumbent faces opponent Jaime Ramsey for the Mayor’s seat. There are three council seats up for election: Samantha Misita, Rose Bradford and David Herrera are seeking election to the three seats. Misita and Bradford are incumbents. Sheila Stephenson will not seek re-election.
Hayden: Dean Hetrick will seek re-election as Mayor of Hayden. He is running unopposed. There are three council seats up for election in August. Councilmember Bernardo Cruz and Rosalinda Lopez will seek re-election. A third candidate did not apply for the open seat, that seat will be open for appointment in January. Currently the Town of Hayden has a vacant council seat that has not been filled. Hayden has a mayor and six council seats.
Mammoth: This will be the first election where the voters of Mammoth will directly elect their Mayor. Prior to this election, the Council appointed a member of the council as Mayor. Incumbent Mayor Joe Dietz will be running against Patsy Armenta for the top position in Mammoth. There are three council seats open in this election cycle. Incumbents Al Anaya and Michael Martinez will seek re-election. Also running for the three seats will be Joe Brewer and Terry Adams. Francis Amparano will not seek re-election to the Mammoth Town Council.
Superior: The Town of Superior has three Council seats up for election. Running to maintain their council positions are: Councilmembers Bruce Armitage, Olga Lopez and Vanessa Navarrette. Navarrette and Armitage are completing their first terms on the Council. Lopez was recently recognized for sixteen years of service by the Arizona League of Cities and Towns. In Superior, the Mayor’s term is a four-year term.
Winkelman: There are two council seats up for election in Winkelman. The Town of Winkelman does not elect its Mayor directly, and has a five-member board. The two open seats are currently held by current Mayor Louis Bracamonte and Vice Mayor Anita Hinojos. Both Bracamonte and Hinojos will seek re-election and neither is facing any opponents. After the election the Town Council appoints and votes for the Mayor and Vice-Mayor positions.
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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