DUNCAN — Elected officials in the counties neighboring Graham County are facing the possibility of recall.
In Greenlee County, Marian Waters, of Duncan, took out an application to circulate petitions in favor of the recall of Sheriff Tim Sumner.
In her application, Waters stated, “Mr. Sumner has repeatedly displayed his lack of integrity, he does not show professionalism or honesty to the citizens of our county. He has broken the law while in office and instead of trying to right his mistakes, he asks to have things removed such as GPS units.”
Sumner was accused earlier this year of harassment and creating a hostile work environment by a former female deputy, and illegally speeding in a Sheriff’s Office vehicle. Following the accusation of speeding, Sumner reportedly questioned the accuracy of the GPS units in Sheriff’s Office vehicles and asked the county’s fleet management to remove the devices.
Waters has until Jan. 20, 2022, to collect a minimum of 921 valid signatures of registered Greenlee County voters to qualify the recall for the ballot.
In Cochise County, Kara Harris, of Huachuca City, took out recall petitions for Cochise County Supervisor Peggy Judd.
“She actually violated the open meeting law, when they were appointing Pat Call to the judgeship. She and Ann English both violated the open meeting law,” Harris said.
Call was a member of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors in 2019 when fellow board members Judd and English appointed Call as Justice of the Peace for Sierra Vista.
Call, who had not publically expressed interest in the position prior to the meeting, took part in the board’s decision to forgo obtaining a list of potential candidates, and took part in a closed to the public executive session where the position was discussed. After a break, the board was reconvened in public an hour late and, without discussion, Call was appointed by a 2-0 vote.
In September, the Arizona Supreme Court reversed an appellate court decision denying a plaintiff’s standing in challenging the appointment, and remanded the case back to trial court for further proceedings.
More information on the effort to recall Judd can be found at www.recallpeggyjudd.com.
Harris has until Jan. 21, 2022, to collect 3,788 valid signatures in Judd’s district — which includes Willcox, San Simon, Bowie, Pearce, Benson, St. David, Elfrida, Huachuca City and a small portion of Sierra Vista — to qualify the recall for the ballot.
