Parker Live News from the Parker Strip since 2009.
Tiffany Dyer won the Republican nomination for Justice of the Peace in Precinct 6, while Karen Hobbs narrowly won the Republican nomination for Judge of the Superior Court in La Paz County. Both will be going forward to the general election in November, when they will face opponents from the other parties.
The Republican races were the only contested races in La Paz County in Tuesday’s primary election, with Democrat and Libertarian candidates running unopposed.
In the final tally, Dyer took just over 50 percent of the vote in the JP 6 race, with the other votes split between Steven Draper and Richard Epps, both law enforcement officers. Dyer was the favorite to win because she’s already doing the job as Pro Tem for the Parker Justice Court, has already completed training and has been in the court system for several years. She will go up against Kenneth MacFarland, a Libertarian, in November’s election.
In the Republican race for Judge of the La Paz County Superior Court, Karen Hobbs looked to be down several votes on Tuesday night, but was pulled into a majority by the so-called ‘late early’ ballots counted since Election Night. In the final tally, Hobbs, who is the current Chief Deputy County Attorney, beat Daniel Terrell by just 12 votes, taking 49.79 percent of the vote compared with Terrell’s 49.06 percent. There were 19 write-in votes which may have played a decisive role in the outcome. Hobbs will go up against Democrat Jessica Quickle in the November general election.
Former Superior Court Judge Samuel Vederman weighed in with some analysis after watching the election with interest.
“Quickle and Hobbs have both been part of the La Paz County legal system for quite a while and it will certainly be an interesting campaign,” he said. “They have contrasting styles which will be on full display during the campaign and they will both need to crystallize the positions they hold so the voters can make an informed decision. The Superior Court Judicial position is critical and hopefully they will each begin to start learning about the job duties in detail so whoever wins is ready to fulfill the required duties from day one.”
About the JP race, Vederman said Dyer had the experience necessary:
“Tiffany Dyer has been doing the job as a judge already assisting Judge Weis. The transition will be very easy for her and I’m certain she will do a fantastic job when she is elected.”
Karen Bonds, Marion Shontz and Frank Savino were the highest vote-getters in the Town of Parker Council election, where the top three are those elected.
There were 11 precincts voting in all, made up of voters who were 46 percent Republican, 23 percent Democrat, 0.39 percent Libertarian and 0.12 Green. But Republican turnout was the highest, with 43 percent of Republicans in the County turning in ballots and 31 percent of Democrats.
La Paz County Elections Director Kevin Scholl told Parker Live, “We plan on ‘canvassing’ the Election results and presenting to the Board of Supervisors on Thursday, September 6th.”
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Full final unofficial results HERE.
Ms. Hobbs won the election fair and square and for those who criticize her victory they do not understand politics. Her victory is truly a catastrophic victory.