Parker Live News from the Parker Strip since 2009.
Marcus Kelley leads the race for Judge of the La Paz County Superior Court in unofficial results of the 2022 primary election released late Tuesday.
Superior Court Judge
Kelley is challenging incumbent Judge Jessica Quickle, who has been on the bench since 2019. The unofficial results say that Kelley has 859 votes so far, and that Quickle has 626.
Kelley is a former La Paz County prosecutor who says he has lived in Arizona on and off since 1980. He has seized upon Quickle’s 2021 reprimand by the State of Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct for her treatment of colleagues in the workplace, which Quickle has both refuted as inaccurate in part and acknowledged in part, citing a difficult workload during the pandemic and some misunderstanding of her demeanor.
Quickle has been Judge of the Superior Court since 2019, after she won election in 2018 against Karen Hobbs. She is the first female judge in the history of the court. Kelley says that if elected, he will follow the law, treat colleagues with respect, show no bias toward any law enforcement agency, impose bail on offenders and be mindful that the County is in debt.
Although Tuesday’s election only decides the Republican nominee, both Kelley and Quickle ran as Republicans and therefore the winner of the primary this week will be elected in November.
Justice of the Peace
Incumbent Justice of the Peace Tiffany Dyer of Parker Justice Court is also leading in unofficial results against Karen Slaughter, who for many years was judge of the Salome Justice Court. The unofficial results say that Dyer has 913 votes so far, and that Slaughter has 599. Dyer has served since 2019 also, defeating two Sheriff’s deputies to win the Republican nomination in the 2018 primary election. Dyer was formerly the Clerk of the Parker Justice Court. Slaughter won election and re-election as judge in Salome several times after formerly being a dispatcher, a jailer and a Certified Peace Officer with the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department.
The winner of the Republican nomination for Justice of the Peace is also uncontested in November, so the winner of the primary this week will be elected.
