LD5

Legislative preview, House districts 1-5

LD1
This district is strongly Republican and should see no change. Republicans Lucy Mason and Andrew Tobin are both running for re-election. The Democrats have put up only one candidate in hopes of garnering more votes and picking up one of the district seats, but Dennis Grittner is unlikely to get enough votes.

Democratic candidates Dr. Eric Meyer of Phoenix and Bill Jeffers of Holbrook have become the first write-in candidates in the 9-year history of Clean Elections to qualify for public funds.  Meyer submitted 379 qualifying contributions of $5 and Jeffers submitted 360 of the contributions. If both men receive enough write-in votes on the Sept. 2 primary, they will qualify for the general election ballot when they will receive their funding. Meyer will need 301 write-in votes and Jeffers will need 385 votes.

Meyer, a Scottsdale School Board member and emergency medical doctor, is running for a House seat in Legislative District 11 in Phoenix. Jeffers, a life-long resident of Holbrook, is a third generation Arizonan, as well as a rancher and small businessman.

On Friday the Navajo Board of Supervisors chose state house candidate Sylvia Tenney Allen to fill the seat left open with the death of LD5 Republican Senator Jake Flake.  But with the time frame to turn in nomination signatures passed, it was up to the local LD5 Republican committee to select who would be on the ballot in November.  Whoever received that honor would effectively become the winner of the November election as there was no Democratic opponent. 

The Navajo County Board of Supervisors named Sylvia Allen to the state Senate, to fill out the remainder of late Sen. Jake Flake (R-Snowflake)'s term.

“I will fight for our County,” said Allen in a statement from Navajo County. “I will fight for our rural issues. I will move forward to work as well as I can. I will do everything in my power to ensure you do not lose faith in me.”

Allen was chosen over Snowflake councilman Charlie Hendrickson and former Show Low mayor Gerry Whipple by the Board. The three were selected Thursday by a citizens panel comprised of prominent members of Najavo County.

If my email conversations with LD5 Republicans are any indication, look for Sylvia Tenney Allen to get the nod from the Navajo County Board of Supervisors today. 

Allen, who is the former chairman of the Navajo County Republican Committee, was the nomination committee’s top choice to replace Jake Flake and leaders give her the edge with the supervisors.  Allen is also a current candidate for representative in LD5. 

But we are reminded nothing like this is ever 100%, but we all will know around 2pm today.

A citizens panel of Navajo County luminaries has selected three candidates to fill the seat of state Sen. Jake Flake (R-Snowflake), who died Saturday of a heart attack at age 72. Topping the list is Sylvia Tenney Allen, who is also running for the state House.

"That's just so humbling," Allen told PolitickerAZ.com of her nomination. "I'm so filled with pride and humbled. [Sen. Flake] was a great friend and a great senator." 

Allen, however, still plans to go up against state Rep. Bill Konopnicki (R-Safford) at a meeting of Republican precinct committeemen on Saturday, in hopes of being selected to replace Flake on the Republican primary ballot. Republican insiders have related that both Allen and Konopnicki have been gathering support behind them since the beginning of the week.

The Navajo County Board of Supervisors will pick the replacement for Senator Jake Flake as early as tomorrow from the following people.

Sylvia Tenney Allen.  Allen is a current state representative candidate from LD5 and a also has served for 5 years as the Navajo County Republican Chairman.

Charlie Hendrickson.  Hendrickson is a council member of the Snowflake Town Council.

Gary Whipple.  Whipple is the former mayor of Showlow.

By Friday, the 5th Legislative District should have a new senator, according to the Navajo County Board of Supervisors. The citizens panel charged with finding three candidates will convene Thursday morning to make their selections, and Friday the Board will likely make the final decision as to who will sit in late state Sen. Jake Flake's seat.

The nine-person citizens panel formed yesterday, and includes mayors Robin Boyd of Winslow, Jeff Hill of Holbrook, and Kelly Willis of Snowflake, as well as Pinetop-Lakeside councilman Larry Vicario and Show Low councilman Jack Latham. Greg Shalow, superintendent of Blue Ridge Schools, and citizens Carla Bowen, Alice Franco-Anderson and Brad Click round out the list of members.

They must choose three people who are Navajo County residents, registered Republicans and eligible in all other ways to serve in the state Senate. Those names will go to the Board, and the winner will be selected from among them. 

Even as tributes continue to pour in, the clock has started ticking to fill the seat of long-serving state legislator Jake Flake (R-Snowflake).

A citizens panel has been formed and has the task of picking three people who are eligible to replace Flake in the state Senate. According to a Republican Party insider, some names should start to surface soon. Flake's seat must be filled by a Republican.

Sen. Flake's passing has cast uncertainty on an election where Flake was running unopposed. A two-part process is under way to first fill his seat and to replace him on the primary ballot.

Sylvia Tenney Allen, who is running for the Arizona House from LD5, thinks Rep. Rick Renzi (R-1), indicted Friday on 35 counts of extortion, money laundering and wire fraud, should resign his seat.

"I feel bad for Congressman Renzi," Allen told PolitickerAZ. "I think he's been a good congressman and represented the 1st District well."