Quartzsite, AZ The results do not include an estimated 600 Provisional Ballots and Late Early Ballots which will take a few days to count. Tomorrow may show an update to these numbers and the final results should be completed Thursday.
In the Quartzsite mayoral race, former Vice Mayor Norm Simpson is in the lead with 144 votes, followed by Dr. Christina Anastasia with 70 votes. Robert "Gunny" St. Germain has 68 votes, with incumbent Mayor Ed Foster bringing up the rear with 67 votes. The top 2 will go forward to the November General Election. In the Quartzsite Town Council race, Starr BearCat is in the lead with 157 votes, followed by Jerald Kinkade with 150 votes. Deanna Sheehan has 136 votes, followed by Monica Timberlake with 125 votes. We'll know more on Thursday if candidates move on to General Election in November.
At the county level: SUPERVISOR District 2 which includes Quartzsite north: Republican race: Duce Minor taking the lead with 299 votes, followed by George Nault with 173 votes. Charlie Philpot has 166 votes, Danny Dickinson has 64 votes and Jay Clagg has 41 votes. Republican race for SHERIFF: Bill Risen with 769 votes over incumbent John Drum with 618. William Smith has 132 votes. Republican race for COUNTY ASSESSOR: Challenger Anna Camacho has a lead with 803 votes. Incumbent Sharon Schuler has 684. With no Democrat running in November an a huge lead, it appears Camacho will be the winner.
On August 3rd, 2016 the Honorable Diane J. Humetewa of United States District for the District of Arizona, dismissed with prejudice in regards to Mrs. Jennifer Jones' civil rights lawsuit against the Town of Quartzsite. Judge Humetewa dismissed without prejudice the case brought by Mr. John L. Jones.
Jones is a candidate for Arizona House of Representatives Legislative District 5, covering La Paz & Mohave Counties. This was the final (Jones III) of 5 cases filed by Jones since 2012. All previous cases have been dismissed.
Jones v. Quartzsite, CV-12-01383-PHX-JAT (“Jones I”);
Jones v. Quartzsite, CV-12-02629-PHX-LOA (“Jones II”);
Jones v. Quartzsite, CV-13-01770-PHX-DJH (“Jones III”);
Jones v. Quartzsite, CV-13-02170-PHX-DJH (“Jones IV”); and
Jones v. Parker, CV-14-01907-PHX-SPL (“Jones V”).
No. CV-13-01770-PHX-DJH. The court ruled in the 27-page "unpublished" (In the context of
federal appellate opinions, the term “unpublished” is synonymous
with “non-precedential") document: "Ms. Jones is no stranger
to federal court litigation, as this Court has previously observed. Invoking 42 U.S.C. §
1983, this is one of five federal lawsuits Ms. Jones has filed against the Town and various
of its officials since 2012 alone. This is the only lawsuit in which Mr. Jones also is
named as a Plaintiff,2
and it is also the only one which is still pending in this District.
Each of her other cases has been dismissed with prejudice."
Jennifer Jones on her "Campaign Scooter" Copyright Desert Messenger 2014 All rights reserved.
On October 24, 2013, while Jones II was still pending, Mr. Rhodes, on Plaintiff’s
behalf, commenced the present action. This complaint, too, is a cut and paste version of
the Jones I and Jones II complaints. This is an unusual twist in that it appears that attorney Rhodes was cutting and pasting from complaints which were signed and supposedly drafted by a pro se plaintiff.
The Honorable Neil V. Wake, to whom Jones IV was previously assigned, issued a similar order discharging Mr. Rhodes from representing Ms. Jones and notifying “the Montana State Bar Association regarding Mr. Rhodes’ failure to respond to court orders.”
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED GRANTING Defendants’ Renewed Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 37) with prejudice as to Plaintiff Jennifer Marie Jones.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED GRANTING Defendants’ Renewed Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 37) without prejudice as to Plaintiff John Lavern Jones.
Jennifer Jones' campaign scooter, Quartzsite, AZ - Copyright Desert Messenger 2014
Quartzsite, AZ UPDATE: Jennifer Jones posted on her Facebook page:
June 21, 2016 "Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner found in favor of Legislative District 5 Republican candidate for the Arizona House of Representatives Jennifer Jones. The nominating petition signature challenge was filed by a rival candidate and political newcomer Paul Mosley. Both parties represented themselves in court.
"Mosley had asked the Court to disqualify numerous signatures on Jones' nominating petitions for a variety of reasons, attempting to render her ineligible. After the signatures in question were checked by the Recorders Offices in La Paz and Mohave Counties, the official certified reports had determined that Jones had 43 signatures more than the minimum required.
"Mosley refused to accept the finding of fact and declined the judges offer to drop the case, which then proceeded immediately to trial. He argued that signatures should be disqualified for technical deficiencies such as using a zip code instead of writing the city, or using a post office box address. Jones countered with the applicable election statute and a 2004 Arizona Supreme Court ruling which held that purely technical departures from the form of the nominating petitions will not outweigh the voter's right to select a nominee. After a short recess Judge Warner ruled that Jones had submitted more than enough valid signatures to be on the August 30th primary election ballot and dismissed Mosley's claim.
"On her way out of the courtroom, Jones told Mosley, “I don't know if your mother ever spanked you Paul, but I just did.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On June 15, 2016, Stephen Paul Mosley of Lake Havasu City
filed formal
legal action against Mrs. Jennifer Jones, a Republican candidate for Arizona Legislative
District 5 (LD5). Mosley contends that Jones, of Quartzsite, failed to meet candidacy
requirements. LD5 covers all of La Paz County and most of Mohave County. In order for a signature to count, a person who signs a petition must be a qualified elector, live in the district of the office the candidate is running for and must belong to the same political party as the candidate. Since there are only two seats open for LD5, a person is allowed to sign only two petitions. Jones' notified her supporters on her campaign Facebook page today with the following statement: Mosley's 22 page complaint can be read in its entirety at:
According to Mosley's
complaint, "Jones submitted 64 petition sheets with 599 signatures.
However all of the signatures on petitions 4 and 47 are invalid because Jones
failed to complete the affidavits on the backs of the petitions as required by
statute."
Mosley alleges in his complaint; "Furthermore, out of the 599 signatures
that Jones submitted, 204 are invalid because the signer was not legally
eligible to sign the petition sheet, the signer's name is illegible, or the
signer failed to provide the information required by statute. 483 signatures
are required to be submitted for an individual to have his or her name printed
on the primary election ballot on August 30."
Mosley alleges that after removing alleged invalid
signatures, Jones only has 395 valid signatures, short of the 483 required to
have one's name printed on the ballot.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall H. Warner has
scheduled the complaint for expedited hearing at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 21. "Apparently my
opponents do not believe they can beat me in a fair election. The Mormon stock
trader from Lake Havasu City, Paul Mosley, has filed a court challenge to my
nominating signatures. The county recorders from Mohave and La Paz will be
preparing a report on the signatures he challenged but over a hundred will have
to be invalidated to remove me from the ballot. Unfortunately for my opponents,
I am a seasoned pro se litigant so Mosley will need to hire an attorney but I
will not."
Desert Messenger, Quartzsite's FREE Community Paper released the publication schedule for the upcoming season. Now it our 12th year, Desert Messenger News is your source for news, events & entertainment in the Quartzsite area.
The Messenger is published the first & third Wednesday of the month from September through May, with special monthly editions in June, July, and August.
· La Paz County continues to tabulate
ballots from the 2014 General Election. State law gives the counties five
business days, until the end of Wednesday, November 12th, to verify and process
the remaining early and provisional ballots. The unofficial results were
released late Tuesday evening. All 11 districts had
reported. Quartzsite Precinct 58 (north)
had a voter turnout of 42.84%. Quartzsite Precinct 64 (south) had 44.22%
turnout.
· QUARTZSITE TOWN COUNCIL: 5 candidates ran for two (2) four-year
council seats. Carol Kelley received 246 votes (25.20%) Terry Frausto
received 202 votes (20.70%), Hal Davidson received 200 votes (20.49%) Bradley
Trainer received 179 votes (18.34%). Monica Timberlake received 141 votes
(14.45%) With just 2 votes separating Frausto and Davidson, there will be
recount.
·SCHOOL BOARD
QES DISTRICT 4: 8 candidates ran for
three (3) 4-year seats. Incumbent Monica Timberlake received 349 votes (19.49%).
Carrollynn Henshaw received 327 votes (18.26%). Yesenia Jackson received
284 votes (15.86%).
Shirley Foster received 266 votes (14.85%). Bonnie
Quintana received 175 votes (9.77%). Cindy Drakulich received 150 votes (8.38%).
Iliana Cruz received 139 votes (7.76%). Irene Segura received 95 votes (5.30%).
·La Paz County
races: Tammy Carnevale (R) ran unopposed for JUSTICE OF THE PEACE JP 4 and
received 686 votes (98.0%).
·CONSTABLE JP4: Marie
Wister (R) received 578 votes (71.01%)
Starr BearCat (D) received 235 votes (28.87%).
Quartzsite, AZ - Within hours after losing her bid for Arizona State Representative District 5 in August 26th primary election, Jennifer Marie Jones filed a new claim in U.S. District Court - Phoenix, AZ.
The claim dated August 27th, 2014 names the following defendants:
The Town of Parker, Town of Quartzsite, Parker Magistrate James Putz-Artrup, Quartzsite Prosecutor David Ward, former Quartzsite Town Manager Laura Bruno (& husband), former Quartzsite Community Developer Director Stephen Henrichs (& wife), Quartzsite Council Members Mark Orgeron, (& wife) Norma Crooks (& husband), Carol Kelley, and Mike Jewitt (& wife); and Desert Messenger Publisher Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear.
Jones, who represents herself, alleges in the 28-page Complaint CV-14-01907-PNX-SPL, that defendants violated her rights when Quartzsite Police Dept. and Henrichs visited her location at Rice Ranch Swap Meet on August 22, 2013 with a warrant to inspect a 1956 trailer to ensure compliance with Town Codes. According to a press release issued by the Town of Quartzsite they found 15 Pit Bull dogs housed in cages in the trailer. The Town of Quartzsite emailed the press release to the Arizona Republic, Parker Pioneer, Palo Verde Times, and Desert Messenger. It was published on this blog on Aug. 26, 2013. Jones alleges the Press Release was "libelous and defamatory."
Jones' Facebook page profile photo
Jones publishes The Desert Freedom Press, a free tabloid, and proudly proclaims on the paper's Facebook page, "MY FREE SPEECH IS NOT NEGOTIABLE".
In the past few years, Jones ran failed political campaigns for Quartzsite Town Council, Quartzsite Mayor, La Paz County Supervisor and Arizona State Representative Dist. 5. Jones became famous when the 2011 video of her being removed from a town council meeting went "viral." Jones stated she retired from her dog grooming business in the spring of this year.
In her latest claim, Jones alleges Golden-Bear (along with other defendants):
"Violated the First Amendment Right to Free Speech, Press and
Assembly; First Amendment Right to be Free from Retaliation; Fourth Amendment
Right to be Free from Unreasonable Search and Malicious Prosecution;
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress; Conspiracy to Violate the
Constitutionally Protected Rights of the Plaintiff; see paragraph 66.
Intentional Interference with Contract; Violating of Equal Protection by
Singling out Plaintiff for Unequal Treatment for no other Reason Other Than
Malice, as a Class of One."
Jones is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, along with "attorney's fees" and also demands a jury trial.
As of today, Desert Messenger has not been able to confirm that any defendant has been legally served a summons in this case. See below for the full document.
On a personal note: There is much more I would love to say about a self-proclaimed Free-Speech-Advocate tabloid publisher filing a federal court claim against me for publishing an Official Press Release issued by the Town of Quartzsite, but I won't... for now!
Quartzsite Town Council will hold a Special Meeting Friday, June 20 at 3:30pm at Town Hall. The meeting was called after Town Manager Skylor Miller presented council members with a Memo updating them on meetings held with WIFA and USDA regarding the sewer expansion project and the case of Mayor Ed Foster v. Town of Quartzsite.
