MOHAVE COUNTY – Mohave County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jean Bishop has gone to court in an effort to claim the August 4 republican primary election by bouncing two challengers from the ballot. Bishop filed separate, yet similar lawsuits in Superior Court last Thursday challenging the District 4 candidacies of Rick Armstrong and William Andrews.
Bishop contends that both men failed to obtain the required minimum 51 valid signatures on nominating petitions to qualify their campaigns. She is asking Judge Lee Jantzen to disqualify Armstrong and Andrews from the race and keep their names off the primary ballot.
“She has the right to do it but I consider it to be in very poor taste,” Armstrong said. “I knew she would try and pull this and I kind of dropped the ball a little bit.”
Armstrong said coronavirus-related social distancing practice impeded signature collection ability down the stretch.
Bishop’s lawsuit alleges that at least 30 of the 69 petition signatures that Armstrong submitted on April 1 are invalid. The other legal challenge alleges that as many as 27 of the 66 signatures by Andrews on April 6 should be rejected.
In both legal challenges Bishop alleges a variety of registration, residency, party affiliation and other signature flaws that call for their invalidation. She attached copies of the nominating petitions as well as justification for striking each signature she challenges.
“I think we can beat it. There’s case law that covers this,” Armstrong said. Andrews was unavailable for comment.
The formal challenge evidentiary hearings are scheduled Friday; Andrews at 10:45 a.m. and Armstrong at 1:30 p.m.
Bishop has filed another lawsuit challenging the candidacy of Jack Ehrhardt, the only democrat in the District 4 race. The Ehrhardt challenge is set for status hearing this Friday and for evidentiary hearing next Monday, April 20.
- Dave Hawkins
WOW sounds like she doesn’t want any competition at all