This AZ lawmaker was appointed Navajo County recorder. He's also running for statewide office

The Navajo County Board of Supervisors tapped Republican state Rep. David Marshall to be the next county recorder, a decision that could have widespread ramifications from the Arizona Legislature to elections for Arizona’s top utility regulators.

The board picked Marshall from a list of three finalists to replace former Recorder Timothy Jordan, who resigned after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a road rage incident.

“In this case, we had to try to find the candidate that could possibly, you know, represent the trust of the people and the people going forward,” Board Chairman Daryl Seymore said after the vote.

If he accepts the job, Marshall will be the second member of the Legislature’s far-right Freedom Caucus to take over a county recorder’s office in Arizona, following Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, who was elected in 2024. The group includes members who have made unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the past.

Marshall’s candidacy for the job raised questions about his future plans, because he is currently serving in the Arizona Legislature and running for the Arizona Corporation Commission, which regulates most of the state’s utilities.

Marshall did not respond to requests to comment on how this latest development affects his plans. But Republican election attorney Kory Langhofer said state law requires Marshall to resign from the Legislature to accept the job in Navajo County.

That could affect the balance of power in the Arizona House of Representatives, where the GOP holds a 33-27 majority. The Navajo County Board of Supervisors would eventually have to replace Marshall with another Republican, but, in the meantime, the vacancy would mean Republican leaders have fewer votes to spare as they push partisan legislation and attempt to negotiate a state budget with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

Marshall is also running alongside Rep. Ralph Heap (R-Mesa) as part of a slate backed by the Legislature’s far-right Freedom Caucus that is challenging incumbent Corporation Commissioners Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson in the upcoming Republican primary election.

And Marshall’s decision to go after the county recorder job also throws that candidacy into question.

“He would have to vacate the legislative office to accept the county recorder job, and then resign from the county recorder job to run for Corp Comm,” Langhofer said.

Heap is hopeful Marshall won’t accept the job in Navajo County.

“Well, I’m hoping he doesn’t take that position, and as far as I know he’s not going to,” Heap said hours before the Navajo County Board picked Marshall.

But Rep. Walter Blackman (R-Snowflake), Marshall’s seatmate in Legislative District 7, said Marshall seemed excited about the prospect of filling the position.

“He has a lot of ideals for the county, and some of it is probably wanting to be more with his family, so that's a good mix,” Blackman said.

He said Marshall has long shown interest in issues handled by the recorder and the job is also much closer to his home in northern Arizona than Phoenix, where the Legislature and the Corporation Commission are located.

“The stars lined it up for him, I guess,” Blackman said. “So, you know, being home with his family, the recorder job. He's got some interest in it.”

There is still some question whether Marshall is eligible to fill the recorder vacancy, though.

That’s because the Arizona Constitution says that state lawmakers cannot hold other offices “during the term for which he shall have been elected.”

Some believe that just means Marshall has to resign to take the new position.

“He would have to resign to accept that job,” Langhofer said.

But others believe the word “term” means that lawmakers like Marshall can’t hold other state and county positions until the next legislative term starts in January 2027.

The issue rears its head whenever lawmakers resign to seek other positions, like when former Democratic Rep. Marcellino Quinonez resigned amidst rumors he would seek a seat on the Phoenix City Council.

In 2025, the Arizona Capitol Times reported that former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer argued new Recorder Justin Heap, then a state lawmaker, shouldn’t have been sworn in during the first week of January and should have had to wait until new lawmakers were sworn in to replace him on Jan. 13.

And in 1980, state lawmaker Arnold Jeffers took office as the Pima County assessor, but had to wait a week longer than other new county officials to be sworn in due to that interpretation of the state Constitution, the Capitol Times reported.

However, there does not appear to be any guiding legal precedent clarifying which interpretation is correct. And a spokesperson for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office said the office is not aware of any attorney general opinions on the subject, either.

The Navajo County manager and County Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests to comment on the issue.

The appointment would put another Trump-aligned official in charge of a county election office.

Heap, who took office last year, has cooperated with, and even applauded, Trump administration efforts to re-litigate Maricopa County’s 2020 election. Trump has claimed, without evidence, that his loss in Arizona that year was the result of widespread election fraud.