This GOP lawmaker running for Corporation Commission seeks Navajo County recorder job

As the Navajo County Board of Supervisors searches for a new county recorder, it is considering a current Republican state lawmaker who is already running to be one of the state’s top utility regulators. State law says he can’t do both jobs at the same time.

Rep. David Marshall (R-Snowflake) is part of a two-man slate backed by the Legislature’s far-right Freedom Caucus that is seeking to unseat fellow Republicans Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers on the Arizona Corporation Commission.

But now it looks like Marshall has a different job in his sights.

On March 24, the Navajo County Board of Supervisors voted to accept the resignation of embattled Republican County Recorder Timothy Jordan, a development that comes just months before the recorder and Board of Supervisors must jointly administer the July primary election.

The board then voted to approve a list of seven candidates, including Marshall.

Other candidates for the job include James Vance, the Navajo County recorder’s chief deputy, and Jose Lerma, a voter registration coordinator in the office.

Board Chairman Daryl Seymore said that list was whittled down from 16 applicants, some of whom were eliminated because they were not Republicans. State law requires the board to fill the vacancy with a candidate from the same party as the elected recorder.

“We then asked staff to vet them off of their resumes and other experience of which they have, and to bring us back with a shorter list of candidates to be interviewed,” Seymore said at the March 24 meeting.

The candidate chosen by the board will complete Jordan’s term, which ends in 2028.

Jordan was elected in 2024 after campaigning on claims that the county’s elections were not fair. He claimed, without evidence, that the county’s voter rolls included deceased voters and non-citizens, Votebeat reported.

Marshall, a pastor and Air Force veteran, has also questioned the accuracy of Arizona’s elections. During Marshall’s last legislative run, he was endorsed by President Donald Trump, who has claimed without evidence that fraud in Arizona led to his loss in 2020.

Marshall is also a member of the Freedom Caucus, which includes members who have made unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the past. If selected by the board in Navajo County, he would be the second Trump-aligned Freedom Caucus member to take over a county recorder’s office in Arizona, following Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, who was elected in 2024.

According to state law, “Except during the final year of the term being served, no incumbent of a salaried elective office, whether holding by election or appointment, may offer himself for nomination or election to any salaried local, state or federal office.”

The Arizona Constitution also prohibits lawmakers from holding most other elected offices.

Republican elections attorney Kory Langhofer said that means Marshall can’t take the county recorder job and continue to run for Arizona Corporation Commission.

“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.

It’s unclear whether Marshall would end his campaign for the Arizona Corporation Commission if he is chosen by the Navajo County Board of Supervisors.

Marshall declined to comment in person and did not respond to phone calls, emails and text messages.

Navajo County Manager Bryan Layton declined to say whether Marshall committed to serving Jordan’s full term if appointed. He said the initial vetting process took place in the board’s executive session, which must remain confidential under state law.

The Navajo County Board of Supervisors will conduct a second round of interviews with the candidates on April 14.