SUPREME COURT OF ARIZONA
GORDON GILLESPY, individually,

)
)
Plaintiff/Appellant, )
)
v.
)
)
STEVEN L. CAROS, individually,
)
et al.,
)
)
Defendants/Appellees. )
)
__________________________________)

Arizona Supreme Court
No. CV-20-0130-AP/EL
Yavapai County
Superior Court
No. P1300CV 202000397

FILED 06/02/2020

O R D E R
The

Court,

by

a

panel

consisting

of

Justice

Bolick,

Justice

Gould, Justice Lopez, and Justice Beene has considered the briefs of
the parties, the trial court’s minute entry order, and the relevant
statutes and case law in this expedited election matter. The Court
rules as follows:
Under

A.R.S.

§

9-232(A),

a

candidate

for

city

council

must

reside within the city or town for at least one year proceeding the
election. Pursuant to Prescott Valley Town Code § 2-03-010 and the
enabling statute, A.R.S. § 9-821.01, a candidate who wins a majority
at the primary election “is declared elected to the office for which
the person is a candidate, effective as of the date of the general
election.”
When the primary effectively functions as the general election,
the residency requirement refers to the date of the primary election.
See Morrissey v. Garner, 461 P.3d 428 (Ariz. 2020).

 Arizona Supreme Court No.
Page 2 of 2
Accordingly,

Steven

CV-20-0130-AP/EL
Caros

does

not

meet

the

residency

requirement to be a candidate for Prescott Valley Town Council under
Prescott Valley Town Code § 2-03-010 and A.R.S. § 9-232(A).
IT IS ORDERED reversing the trial court decision.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defendants/appellees County Board of
Supervisors and County Recorder shall remove Steven Caros from the
ballot for the office of the Prescott Valley Town Council for the
August 4, 2020 primary election.
DATED this 2nd day of June, 2020.

_________/s/_____________
CLINT BOLICK
Justice

TO:
Timothy A LaSota
Anthony L Isamu Perez
Thomas M Stoxen
J Ivan Legler
Hon. David L Mackey
Hon. Donna McQuality
Aaron Nash
Alicia Moffatt
pm