What to know about Cochise supervisors who defied Arizona election law - The Arizona Republic

Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby person enactment Cochise County successful the nationalist spotlight with a bid of ineligible adventures that person propelled them to the forefront of predetermination skepticism and landed them successful court.

From a rural, scenic country of southeastern Arizona, the 2 Republican supervisors person tried to propulsion soil successful the gears of the predetermination process, from an effort past period to manus number each ballot formed to deliberately missing the deadline to certify predetermination results.

For their efforts, they and the region person been sued for violating predetermination law. They person drawn admiration from predetermination deniers, condemnation from outraged Democrats and amusement from onlookers.

Here is immoderate inheritance connected the duo, who look to beryllium investigating the bounds of nationalist and ineligible patience. It should beryllium noted that the 2 person not complained astir the wins chalked up by GOP candidates connected the Cochise County ballot.

Board Chairwoman Ann English, the lone Democrat connected the three-member panel, has watched successful exasperation arsenic her colleagues person defied ineligible proposal and plowed up with votes that person turned into ineligible bait.

“How galore times bash you person to willfully not travel the law?” English asked.

Peggy Judd: She attended 'Stop the Steal' rally adjacent the U.S. Capitol with her family

Judd is simply a two-term supervisor from the county's bluish metropolis of Willcox, wherever she was calved and raised.

She served 1 word successful the Arizona House of Representatives a decennary ago, wherever she was a quiescent backbencher much noted for the changeless companionship of her hubby than for her legislative priorities.

She introduced authorities that sought to assistance region governments, specified arsenic a measure that would person allowed counties to enforce a 1% taxation connected intoxicant sales. And she showed a peculiar involvement successful societal issues, with a connection to let grandparents raising grandchildren to suffice for currency assistance, oregon authorities that would person required mediation for divorcing couples, with the intent of trying to support a household together. The bills went nowhere.

Judd and her household attended the "Stop the Steal" rally not acold from the U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021, traveling cross-country arsenic portion of a pro-Donald Trump caravan.

Judd speculated that the unit that erupted that time was a "false flag" lawsuit acceptable up by Antifa. Antifa is simply a governmental question of far-left militants who reason neo-Nazis and achromatic supremacists astatine demonstrations and different events.  

She besides compared the march to the Capitol to the state marches led by the precocious Martin Luther King Jr. She said she did not participate the Capitol and has told media outlets she was determination much to ticker implicit her grandchildren truthful her girl and son-in-law could instrumentality portion successful the day's activities.

Her comments astir the events of Jan. 6 drew truthful overmuch condemnation that she unopen down her Facebook leafage and said she felt "punished" and "defiled" by the media arsenic good arsenic by radical successful her community. Calls for her to resign went unheeded.

Judd, on with Crosby, voted successful February to cull a $1.9 cardinal national assistance for COVID-19 alleviation efforts. She claimed, without evidence, that the vaccine changed the virus, thing that region wellness officials refuted successful authoritative testimony.

An hostile of the vaccine, she was unvaccinated and astatine 1 constituent contracted the virus.

As the 2022 predetermination neared, Judd championed an effort to person the region manus number each ballot arsenic a cheque connected "our already cleanable system" of instrumentality tabulation. She envisioned a unit of volunteers would stitchery to number each contention connected each ballot - a micro mentation of the authorities Senate-ordered recount of the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination successful Maricopa County that took months to implicit and added votes for Joe Biden.

She persisted, adjacent arsenic region attorneys told the committee the enactment was not allowed by law. Judd maintained it would beryllium a mode to assuage section skeptics and insisted determination was nary involvement successful changing the eventual ballot outcome.

“This is important, astir apt 1 of the much important things that we person done," she said astatine an October meeting. “We request our region to beryllium agreed and accidental ‘Yeah, awesome, it turned retired great. Thank you.'”

Late past month, she told the New York Times the existent crushed for the certification hold was to protestation the predetermination process successful Maricopa County. The interest implicit whether Cochise County tabulation machines were approved by an accredited laboratory, she said, was conscionable a pretext to delay.

“It’s the lone happening we person to basal on,” she said, referring to the voting instrumentality claim.

Judd has been intent connected sparing Cochise taxpayers ineligible expenses, starring a thrust to find backstage backing for the lawyer fees needed to support against ineligible challenges. That has raised questions astir the ethics, if not the legality, of utilizing backstage wealth to wage for services that payment the county.

Tom Crosby: Former Border Patrol agent, Trump supporter, vaccine skeptic

Crosby is simply a erstwhile Sierra Vista councilman who won predetermination to the region committee successful 2020. During his campaign, helium highlighted his enactment for erstwhile President Donald Trump, underscoring his blimpish credentials.

He served arsenic a U.S. Border Patrol cause and pilot, enactment that yet brought him to the Border Patrol's Tucson assemblage of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Robert Montgomery, Cochise County Republican Committee chair, championed Crosby's work.

"He has saved much lives arsenic a Border Patrol serviceman than the full (security) apparatus successful this county," Montgomery said, noting that arsenic a aviator Crosby was capable to spot radical wandering successful the godforsaken and gully them to the attraction of agents connected the ground.

The Cochise supervisors appointed Montgomery to the Palominos Fire District board, a determination that sparked protests from immoderate section residents. Among them was Jeff Sturges, who complained that Montgomery's relation arsenic one of 11 "fake electors" from Arizona successful the 2020 statesmanlike election didn't merit an assignment to a presumption of trust.

Sturges has been a thorn successful the broadside of Crosby and Judd during caller nationalist meetings.

After Sturges criticized Crosby's enactment for delaying certification and asked the supervisor to resign, Crosby was nonplussed, interpreting the Democrat's critique arsenic a compliment.

“What I perceive is ‘Good job, Crosby,'" the supervisor said, referring to himself.

During committee discussions, Crosby has shown a disdain for proposal from taxable substance professionals, successful opposition with Judd, who has sought to onslaught a much accommodating tone.

For example, successful June, erstwhile a region lawyer warned him helium was flirting with a usurpation of the authorities Open Meeting Law, Crosby replied, "We'll see. You're not a judge."

In November, Crosby said helium trusted the expertise of the members of the nationalist who questioned the certifications of predetermination tabulation machines arsenic overmuch arsenic the expertise of the authorities elections director.

He joined Judd successful rejecting the COVID-19 alleviation backing and has compared COVID-19 vaccines to Agent Orange, a herbicide utilized during the Vietnam War that has caused crab successful veterans.

Before surviving successful Arizona, Crosby worked arsenic a information defender astatine Naval Base Point Loma successful San Diego and arsenic a patrol serviceman connected the San Diego trolley system, according to his ain biography.

He lives successful Sierra Vista with his woman of 30 years. They person 2 children.

Reach the newsman at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and travel her connected Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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