Effort launched to recall Cochise County supervisor
Months after Cochise County caught national attention for delaying certification of November 2022 election results, a group of voters is trying to recall county Supervisor Tom Crosby, who helped lead the effort.
The Recall Tom Crosby Campaign, a nonpartisan effort of Cochise County voters, has fewer than 90 days to gather 4,865 signatures for a recall to move forward. A campaign representative said it hopes to gather more than the minimum number required.
The recall petition stated how Crosby, the District 1 supervisor, would have disenfranchised more than 47,000 residents if his efforts not to certify the November 2022 general election results had been successful.
Crosby is a former U.S. Border Patrol agent and pilot. He was a Sierra Vista City Council member before being elected in 2020 to the county Board of Supervisors for a four-year term.
“They made a laughingstock of our county,” said Eric Suchodolski, the chair of the campaign to recall Crosby. Crosby and Peggy Judd, another Republican county supervisor, helped lead efforts to have a full hand count of ballots and delay certification of the election results.
These actions disenchanted a portion of District 1 voters who fear Crosby will sow more distrust in elections as the 2024 election season draws closer.
“He interfered with election officials, ignored legal advice of our county attorney, and promoted an illegal hand count of 100% of ballots,” stated the recall campaign, adding that these actions resulted in increased expenses to taxpayers and make Crosby “unfit” to hold his position.
After the November election, the two supervisors refused to certify the election results but were subsequently ordered to do so by Pima County Superior Court Judge Casey McGinley. The vote to certify the election results passed with a vote of 2-0 with Judd and Supervisor Ann English voting for the certification. Crosby did not attend the court-ordered board meeting to certify the results.
Suchodolski, a former Sierra Vista teacher, spends much of his day organizing the recall. He said Crosby needs to be held accountable for his actions.
“He is a danger to our elections,” Suchodolski said. Suchodolski said the recall campaign has at least 50 or 60 volunteers working to pass out the petition. Voters who want to sign the petition must do so in person, he said. Campaign volunteers have been going doorto-door and to farmers markets for signatures.
Suchodolski reiterated the bipartisan nature of the campaign.
“I’ve talked to a number of Republicans that are just as unhappy, just thought this was absolutely ridiculous what had happened,” he said.
In an email about the recall effort to The Arizona Republic, Crosby maintained that he has always “supported and fought for voting integrity.”
He complained about “socialists” being against him and said he supports the Constitution of the United States first and the Arizona Constitution second. In response to the court’s order, he also said the judicial branch does not tell him how to vote.
Although the campaign must collect at least 4,865 signatures by May 3 — 120 days after the committee filing — the group said it aims to gather 6,600 to make sure enough signatures are valid to meet the requirement.
If enough signatures are collected, then a recall election can be scheduled at least 90 days later.