With the departure of Doug Coleman and Mr. Smithson, the council was forced to seek replacements. Out of about 20 candidates, Dave Waldron and Gail Evans volunteered for the positions and were appointed to the council.
For Mr. Smithson, the appointment as interim Pinal County supervisor is bittersweet. The Pinal County Board of Supervisors meets in Florence.
“I loved being a council member. It was other people who asked me to run for this other position. When they did, I said ‘No. I don’t want to do that. I want to be on the city council,’” he said. “Instead, this thing came up that’s only seven months, and I thought I could be very helpful to those people down there.”
Even though he’s happy to help out the county, Mr. Smithson misses his old position on the city council, but he feels his time as a county supervisor will be valuable.
“I really hope to be on the council again if I can get appointed,” he said. “I plan to start running again at the first of the year, and I’ll be coming back knowing more about our county, its operation, its major players, the other cities in the county, and their issues and important players. I’m better prepared for the city council than I was before, so this position is really a good opportunity.”
During his time as supervisor, Mr. Smithson still plans to regularly attend council meetings and keep up with the issues facing the city, so he can easily jump back into his old responsibilities.
Mr. Smithson had the opportunity to help choose one of the new members while he was a council member.
“I was involved in the selection processes of Mr. Waldron,” he said. “I appreciated his experience, and I gave him my vote.”
Mr. Coleman resigned from his seat on the Apache Junction City Council to seek a position in the Arizona House of Representatives.
By Alexander Foote
