Cox can run for Florence mayor
By KEVIN REAGAN Staff Writer
FLORENCE — A Pinal County judge has ruled Gem Cox to be a legitimate candidate in Florence’s mayoral election, after a legal challenge attempted to dispute the validity of Cox’s petition signings.
Florence resident David Downey filed the election challenge last week in Pinal County Superior Court. His argument was that at least three signatures on Cox’s petition were invalid, thus eliminating him as a mayoral candidate in this year’s election.
Cox, a Florence businessman, originally submitted a petition with 164 signatures. The Pinal County Recorder’s Officer determined 41 of those signatures to be invalid, leaving him with 123 — barely enough to meet the minimum of 122 signatures to qualify him as a mayoral candidate.
According to court documents, the plaintiff argued that three of the remaining 123 signatures didn’t count because the signers listed a different address on the petition sheet than the one recorded in their voter registration.
