By Harold Kitching
Casa Grande Dispatch
A ruling Friday afternoon that Martin Schmidt had not turned in the required number of petition signatures from registered voters means that Casa Grande’s municipal primary
election in March will be uncontested.
Schmidt, a resident of the east-side Mission Royale community, was the only challenger for the three council seats now held by Matt Herman, Ralph Varela and Dick Powell, all of whom are running in the election. Mayor Bob Jackson also has no opposition.
After Schmidt filed his petitions, Garrett Powell, the youngest son of Councilman Powell, filed a complaint in Pinal County Superior Court asking that Schmidt be removed from the ballot because his petitions lacked valid signatures. Many of the signatures were from nonresidents of Casa Grande, a check found.
