School board. Constable. Justice of the peace. State mine inspector.
Several of the ballot’s lesser-known races shared the spotlight Thursday as candidates from across local, county and state government gathered for the Rotary Club of Maricopa’s “Meet Our Candidates” event.
The gathering at the Maricopa Community Center was designed to encourage one-on-one conversations between voters and candidates in a casual setting.
Among the candidates was Arizona State Mine Inspector hopeful Brian Matlock, who is challenging Gov. Katie Hobbs appointee Les Presmyk.
“I want to bring my engineering education, my broad experience and my practical knowledge to serve you,” Matlock said.
Maricopa Unified School District governing board candidate Nicolas Yendzeski spent the evening collecting signatures and speaking with constituents about the board.
“I think that’s one of the things a lot of people kind of skip on the ballot, so kind of just making sure people understand the importance of the school board, the value behind it,” he said.
Yendrzeski also handed out a self-produced zine — a handmade, small batch publication — outlining his campaign priorities, including budget oversight, civic education and communication.
Tom Chapman, a challenger to Patricia Glover for Justice of the Peace, made one of his first public appearances of the campaign season. He told InMaricopa he entered the race because he believes Western Pinal Justice Court could “just do better.”
“It’s not open every day. I just feel with the amount of citizens that we have … it should be more accessible than it is,” he said.
The Western Pinal Justice Court is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tim Nuanes, challenger for Western Pinal Justice Precinct’s constable, said he enjoyed the opportunity to meet constituents and answer questions.
“Since I’ve been doing this, I’ve met some great people [who] I probably would have never met,” he said. “It’s getting me out of my bubble to be out more and to work with the community.”
The event also drew candidates from several higher-profile races, including State Reps. Teresa Martinez and Chris Lopez, State Rep. candidate Julia Gusse, Justice of the Peace Patricia Glover, Constable Bill Griffin, MUSD School Board President Patti Coutre and several city council candidates and incumbents.
![Rep. Teresa Martinez takes a selfie with Rep. Chris Martinez, Maricopa Vice Mayor Vince Manfredi, former Maricopa Mayor Ed Farrell and Mayor Nancy Smith on May 28, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260528-spencer-rotary-club-forum-6.jpg)
![Maricopa City Council candidate Adam Leach speaks with constituents at a Rotary Club candidate meet and greet on May 28, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260528-spencer-rotary-club-forum-1.jpg)
![Gayle Randolf and Henry Wade speak with constituents at a Rotary Club candidate meet and greet on May 28, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260528-spencer-rotary-club-forum-2.jpg)
![Maricopa Unified School District board candidate Nicolas Yendrezski shows off a zine he created during a Rotary Club meet and greet event on May 28, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260528-spencer-rotary-club-forum-3.jpg)
![Constable Bill Griffin, center, stands for a photo with Sheriff Ross Teeple and Supervisor Rich Vitiello during a Rotary Club candidate meet and greet event on May 28, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260528-spencer-rotary-club-forum-4.jpg)
![Maricopa Unified School District Board President and candidate Patti Courtre speaks with constituents on May 28, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260528-spencer-rotary-club-forum-7.jpg)
![Arizona Senate candidate Julia Gusse speaks with constituents during a Rotary Club candidate meet and greet event on May 28, 2026. Gusse previously served as a member of Maricopa City Council. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260528-spencer-rotary-club-forum-8.jpg)
![Blue Copa will host a candidate town hall featuring a range of local, state and federal Democratic candidates on June 11, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260601-blue-copa-candidate-town-hall-300x170.jpg)
4 Responses
😂😂 I’m pretty sure I file documents in the Western Pinal Justice Court and Pinal County Superior Court on more than 2 days. Once again, you are showing that you do not know what you’re talking about, or just flat out lying. Great qualifications to be our next Judge. I’ll pass.
Monica, I do not know much about those running for office. We hear from Manfredi all the time which isn’t surprising since he owns InMaricopa. We hear from Knorr to a lesser amount with her oped’s and quotes in articles. O’Jon recently offered an oped. Other candidates are a mystery.
Can you put together a questionnaire(s), at least for the city counsel candidates, and publish their answers?
I would like to know who is in favor of the $100 million destination type park.
I would like to know who will fight for improvement for through streets to the east side. I would like to know who will fight for an outer loop connecting 347 to the east and west bypassing JWP as the 347 going to three lanes does not really help without addressing the existing bottleneck that can back traffic up to the cement plant on a regular basis.
I would like to know if their goal is to create a destination city or a livable city.
I would like to know how long they have been in politics and what roles.
I would like to know what other posters would like to see answered.
And finally I would like to see how they prioritize whatever items make the list to see what they feel is most important.
The more you can publish the candidates responses to the issues will allow us to make the best choices for ourselves and out community as a whole.
I’m working on it between training a couple interns and taking on new duties. 🙂
Hello. I agree with you. But you can reach out to the candidates through social media or through email. I know all of them are very responsive and will definitely answer any of the questions you have listed above. There will be an upcoming debate later this month, but I can expect it to be a full house so your questions may not get answered or called on.