The seal of Cochise County.
Cochise County’s Board of Supervisors will vote on a new elections director Tuesday. The appointment was made by the Cochise County Recorder, who is in charge of the elections department in the interim.
Cochise County Recorder David Stevens appointed Bob Bartelsmeyer to fill the elections director position.
Stevens says that out of the three applicants, Bartelsmeyer was the only one with prior experience.
“Well, I had three people apply, and he’s the only one who had any experience at all,” Stevens told AZPM on Monday. “He spent 20 years as an elected official. So, he understands the politics of being elected. And his wife is a former legislator in the State of Missouri. So all those things kinda rolled together that make it a very good fit.”
Bartelsmeyer was the elections director for La Paz County in Arizona and was hired in April of last year. His annual salary was $63,773.40 according to the April 4, 2022 meeting minutes from the La Paz County Board of Supervisors.
Prior to that, he was the elections director for Doña Ana County in New Mexico. He was also the Lawrence County Clerk in Missouri for more than 20 years, according to the Parker Pioneer Newspaper.
Stevens added that Bartelsmeyer also used Election Systems & Software (ES&S) during his past positions.
“He’s come down and taken a tour of the place, saying ‘we use ES&S,’ they use ES&S,” said Stevens. “So, it’s all the same thing, so he’s very familiar. I felt very fortunate I found someone as qualified as Bob (Bartelsmeyer) to come in. Usually it’s — other counties have had a long, drawn-out process, and end up getting people from out of state.”
Stevens said that unless an election is called in November for special districts, Bartelsmeyer’s first election will be the presidential preference election in March of next year.
Stevens also confirmed that as the interim elections director, he will run the county’s May 16 special election on the jail district.
“He’s (Bartelsmeyer) not going to be able to start until May 30th,” Stevens said. “He had some other obligations throughout the month of May. So, it will still be me.”
The Albuquerque Journal [https://www.abqjournal.com/15265/dona-ana-county-election-supervisor-named-to-national-board.html] reported in 2009 that Bartelsmeyer was selected to serve on the Standards Board of the United States Election Assistance Commission by then New Mexico Secretary of State Mary Herrera.
Bartelsmeyer’s wife, Linda Bartelsmeyer, is a former Republican Representative who served eight years in the Missouri House of Representatives.
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