Sierra Vista, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey today announced that members of his executive staff will conduct on-site interviews for candidates who have applied for a judicial vacancy on the Superior Court in Cochise County. The candidates are as follows: Paul Randall Bays, Roger Heath Contreras, Timothy Bruce Dickerson and Candyce Beumler Pardee.

The panel will take public comment on the candidates at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, December 17, 2018 at the Sierra Vista Council Chambers, 1011 North Coronado Drive, Sierra Vista, Arizona 85635. The public comment period will be followed by individual interviews of the candidates beginning at 1:00 p.m.

All interviews are open to the public and the media.

The candidates’ applications will be made available online at the Office of the Governor’s website, https://azgovernor.gov/judges. The public may send written comments to the website. Comments must be received no later than January 4, 2019 to be considered. Anonymous comments cannot be considered.

The vacancy on the Cochise County Superior Court was created by the retirement of Judge Karl D. Elledge.

Under the Arizona Constitution, judges of the Superior Court in counties with a population of less than 250,000 persons are elected by the voters. Vacancies created by the retirement or resignation of a judge prior to the general election are filled by gubernatorial appointment.