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Election 2024
Florence readies for mayoral, town council primary
Courtesy Michelle Cordes and Keith Eaton
Running for mayor of Florence, from left to right, are Michelle Cordes and Keith Eaton.
Courtesy of candidtes
Six candidates are running for three seats on the Florence Town Council. Top row from left to right, Sherrie L. Bedford, James “Tony” Bencina and Tracy Flora. Bottom row from left to right, Kyle Larsen, Johnie Mendoza and Arthur Wilkerson.
Florence residents face a crowded ballot for town council, as well as a choice of two candidates for mayor in Tuesday's primary election.
With three seats up for grabs on the council, six people are running in the primary, including three write-in candidates.
Vice Mayor Johnie Mendoza filed as a write-in candidate after he missed the April 1 filing deadline. He is the only incumbent defending his post.
Kyle Larsen, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Tara Walter in 2020, has also filed as a write-in candidate.
The third write-in candidate is Arthur Wilkerson, who serves on the Pinal County Citizens Advisory Board and the Florence Police Volunteers Services.
Sherrie L. Bedford, James “Tony” Bencina and Tracy Flora round out the council ballot.
Bedford was a police officer, director of public safety and security for Girard College in Philadelphia, site manager for U.S. Security Services, and a school police officer for the school district of Philadelphia.
Bencina had a more than 30-year professional career within the United States, Europe and the Middle East, before he and his family decided to retire in Florence.
Florea is a member of the town’s Historic District Advisory Commission and is the assistant director of nursing at the Geo Group.
With Walter opting not to run for reelection, two candidates with strong ties to Florence, Michelle Cordes and Keith Eaton, are contending for the mayor's job.
Cordes, who resigned her position as member of the Florence Town Council in March in order to run for mayor, was elected to the council in 2018 and served as vice mayor for two years.
In 2021, she was selected Citizen of the Year by the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce. Professionally she has spent more than 25 years in real estate, where she has served as a local Realtor and managed her own business.
Eaton has held elected offices as a county supervisor and township trustee, as well as fire district boards, in his native Illinois.
Relocating to Arizona in 1999, he most recently held the position of community development director/fire marshal for the town of Florence until his retirement in 2022.
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