Patrice Horstman, the District 1 Supervisor and current vice chair of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, was appointed as chair effective May 2 during the board's April 22 meeting.
Additionally, District 2 Supervisor Jeronimo Vasquez was appointed as vice chair of the board, with District 3 Supervisor Tammy Ontiveros making the motion to nominate the two for their new roles. No other potential appointees were discussed by the four board members present during the meeting. The two will return to the respective roles they held in early 2022.
Horstman previously served as board chair from February 2022 until August 2023, with Vasquez as the vice chair during the same 18-month period. Vasquez was elevated to chair at the end of Horstman鈥檚 appointment in August 2023, a role he served in until District 4 Supervisor Judy Begay took over in June 2024. Horstman returned to the role of vice chair at the same time, holding the position until the new appointments are effective at the start of May.
Initially elected to the board for the first time in 2020, Horstman was elected to a second four-year term during the November 2024 general election. Vazquez was appointed to the board in February 2021 and was elected to a two-year term in November 2022 and a four-year term this past November.
Begay, who was also first elected to the board in 2020 after serving over 14 years as a public school board member in Tuba City, held the position of vice chair from August 2023 until June 2024 when she began her first tenure as chair of the board.
鈥淚 have been on lots of nonprofit organization boards. I鈥檝e overseen the administration of health, education, infrastructure, housing and now the county,鈥� Begay said. 鈥淚n each one of them, I always had to be running the meetings, and I enjoyed it. I just want to thank the staff for making it easier on us and rushing to things that we really wanted to attack.鈥�
Both Horstman and Vazquez thanked Begay for her tenure as chair of the board, noting some of the projects that were addressed over the past 11 months.
鈥淚 really would like to acknowledge the job that Chair Begay has done for us,鈥� Horstman said following the unanimous vote to approve the appointments. 鈥淪he gave up a lot to be able to do this. She has to travel from a long distance to be here in Flagstaff, our county seat, where a lot of the business is transacted. It meant a lot of travel and a lot of windshield time by her. Under her leadership, we tackled some pretty big issues that have been outstanding for a really long time.鈥�
Highlighting the board鈥檚 work with its budget, district budgets and travel, in addition to creating a mission vision statement, Horstman praised Begay鈥檚 thoughtfulness and time as chair.
鈥淭hank you, Chair Begay, for your service and tackling these efforts,鈥� Vasquez added. 鈥淚 look forward to working with Supervisor Horstman moving forward after May 2."
Horstman and Vazquez will officially hold their new roles during a meeting for the first time on May 6 because the board of supervisors does not have a meeting scheduled for April 29, according to the board鈥檚 planning calendar.