Lori Dyckman has been ramping up for local elections
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Important election dates
Residents are encouraged to visit www.BeBallotReady.Vote to verify registration information. Residents are also encouraged to find a drop box location for their convenience. There are many locations in Peoria and throughout the county that can be found at Locations.Maricopa.Vote.
Nov. 28, 2022: Peoria City Council will canvas the results of the election at a special city council meeting.
Jan. 3, 2023: Certificates of election will be provided to the successful candidates when they take office.
Local and state elections
Maricopa County administers city, town, school district, special district, state and federal elections.
Arizona’s General Election occurs every two years, always in an even year. This election includes federal, state, county and local offices that are up for election. The general election is the final election held between nominees of various parties, as well as non-partisan races, ballot propositions and initiatives. The Maricopa County Elections Department is responsible for oversite and implementation of the November 8, 2022 General Election in Peoria and will provide general guidance of its local elections process. Its duties and responsibilities are regulated through Arizona state, county, and local government statutes, ordinances, charters and regulations.
City of Peoria 2022
The City of Peoria holds regularly scheduled elections in the fall of even numbered years. The Mayor is elected at-large and Councilmembers are elected within their respective district.
Offices of Mayor and Councilmember in the Acacia, Mesquite, Palo Verde, and Pine Districts will appear on the November 8, 2022, General Election ballot. The candidate for office who receives the majority of all the votes cast in the General Election, shall be declared elected to that office.
Information about City of Peoria’s elections and candidate details are available at www.peoriaaz.gov/election.
When it comes to elections in Peoria, Lori Dyckman is your woman.
As the Peoria City Clerk, her duties include documenting and facilitating city council meetings, preparing and distributing agendas, taking minutes, and publicizing all information which is required to be publicized by the law, as well as documenting and publishing ordinances and resolutions.
With November now drawing near, a big priority will be overseeing election activities in Peoria.
This will include the canvass of city election races, when the city clerk compiles the result of the count of votes for city races, and provides the result to the City Council for consideration.
The Council will have final consideration of the election canvass at a special council meeting, Nov. 28. An approval makes the results official.
Certificates of election will be provided to the successful candidates when they take office on Jan. 3, 2023.
Dyckman became the acting city clerk in January, and was appointed to the position in May.
During her fifteen-year tenure with Peoria’s Information Technology Department, she worked closely with the City Clerk’s Office. She supported the clerk’s electronic document and agenda management applications, which provided her with unique insight into the technical, inner-workings of a city clerk’s office.
Dyckman began working in the City Clerk’s Office in early 2019 and administered the elections while in the City Clerk’s Office.
She is currently administering the 2022 Peoria General Election and Mesquite Special Election.
She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Management, is a Certified Master Municipal Clerk, and an active member of the Arizona Municipal Clerk’s Association.
What do you like about being a city clerk?
Working in the city clerk’s office is a rewarding experience. The office is involved in nearly every aspect of local government, serving internal and external customers with transparency and access to local government operations. I enjoy the variety of work, and even the challenges, that come through serving our community from this office.
What do you like about being involved in the election process?
The elections are an opportunity for the city of Peoria to help ensure citizens are informed and that they have the opportunity to voice their opinion. As an early ballot drop-off site, I enjoy seeing the enthusiasm and participation from our citizens during the early ballot-collecting period.
What is something about elections that most people probably don’t know that you think people should know?
The city of Peoria is served by a city charter. The city charter acts as the “constitution” of the city and the framework for local laws that are adopted by the city council, and then codified into our municipal code. The city charter provides guidance for elections in Peoria, and can only be amended by a majority vote of the qualified residents of the city of Peoria.
From your perspective, how have elections changed over the years?
One of the changes to Peoria’s election process in recent years was the 2020 city charter amendment, adopted by Peoria voters, that allows the city to dispense with the primary election when there are only two or less candidates. As we only have two or less candidates for the mayoral election and the Acacia, Mesquite, Palo Verde, and Pine district elections, no primary election was conducted this year and residents will vote at the Nov. 8 general election for these offices.
What do the future of elections look like to you?
Communities are more connected than ever and we continue to see and hear increased dialogue related to elections at all levels. While I can’t predict what the future of elections will look like, I anticipate citizen engagement in the election process will continue to rise.
As related to Peoria’s local elections, the Peoria City Clerk’s Office is responsible for the following functions:
• Coordinates election activities with Maricopa County and election vendors
• Validates election petitions for Peoria elections
• Enforce the campaign finance reporting requirements
• Accept and research election complaints
• Prepares and distributes publicity pamphlets and other election related materials
• Acts as an early voting drop off site for completed early ballots
• Prepares Canvass of Election upon approval by the County Board of Supervisors
The city clerk also serves as the filing officer for the following city of Peoria elections:
• Candidate
• Recall
• Initiative
• Referendum
• Bond
• Franchise
• Public Safety Personnel Retirement System Local Boards
• Tax
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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