NUIFC Story // “Making History in The Southwest” – How Gabriella Cázares-Kelly Became Pima County Recorder
To start the year, Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation was sworn in as the Pima County Recorder, becoming the first Native American ever elected to Arizona’s second-largest county’s office.
“It’s a great honor to be the first Native American elected in Pima County, but it’s also bittersweet in a way,” says Cázares-Kelly. “Our people have been here since time immemorial and we’re just now having representation. For me, there are a lot of people needing to learn about us, our community, and Native people in general.
As County Recorder, Gabriella will be responsible for overseeing Pima County’s election systems, voter registration process, early voting, and responding to and recording public records requests. This non-partisan office is held for four years.
“We’re campaigning and talking about Black Lives Matters, about systematic injustice, about white supremacy, and making people a bit uncomfortable and asking them to think about the ways in which people have been kept out of the system.”
Cázares-Kelly remembers sitting on the bus and learning that the previous recorder would be retiring and wondering who would replace her, especially since she would often work with the County Recorder’s office to help members of her tribal Nation overcome voter registration barriers. It was while contemplating this, Cázares-Kelly had an epiphany – run for the seat herself, win, and guarantee that she and so many others would have a seat at a table they so rightly deserved.
During the election, one of Cázares-Kelly’s biggest goal was to run as her authentic self and be honest with voters about the issues she cared about and how she would fight for them. To start, Cázares-Kelly went to her tribal nation to collect signatures to get on the ballot. It’s normal for aspiring candidates to focus on denser populated areas, with a goal of getting as many signatures as quickly as possible but she wanted to make a statement about the power of her community and knew her message would resonate with around Arizona as she continued to build support.
“We were finding voters on the rez, finding voters in Tucson, finding voters everywhere because we were looking for them,” says Cázares-Kelly. “In the end, we had more signatures than any other candidate when I got put on the ballot.”
This momentum was halted for Cázares-Kelly when she and her campaign needed to pause everything as COVID-19 grounded everything to a halt. Quickly, her team built out a digital campaign, kickstarted by a brilliant viral Tok-Tok (video below).
Her social media stardom was also emblematic of her campaign, unapologetically indigenous and focusing on big, interconnected issues of justice.
“We’re campaigning and talking about Black Lives Matters, about systematic injustice, about white supremacy, and making people a bit uncomfortable and asking them to think about the ways in which people have been kept out of the system,” says Cázares-Kelly. “People were blown away by that and we’re excited to be engaged on that level. They were motivated because they knew that I believed in delivering for them in profound ways.”
This honesty truly resonated with voters, who cast more votes for her than anyone else running for a Countywide position in a contested race. Pima County as a whole saw an increase of 165,000 votes cast from 2016, many of which included voters turning out just to support Gabriella’s campaign.
“We ended up having one of the most exciting campaigns in southern Arizona,” says Cázares-Kelly. “We actually had reverse coattails, with people telling us they didn’t want to vote because they weren’t excited about the top of the ticket but came out to support our campaign. We had voters that the national candidates were not trying to reach.”
Now that she’s assumed the office, after making sure to indigenize the swearing-in ceremony, she now can focus on delivering for her constituents by modernizing the Pima County Recorder office and ensuring more equitable access to the ballot box.
Cázares-Kelly also understands how her own victory is a testament to a burgeoning change in representation and who is having a seat at the table. Why does this make such a difference? How is having someone like Gabriella’s experience so vital to changing Pima County for the better?
“For me, it’s about having someone that understands and doesn’t have to be told that Native Americans are real people, that we are human beings, and that we exist right here and right now.”
Want to learn more about how Cázares-Kelly’s plans to modernize her office’s work? Lessons about building community power? The importance of delivering for the community? Then keep an eye out for the next edition of NUIFC Newsletter, for our conversation with Gabriella Cázares-Kelly about that and so much more!