Who is on the Cave Creek Town Council? What to know

Cave Creek is a tiny town of roughly 5,000 residents that sits on the northernmost edge of metro Phoenix and is arguably one of the region's most recognizably Old West-style towns.

It's run by six town council members and is among a handful of tiny Valley towns that sends all of their elected officials to the ballot every two years. Cave Creek's last election was in 2022, so each council position will appear on the ballot again in 2024.

Town Council members have to decide everything from road maintenance to public safety funding for Cave Creek residents. Here's who's in charge of sorting out those big policy issues.

Vice Mayor Kathryn Royer

Royer was first elected to Town Council in 2018. She has spent her career working in the communications field, most recently for a company called Transparent Media and Communications.

Tom Augherton

Augherton has a long history of public service, having first been elected to the Town Council in 1993 before serving one term as mayor from 1997 to 1999. More recently, he lost his bid for Town Council in 2018 but made a comeback by securing the role in 2022.

In his professional life, Augherton serves as the executive director for the Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy.

Ernie Bunch

Bunch served as Cave Creek's mayor from 2016 to 2022, when he became disillusioned with the top role and decided to make a bid for the Town Council instead. He served previous terms on the Town Council, being elected to that position for the first time in 2005.

Outside of his public service, Bunch is the president of a paper product manufacturing company called B. Bunch Co.

Paul Eelkema

Eelkema is serving his first term on the Town Council and previously served three terms on Cave Creek’s Planning Commission, which he joined in 2019. He has spent his career working in education as a principal and elementary school teacher.

Thomas McGuire

McGuire is serving his fifteenth year on the Town Council, having held the office from 2005 to 2009 and from 2012 until now. He is a retired science teacher.

Dusty Rhoades

Bryan "Dusty" Rhoades is serving his first term on the Cave Creek Town Council. He spent 40 years managing personnel and programs for the federal government.

A retired colonel who served in the infantry and intelligence divisions, Rhoades is now a part-owner of a consulting company that supports the Department of Defense.

Arizona Republic reporter Renata Cló contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who is on the Cave Creek Town Council? What to know