On the ballot this year, Pima County voters elected many officials, judges and law enforcement officers, all of whom are integral parts of local government.
Constable
Arizona constables are officers of the county justice courts and work within their own justice precincts. Their duties include serving subpoenas, civil summons and criminal summons, providing security to justice courts, serving orders of protection and orders against harassment.
There are ten justice precincts and ten constable positions in Pima County. Those up for election this year were the constables of justice precincts 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. All those running for the position of constable this year ran unopposed.
- Justice Precinct 1: Republican John Dorer will be replacing democrat John Rademaker.
- Justice Precinct 2: Democrat Oscar Vasquez will be serving another four years.
- Justice Precinct 6: Associate Presiding Constable, Democrat Bennett L. Bernal, will be serving four years.
- Justice Precinct 7: Republican Thomas Schenek Jr. will be serving another four years.
- Justice Precinct 8: Democrat Kristen Randall will be serving another four years.
- Justice Precinct 9: Democrat George Camacho will be replacing Joe Ferguson, who was appointed as the constable in January of this year.
- Justice Precinct 10: Republican Michael Stevenson will be serving another four years.
Corporation Commissioner
Residents of Pima County also voted for three corporation commissioners this week. Corporation commissioners oversee non-municipal utility services, ensure the safety and quality of railroads and pipelines, securities and the filing of all articles of incorporation for businesses in the state.
There were six candidates running for the three open commissioner seats: Democrat William Mundell, Democrat Shea Stanfield, Democrat Anna Tovar, Republican James O’Connor, Republican Eric Sloan and incumbent Republican Lea Márquez Peterson.
With 99% of precincts reporting statewide, voters elected Tovar, Márquez Peterson and O’Connor to serve on the commission for the next four years, starting this January.
County Assessor
Also on the ballot was the role of County Assessor. In Arizona, County Assessors are responsible for identifying all taxable property and gathering information about said property in order to identify taxes owed and process appeals and exemptions related to the property.
Candidates who ran for the position of Pima County Assessor included Democrat Suzanne Droubie and Republican Jo Ann Sabbagh.
Residents elected Droubie as the new assessor with a 59% majority as of Nov. 4.
County Attorney
Next on the ballot was the role of county attorney, responsible for the prosecution of felonies in Pima County and for providing legal council for county departments and the County Board of Supervisors.
Democrat Laura Conover, who won the Arizona democratic primary in August of this year, ran unopposed and will be taking office this year.
Pima County Recorder
Pima County residents also voted for the position of County Recorder. According to the Pima County Recorder website, county recorders have two main responsibilities: maintaining public records and documents and helping facilitate Pima County voting and maintaining the voter roll.
The Pima County recorder was F. Ann Rodriguez, who will not be reprising her role as recorder.
The two candidates who ran to fill the position of county recorder were Democrat Gabriella Cázares-Kelly and Republican Benny White.
Pima County residents elected Cázares-Kelly with a 59% majority as of Nov. 4.
County Superintendents of Schools
County Superintendents of Schools have many responsibilities, including working with the recorder to facilitate school district elections, budget and distribute money to individual schools in the county and oversee the education of students who are not in schools, such as homeschooled students and those in juvenile detention.
This year, incumbent Democrat Dustin Williams ran unopposed in the election.
County Treasurer
Pima county residents also elected their county treasurer. The county treasurer’s job concerns property taxes. The county treasurer collects, manages and distributes property taxes and manages public funds.
This year, the candidates for Pima County treasurer are Democrat Brian Bickel and incumbent Republican Beth Ford, who took office in 2001 and has served five, four-year terms in the years since.
Pima voters reelected Ford* to be their county treasurer yesterday, serving the county until 2024.
Judges and Justices
In this election, there were three categories of candidates up for retention: the judges of the district two court of appeals, the judges of superior court and the justices of the Arizona Supreme Court.
In a retention election, voters decide whether an incumbent judge should serve another term. Unlike other elected positions, incumbent judges who run unopposed are not guaranteed another term.
Arizona Supreme Court
There were three incumbent judges on the Arizona supreme court up for retention: Robert Brutinel, Andrew W. Gould and John Lopez IV.
Arizona voters elected to retain all three with 75%, 67% and 72% respectively as of Nov. 4.
Judges of District Two Court of Appeals
In addition to the Arizona supreme court, Pima County voters also elected whether or not to retain judges from the district two court of appeals.
The court of appeals hears and decides all cases appealed from the superior court. There are six judges in Division Two of the Arizona Court of Appeals, but only one of the judges was up for retention. His name is Sean Brearcliffe, and this week, Arizonans voted to keep him on the court of appeals with 68% of the vote.
Judges of the Superior Court
The final retention election on the ballot this election cycle was for the judges of the superior court. According to the Arizona Judicial Branch Website, the Arizona superior court is the general jurisdiction court of the state and is responsible for a variety of cases and proceedings. Some of these include felony and misdemeanor cases, matters of probate and the annulment of marriages.
There were sixteen judges up for retention in the Arizona Superior Court, and all were reelected.
- Division 1: Brenden J. Griffin
- Division 3: Kenneth Lee
- Division 5: Kyle A. Bryson
- Division 8: Richard E. Gordon
- Division 9: Michael J. Butler
- Division 11: Wayne E. Yehling
- Division 12: Deborah Bernini
- Division 14: Renee T. Bennett
- Division 16: Douglas D. Metcalf
- Division 18: Casey F. McGinley
- Division 23: Greg Sakall
- Division 24: Joan L. Wagener
- Division 25: John Charles Hinderaker
- Division 26: Kellie L. Johnson
- Division 28: Paul E. Tang
- Division 29: Scott D. McDonald
Justice of the Peace
This election cycle, there were five precincts where seats for Justice of the Peace needed to be filled. Candidates running in all five precincts were unopposed and will take office this year.
- Justice Precinct 2: Democrat Erica Cornejo
- Justice Precinct 4: Democrat Charlene Pesquiera
- Justice Precinct 6: Democrat Alexander Ball
- Justice Precinct 9: Democrat Kendrick A. Wilson
- Justice Precinct 10: Republican Vince Roberts
In Arizona, the Justice of the Peace resides over their county’s justice courts and serve four-year terms. According to the Arizona Judicial Branch’s website, justice courts are responsible for a variety of cases, including landlord and tenant issues, small claims cases, criminal traffic offenses and some misdemeanors.
Sheriff
Finally, Pima county voters also elected a new sheriff. The sheriff is the leader of the law enforcement branch that enforces the law in unincorporated territories within Arizona counties, which includes the operation of the county jail, serving warrants and collecting delinquent taxes.
This election, the two candidates were incumbent Republican Mark Napier and Democrat Chris Nanos.
Pima County voters selected Nanos to be their sheriff for the next four years, a close call with 51% of the vote.
*Editor’s Note: Brian Bickel was incorrectly stated as winner of county treasurer in a previous version of this article. It has now been updated to reflect the winner, Beth Ford.
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