Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone will not seek reelection, plans to step down early

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Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone said Monday that he will not seek a third term in the 2024 election and plans to step down in a few months.

He said at a news conference that he'll be leaving office a year early, in January 2024. He called his time serving as sheriff "a privilege."

Penzone, a Democrat, took office in 2017 after defeating former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a Republican.

Penzone said his achievements included rolling back some of Arpaio's practices, including closing the outdoor jail known as "Tent City" and ending the use of pink underwear for incarcerated people.

Reacting to the announcement, Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., said Penzone has served Maricopa County "with distinction and integrity."

"His commitment to public safety and service to our community has been second to none," Stanton said.

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes commended Penzone's commitment to the safety of election workers and voters "in a time of unprecedented threats and harassment."

"Even on the hardest days when there were very serious threats being hurled at me and my staff, I always felt safe knowing Paul and his team were always watching out for us," said Fontes, a Democrat who was previously Maricopa County Recorder, serving alongside Penzone as a county official.

"When a wave of threats of violence, harassment, and intimidation occurred during the 2020 elections, there was no book on how to keep vulnerable election workers and voters safe," Fontes said. "Paul wrote that book, and he has rightfully been recognized across our nation for creating a model on how to protect our critical elections infrastructure while preserving Americans' First Amendment rights to peacefully protest."

Supervisor Bill Gates, a Republican who represents a politically purple part of the county and is not seeking reelection, said Penzone's "strong" and "steady" leadership of the Sheriff's Office was "invaluable especially as we faced a global pandemic along with attacks on law enforcement and election workers."

"He is a man of integrity and a fierce protector of our county," Gates said. "I am honored to call him a friend."

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said she was committed to supporting a successful transition at the Sheriff's Office.

"Sheriff Paul Penzone and I have had a great working relationship with a shared focus on protecting and keeping Maricopa County safe," Mitchell said.

Penzone: 'One cloud still hanging over the office'

At a press conference announcing his departure on Monday, Penzone said there is "one cloud still hanging over this office" that stems from Arpaio's tenure: the Melendres v. Arpaio court case, as it was initially called, and the resulting set of federal court orders that require the department to be watched by a court-appointed monitor.

The lawsuit that led to the external monitor began in 2008. Latino drivers sued the Sheriff's Office, alleging they were racially profiled.

Orders stemming from the lawsuit require the Sheriff's Office to devote significant resources to investigating and responding to internal affairs complaints, like allegations of wrongdoing by deputies.

"When I have more people investigating internal affairs and compliance issues than I do crimes in our community, something's wrong," Penzone said.

Raul Piña, a member of the court-appointed Community Advisory Board tasked with overseeing efforts to rebuild trust with Latino communities in Maricopa County, agreed something is wrong but that the problem is "institutional racism in the Sheriff's Office."

"At some point, you have to quit racking up complaints," Piña said. "The only way is to stop behaving in ways that bring about these complaints."

While Pezone has consistently claimed the conditions that brought about federal oversight — civil rights violations, targeting people of color — are no longer present in his Sheriff's Office, Piña said the underlying attitudes that brought about those problems still exist.

"It's evident in their own numbers," Piña said, pointing to the most recent reporting from the federal monitor that shows people of color are still subjected to longer traffic stops by Maricopa County sheriff's deputies.

"I think it happens in a more subtle fashion," Piña said. "It's not a public display of racism. And it's not used as a political platform. But it still happens in ways that are just as harmful."

Just one traffic stop can lead to life-altering repercussions for an undocumented person, Piña said.

Piña said it's important not to attach the Melendrez case to Arpaio, Penzone, or any other figurehead.

"It's important for the organization as a whole to own the reform process," he said. "There's layers of leadership that support malpractice over time."

The costs associated with court-mandated reforms over the racial profiling lawsuit reached a new milestone in May, totaling a quarter of a billion dollars, paid for by county taxpayers.

Reflecting on Penzone's legacy, Piña said despite the progress Penzone made, "there will always be an asterisk ... because the racial profiling continued, and you can't run away from that."

Piña said while some may remember Penzone as a hero for defeating Arpaio, "that was a victory that came from the work of community organizers."

Immigrant rights activist: Penzone turned out to be 'Arpaio light'

Viri Hernandez, executive director of Poder In Action, an activist group that works to dismantle systems of oppression, said Pezone's first attempt to unseat Arpaio in 2012 was an election that brought her and many into the fight against state violence and police violence.

"But since then, I think what we have seen is that Penzone was like 'Arpaio light,'" she said. "Throughout his time there, from what we've experienced, all of the things we've observed, all of the data we've seen, is that he has continued to fail to keep our community safe."

"He has failed to comply with federal court mandates, failed to hold officers accountable for violence and misconduct, and he has failed to end the separation of migrant families," Hernandez said.

Shortly after taking office, Penzone stopped using "courtesy holds," the practice of detaining in Maricopa County jails people who would otherwise be released but had been flagged for potential immigration violations. Under Arpaio, these people would be held so that federal authorities might pick them up. Penzone ended the practice, saying it might not be legal and brought a threat of litigation against the county.

But U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continued to have a presence in the county's jails under Penzone, angering immigrant rights activists who worked to get him elected. Penzone allowed ICE to continue screening people in county jails for potential immigration violations. ICE officials then could detain people it believed to be deportable as they were released from county custody. That process was legal and a matter of public safety, Penzone said in 2020 as his record was being scrutinized during his reelection bid.

"In 2016, the 'Basta Arpaio' campaign was a direct result of migrant families taking on Arpaio and doing the work," Hernandez said of the effort that sought Arpaio's defeat. "But ICE is still in the jails."

Hernandez said they will be watching the appointment process to fill the remainder of Penzone's term and the election for a new sheriff in 2024.

Supervisors will appoint a Democratic replacement

Pezone said he leaves the office "with joy in my heart."

He declined to elaborate on his next steps but indicated his decision to step down early was related to the timing of his next potential opportunity.

Now, county supervisors will be tasked with picking Penzone's replacement. Penzone is a Democrat, so per state statute, supervisors must select a Democratic appointee even though the board is majority Republican.

Picking a new sheriff: Sheriff Paul Penzone to step down. Maricopa County leaders will pick his successor

It's unclear exactly what the selection process will look like, county officials said. In past appointments, supervisors have asked applicants to provide letters of interest, resumes, letters of recommendation and complete a questionnaire. Then, they brought candidates in for interviews.

Supervisor Steve Gallardo, the lone Democrat on the board, said he is looking for someone who will run for office and be an "effective candidate."

"I'm not looking for a babysitter," he told The Republic.

Arizona Republic reporter Rafael Carranza contributed to this story.

Have a news tip? Reach the reporter at jjenkins@arizonarepublic.com or 812-243-5582. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @JimmyJenkins.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone will step down early