Maricopa County is gearing up to welcome a new sheriff appointed by the Board of Supervisors, following the early resignation of Paul Penzone, as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix. Penzone, serving since 2016 after defeating long-timer Joe Arpaio, announced his departure last month and had already decided not to seek re-election back in October.
The three candidates in the running are Russ Skinner, the current interim sheriff and Penzone’s chief deputy Jeffrey Kirham, commander at the Apache Junction Police Department, and Patrick Valenzuela, a police sector lieutenant from the Glendale Police Department, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. The supervisors are tasked with choosing Penzone’s successor from these contenders, each bringing their own law enforcement background and leadership experience to the table, they will serve until the forthcoming November election, at which point the seat will be contested once more.
Of note, Arizona law dictates that the new sheriff must be a Democrat like Penzone was, a detail that informed the selection process, with two of the hopefuls, Skinner and Kirkham, having recently switched their party affiliation from Republican to Democrat reported by AZ Central. Skinner, a Maricopa County resident for over 50 years, has been with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office for more than three decades and Kirham touts 38 years in the field with a stint as a compliance specialist on officer misconduct.
Valenzuela, the third candidate, has preserved his Democratic affiliation throughout and brings 27 years of law enforcement expertise to the table with varied roles such as SWAT team member and a school resource officer, as described by AZ Central. The appointment, which is a matter of high public interest, is scheduled to be announced by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors today, setting the stage for who will uphold the rule of law in the state’s most populous county through to the election at the year's end; an interim appointment that carries with it the weight of public trust and the expectation of seamlessly bridging the enforcement gap Penzone leaves behind.
