Maricopa County shakeup: Leadership change is coming to Arizona's largest county

This year's election cycle has generated a massive political shakeup at Maricopa County, weeks before November's general election. Several of the county's top positions will be occupied by new faces regardless of who wins in November.

Supervisor Jack Sellers lost his primary race to Republican challenger Mark Stewart. Supervisors Bill Gates and Clint Hickman had previously announced they would step down at the end of their terms because of harassment they received for defending the integrity of the 2020 election. Gates will lead a laboratory at ASU focused on election administration.

After the general election, at least three of the five seats on the county's governing board will be held by new people. The two remaining supervisors — Thomas Galvin, a Republican, and Steve Gallardo, the lone Democrat on the current board — are also up for reelection this year.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office will also have a new leader in 2025. Sheriff Russ Skinner, who took over for Paul Penzone in January, lost his Democratic primary to Tyler Kamp. Kamp will face off against Republican Jerry Sheridan, who served as chief deputy for Joe Arpaio.

The office that administrates elections in Maricopa County also will have a new chief. Recorder Stephen Richer came under fire for defending the integrity of the 2020 and 2022 elections and lost his primary on July 30 to Justin Heap, who questioned the process.

Here are other major stories we're tracking this week:

• The Arizona Secretary of State verified enough signatures for a ballot measure that seeks to codify abortion access into the state Constitution to appear on the November ballot. It will appear as Proposition 139.
• Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey offered his endorsement for Republican candidates on the ballot, including Senate candidate Kari Lake and former President Donald Trump.
• Arizona's top Democrats will be traveling to Chicago next week for the Democratic National Convention. They include Gov. Katie Hobbs, Attorney General Kris Mayes and Sen. Mark Kelly, who was on Vice President Kamala Harris' short list for vice president .

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maricopa County shakeup: Leadership change is coming to Arizona's largest county