Fogbow

Top prosecutor in America's fourth-biggest county abruptly resigns, triggering special election

Arizona Republican Allister Adel announced Monday that she was resigning as the top prosecutor of Maricopa County, a move that the Arizona Republic writes came after negative attention "over her sobriety and absences from the office, which prompted investigations by the State Bar of Arizona and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors." Her situation grew worse last week when Attorney General Mark Brnovich asked her to provide more information about 180 misdemeanor cases that were dropped because Adel's office failed to file charges before it was too late.

A special election will take place this November, but Adel's would-be successors as county attorney have only until the April 4 filing deadline to turn in the signatures they need to make the August primary ballot. Democratic contenders need to turn in 4,300 valid petitions, while Republicans, who enjoy a voter registration advantage in America's fourth-largest county, need to submit 4,500. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will also be tasked with picking an interim county prosecutor, who by law must share Adel's party affiliation (the body picked Adel herself this way in 2019), but it remains to be seen whether the board selects a caretaker or someone who might compete in the special.

On the Democratic side, 2020 nominee Julie Gunnigle said Tuesday that she'd already collected the requisite petitions in less than 24 hours. Gunnigle, who is a defense attorney, challenged Adel last cycle and lost by a close 51-49.

Things are considerably more crowded on the GOP side. The first to launch a bid was Anni Foster, who is Gov. Doug Ducey's general counsel, and she was quickly joined by three others: City of Goodyear Prosecutor Gina Godbehere, attorney James Austin Woods, and prosecutor Rachel Mitchell.