Maricopa County is a county in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568,or about 62% of the state's total,making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and the most populous county in Arizona,and making Arizona one of the nation's most centralized states. The county seat is Phoenix,the state capital and fifth-most populous city in the United States.
Phil Gordon is an American politician who served as the 58th mayor of Phoenix,Arizona,from 2004 to 2012 and a member of the Phoenix City Council. Gordon is a member of the Democratic Party.
Joseph Michael Arpaio is an American former law enforcement officer and politician. He was the Sheriff of Maricopa County,Arizona for 24 years,from 1993 to 2017,losing reelection to Democrat Paul Penzone in 2016.
Andrew Peyton Thomas is an American politician,author and former attorney. He was the county attorney for Maricopa County in Arizona from 2004 until April 6,2010. During his term in office,he was known for his anti-illegal immigrant policies. On April 10,2012,Thomas was disbarred by a disciplinary panel of the Arizona State Supreme Court for his actions as county attorney.
Thomas Charles O'Halleran is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Arizona's 1st congressional district from 2017 to 2023. Beginning his political career as a Republican,he was the Arizona state senator from the 1st district from 2007 to 2009. In 2015,he became a member of the Democratic Party. He also served as the chair of communications for the Blue Dog Coalition. On June 7,2023,he was appointed as a senior advisor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Joe Biden administration.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) is the law enforcement agency that serves Maricopa County,Arizona,and is the largest sheriff's office in Arizona. The MCSO provides patrol services and criminal investigation to unincorporated areas of the county and operates the county jail system. It also serves as the primary law enforcement agency for any incorporated cities within the county that have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services. The county sheriff is elected by the citizens and serves as the highest law enforcement official in Maricopa County. The current Sheriff of Maricopa County is Russ Skinner,appointed in 2024. As a result of policies and practices under former sheriff Joe Arpaio the MCSO has received significant critical media coverage,federal investigation,and judicial oversight.
Grant Murray Snow is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Snow was previously a state court judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals from 2002 to 2008.
Neil Vincent Wake is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) is a law enforcement agency in Maricopa County,Arizona that was involved in a number of controversies. It is the largest sheriff's office in the state of Arizona and provides general and specialized law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Maricopa County,serving as the primary law enforcement for unincorporated areas of the county as well as incorporated cities within the county which have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services. It also operates the county jail system. Elected in 2016,Paul Penzone is the current sheriff of Maricopa County. Penzone replaced Joe Arpaio after his 24-year tenure as sheriff.
Paul Raymond Babeu is an American law enforcement officer,politician and member of the Republican Party who was sheriff of Pinal County,Arizona,from January 1,2009,to January 1,2017. He was Pinal County's first Republican sheriff.
The 2014 Arizona gubernatorial election was held on November 4,2014,to elect the governor of Arizona,concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Dennis Lee Montgomery is an American software designer and former medical technician who sold computer programs to federal officials that he claimed would decode secret Al-Qaeda messages hidden in Al Jazeera broadcasts and identify terrorists based on Predator drone videos. A 2010 Playboy investigation called Montgomery "The man who conned the Pentagon",saying he won millions in federal contracts for his supposed terrorist-exposing intelligence software. The software was later reported to have been an elaborate hoax and Montgomery's former lawyer called him a "con artist" and "habitual liar engaged in fraud".
In the early hours of August 10,1991,a mass shooting occurred at Thai Buddhist temple Wat Promkunaram in Waddell,Arizona,killing nine people. At the time,this was the deadliest mass shooting at a place of worship in U.S. history,until it was paralleled by the Charleston church shooting in 2015,which also killed nine people,and then superseded by the Sutherland Springs church shooting in Texas in 2017. As of 2024,it is the deadliest mass shooting in Arizona history.
Crime in Phoenix has been declining since the 1990s.
Daniel E. Saban is the former police chief of Buckeye,Arizona,United States of America and three-time candidate for sheriff of Maricopa County,Arizona. Saban ran as a Republican in 2004,as a Democrat in 2008,and again as a Republican in 2016.
On August 25,2017,President Donald Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio for criminal contempt of court,a misdemeanor. Arpaio had been convicted of the crime two months earlier for disobeying a federal judge's order to stop racial profiling in detaining "individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally". The pardon covered Arpaio's conviction and "any other offenses under Chapter 21 of Title 18,United States Code that might arise,or be charged,in connection with Melendres v. Arpaio." The official White House statement announcing the grant of clemency described Arpaio as a "worthy candidate" having served the nation for more than fifty years "protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration."
A special election for Arizona's 8th congressional district was held in 2018 subsequent to the resignation of Republican U.S. Representative Trent Franks. Governor Doug Ducey called a special primary election for Tuesday,February 27,2018,and a special general election for the balance of Franks' eighth term for Tuesday,April 24,2018.
Adrian Fontes is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party,he has served as the Secretary of State of Arizona since 2023,after defeating Republican nominee Mark Finchem in 2022. Fontes previously served as the Maricopa County Recorder from 2017 to 2021.
The 2022 Maricopa County Attorney special election took place on November 8,2022,to elect the County Attorney for Maricopa County,Arizona. The election was held concurrently with other federal and state elections,as well as a special election for District 2 on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The special election was called due to the resignation of Allister Adel in March 2022.
The 2024 Maricopa County elections will be held on November 5,2024,in Maricopa County,Arizona,with partisan primary elections for county offices being held on July 30,2024. All five seats of the Board of Supervisors are up for election,as well as all county-wide elected officials.
