At Wednesday’s meeting of the Maricopa Board of Supervisors, members of three advocacy groups delivered a letter to the board about who they think should be the next interim county attorney.
Representatives from the ACLU of Arizona, Puente and Lucha delivered a letter signed by a dozen advocacy groups and lawmakers. Analise Ortiz is with the ACLU of Arizona. During the public comment period, Ortiz said the letter was a demand that the board appoint a county attorney who will pledge to not run for election in 2020.
"We think voters should fairly decide who the next county attorney will be and that status as an incumbent will give the interim county attorney an unfair advantage in a contentious race when the voters of Maricopa County will have not had a say in their appointment," Ortiz said.
Last Wednesday, the board appointed a seven-person citizen committee to screen applicants for the county attorney position, which was vacated after Bill Montgomery was appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court.
Ortiz expressed concerns about the seven-person citizen committee the board put together to screen applicants for the county attorney position.
"We commend you for putting together a citizens committee but we are disappointed that that committee does not fully and fairly represent people that are most impacted by the legal system," she noted.
Ortiz had asked the board to make sure the committee included a formerly incarcerated person and a family member of someone who is currently incarcerated.
