Arizona is poised to have a mine inspector race for the first time in 8 years

Arizona is poised to have a mine inspector race. The office has a Democratic challenger for the first time since 2018.

Incumbent Republican Mine Inspector Les Presmyk was appointed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in September when his predecessor, Paul Marsh, left the office for another job.

Marsh was elected in 2022. Because he is a Republican, Hobbs was required to select a GOP replacement for him.

Presmyk officially took over the office at the beginning of October.

“I hope on the Democratic side, that people will recognize that Gov. Hobbs appointed me as the most qualified Republican to fill the position,” Presmyk said. He added jokingly that it’s not the best thing to tout with his Republican constituents.

“But, I am very proud of the fact that I was one of seven and the governor chose me. So you know it's certainly something my opponent is going to have a difficult time campaigning against that. It's not like it was a Republican governor that picked a Republican candidate, it was a Democratic governor that selected me,” he said.

Challenging Presmyk is Democrat Brian Matlock.

Matlock noted he filed his statement of interest to run for the office three months before Presmyk was appointed and said he expected to be facing off against Marsh.

Matlock has a long history in the mining industry, but this is his first time running for mine inspector. He said he’s a part of the Apache Junction Democrats and a precinct committeeman and wanted to get more involved in politics.

“ I have a strong background in industrial work as well as in working in a safe environment. So this seemed to be a good fit. So that was pretty much my motivation to get started,” he said.

He claimed the office isn’t communicative enough with the communities mines operate in, and it’s causing mistrust. That’s the main thing Matlock said he wants to change.

“When I look for annual reports, I haven't seen anything since ‘22. I haven't seen newsletters. Just basically nothing's coming out. … With the people I have talked to, they don't know what's going on at the mines, and that makes them nervous,” he said.

Arizona hasn’t had a Democratic mine inspector since 1976.

Matlock proposes establishing a new statewide health and safety model for mining operations.

“What I would propose is we would adopt, for the sake of the description, an international type of a standard model for health and safety management. And basically, it's like what it would do is it would be very similar to probably models that the mine operators already have,” Matlock said.

For his part, Presmyk says the office is running well, and he hasn’t received any complaints about communications.

Presmyk says the office is fulfilling its obligation to maintain appropriate standards.

He has also been in the mining arena for a long time. He studied mining engineering more than 50 years ago and served in various engineering and mining project managing roles since then.

“We are there to instruct and help make the shop areas, the working environment for anybody that's on a mine site as safe as possible,” Presmyk said.

One of the main focuses of the mine inspector’s office is securing abandoned mines. Presmyk said his staff has made great progress on that front.

The mine inspector’s staff are working on fencing off and filling in the holes to prevent accidents.

Presmyk said his office is using drones and remote sensing technology called LIDAR to identify mine openings in collaboration with the state department of environmental quality.

As for the politics of the mine inspector race, both Presmyk and Matlock said it’s not really a partisan office like most other elected statewide positions are.

“Safety isn't about whether you're a Democrat or a Republican. It's about making sure that anybody that walks onto a mine site that works there is doing so in as safe an environment as possible,” Presmyk said.

Two other candidates, one Republican and one Democrat, have filed statements of interest to run for mine inspector. But neither of those candidates have raised any money or created campaign websites.

Favorite Minerals

Matlock told KJZZ his favorite mineral is urbanite. It is essentially broken up concrete that can be repurposed.

“It's a nice way to recycle materials that have been lost,” Matlock said, acknowledging that he’s not a “rock hound.”

Presmyk is a self-described mineral enthusiast and previously told KJZZ that his favorite mineral is wulfenite.