The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors unanimously elected north Valley representative and former lawmaker Katie Brophy McGee as chair on Monday.
She replaces former Chair Thomas Galvin, and she appointed former Congresswoman Debbie Lesko as vice chair of the board.
“I wanted to thank Supervisor Galvin for an impactful chairmanship in 2025. Some people have vision but can’t build the consensus to get things done. Others are good team players but not leaders. You are the best of both worlds, and we’re better for it here in Maricopa County,” Brophy McGee said in a public address.
She outlined some of her priorities for the coming year as housing security, strong infrastructure, ending federal oversight of the county Sheriff’s Office and, of course, election security.
Election administration
Maricopa County was the subject of a legislative audit in 2020 after President Donald Trump lost Arizona.
The audit found no proof of fraud and, in fact, uncovered that Joe Biden’s margin of victory over Trump was actually 360 votes higher than the official count. Still, since the audit was conducted, questions about fraud in elections have spiked.
Brophy McGee said firmly that elections are safe and will remain a priority.
“Our elections department is nonpartisan. The people doing the work are your friends and your neighbors and they vote too. They care for your ballot as if it was their own,” Brophy McGee said.
Brophy McGee also called for peace between the board and Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap.
Heap is in the middle of suing the board over control of county elections. Responsibility for election administration in Maricopa County is divided between the elections director and the recorder, and some of those responsibilities shifted just before Heap took office.
Brophy McGee has accused Heap of not doing his job and spreading a false narrative about the state of county elections.
On Monday, McGee noted that in Heap’s first election, the number of rejected ballots based on signature verification increased significantly. She is seeking a report on the affected voters to ensure that if they’re eligible, they’ll get their votes counted next time.
“I’m asking you to be a true partner with us,” she told Heap.
Last year, the board ordered a review of county elections.
Brophy McGee said she’ll share the results of that review publicly soon and work quickly to make any necessary changes.
Federal oversight of Sheriff’s Office
Brophy McGee wants to continue the board’s mission of ending federal oversight of the county Sheriff’s Office.
In 2013, a judge ruled that the office had racially profiled Latinos under former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. But complying with the court’s order and paying for a federal monitor has been expensive for the county.
Brophy McGee argued the problem has been solved.
“After 14 years and three new sheriffs the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has achieved 100% compliance with required policy changes and there have been zero new allegations of targeted immigration enforcement,” Brophy McGee said.
Housing
Brophy McGee said 2025 was the third year in a row that the county has processed more than 80,000 eviction filings.
She wants to bring that number down.
To that end, Brophy McGee announced a pilot program the county will participate in with Phoenix to find effective solutions.
In terms of homelessness, she said we need more beds and a less convoluted process for people to navigate to find care.
Infrastructure
Brophy McGee highlighted the county’s need for robust infrastructure, which is necessary to keep up with rapid growth. But she added a word of caution about the sustainability of that growth and whether it’s in the public interest - especially in unincorporated communities.
“Development is good but we can’t have rapid unrestricted growth, and growth is occurring in every single one of our supervisor districts. … These projects must have the infrastructure needed to sustain them,” she said.
As part of her plan, Brophy McGee said the county will make a public development dashboard, so that residents can see the status of infrastructure projects in real time.
As the first female board chair since 2001, Brophy McGee invited several influential female Arizonans to her “passing of the gavel” ceremony. The guests included former board chair and former Gov. Jan Brewer and former longtime County Recorder Helen Purcell.
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