The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has agreed to return control of its civil litigation unit to the County Attorney's Office, now that they've got a county attorney they like.
The Arizona Republic reports this morning that new County Attorney Bill Montgomery and the Supes "will announce today" that they're giving up their role in handling civil cases. The board had taken that power away from Montgomery's predecessor, Andrew Thomas, who now appears may get his butt disbarred.
Montgomery appears to be far more level-headed than Thomas, a political
demagogue with a self-destructive bent. Still, it'll be interesting to
see how Montgomery handles the kind of ethical questions that tripped
Thomas up. Not to mention how he'll use his ability to choose private
attorneys for contract work, a potential way to build influence or even
future income.