Russ Skinner says he’ll run for Maricopa County sheriff as Democrat

Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner, appointed three weeks ago to lead one of the largest sheriff's offices in the nation, said Tuesday that he's running for a full four-year term in November — as a Democrat.

“I reflected back on it and thought if I don’t do it, I’m going to regret it,” Skinner said during a press conference. “So I guess I can officially say, 'Yes, I am (running for sheriff).' But it all depends on signatures, what the community wants and what the public wants. So, I’m committed to at least keeping up this side of the bargain. If there’s enough support out there, I’ll continue.”

Skinner was a chief deputy for six years under Sheriff Paul Penzone and has been running the office since the former sheriff’s departure in January. He was appointed by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in a 4-1 vote on Feb. 8 to finish Penzone's term and lead the embattled agency, which has been under court-ordered monitoring for racial profiling since 2013.

State law required the board to appoint someone in the same political party as Penzone, a Democrat. Skinner — a Republican since 1987 — switched parties in October the day after Penzone announced he was resigning, according to the Arizona Republic.

But Skinner is now sticking with the Democratic Party, though he said party affiliation doesn't matter for the county's top cop.

“This is not a political job, at least in my eyes,” Skinner said. “The voters elected a Democrat. The voters want a Democrat to finish out his term. That’s what I’m doing, and I will continue down that path.”

Skinner told Phoenix New Times that he didn't choose to run as a Democrat from a campaign strategy standpoint.

“I don’t understand the strategy. I don’t even know how to run a campaign, to be honest with you,” he said. “I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do, or at least I feel it’s the right thing to do.”

Skinner is one of three Democrats and four Republicans running for the office. Skinner will face Jeffrey Kirkham and Tyler Kamp in the Democratic primary. Republican candidates include Frank Crawford, Jerry Sheridan, Joel Ellis and Joe Melone. The primary election is July 30 with the general election on Nov. 5.

The sheriff’s office has an annual budget of $526 million and approximately 3,500 employees. By both metrics, it is one of the largest sheriff's departments in the country.

Sheriff’s office faces election security, ongoing court case

Skinner also noted at the press conference that the sheriff’s office is focused on ensuring elections this year in Maricopa County run smoothly and safely.

He said his office has been meeting with county supervisors and elections officials to prepare and “make sure there is a safe and secure environment for everybody.”

“We take all these threats seriously,” Skinner said. “We continue to monitor that intelligence as well as work with our electeds out there and make sure that if there is anything that they become aware of where they’re threatened, that gets immediately over to law enforcement for us to start action on and start to investigate.”

Another major challenge for Skinner will be meeting the court-ordered requirements of a decades-old legal case.

The class-action lawsuit, Melendres v. Arpaio, challenged the racial profiling practices of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, recently named one of Arizona’s 12 worst politicians by Phoenix New Times. Penzone inherited the lawsuit when he became sheriff.

In November 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow held Penzone in contempt in the case. According to Snow, the massive backlog of misconduct investigations had swelled during Penzone’s tenure, and it took the agency an average of 611 days to look into a complaint — far beyond the 85-day limit imposed under Snow's court order.

In October, Guadalupe residents said the sheriff’s office continues to racially profile drivers. The town contracts with the sheriff's office to provide law enforcement.

Skinner is optimistic that the agency can make “progressive” changes to the agency and meet the demands of the court, including addressing the higher rates of traffic stops that Black and brown drivers face by sheriff's deputies.

“There are some areas within the order where I hope we can move forward,” he said. “Are there things in the order we still need to work through? Every time we have a sight visit, the monitors come, and we discuss the process, we discuss progress.”