We’ve been waiting for weeks to see how Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos would respond to questions posed by the Pima County Board of Supervisors — especially with the threat of removing him from office dangling over his head.
Nanos let his attorney, James Cool, do all the talking, submitting a 23-page letter to the supervisors on Tuesday afternoon. Despite his namesake, Cool comes out swinging on page one — setting a defiant tone with the county’s top elected officials by challenging the law used to force Nanos to answer their questions.
“At the outset, allow me to note that A.R.S. § 11-253 does not authorize an unlimited inquisition. Rather, Sheriff Nanos is only obliged to report on those matters ‘connected with the duties of his office,’” Cool wrote.
The supervisors are relying on the territorial-era law — which hasn’t been used in modern times — to force the two-term elected Democrat to answer questions.
The board asked Nanos two weeks ago to answer questions related to his work history in El Paso before being hired by Pima County more than 40 years ago, his management of the department, including personnel and financial issues, and his deputies’ interactions with federal immigration officials.
Records released by the El Paso Police Department state Nanos resigned in 1982 rather than being fired.
Cool rejected the premise of several questions, including what Nanos told Pima County officials when he was initially hired in 1984 and when he subsequently applied for a promotion to deputy several months later.
“The Sheriff’s employment history is irrelevant to the performance of his duties as an elected official subject to oversight by the Board of Supervisors,” Cool wrote. “Whatever the Sheriff did or did not do before being elected is necessarily unrelated to his performance of the duties of his office.”
Cool said Nanos was “truthful and forthcoming” in his interviews with Pima County, was subject to a background check and was open about several disciplinary actions during his years as a patrol officer with the El Paso Police Department. But decades later, some details are fuzzy.
“That discipline, and the actions that gave rise to it, happened more than four decades ago. The Sheriff has little specific recollection of those events,” Cool wrote.
His attorney took issue with news reports about Nanos reportedly lying about his employment history, noting much of the criticism is tied to his sworn testimony during a deposition for a civil lawsuit back in 2024 filed by Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Cross. Cool said Nanos misunderstood the question about whether he had ever been suspended, answering “No” as he thought the question was solely tied to his time with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
The 2024 election
Cool then addressed questions from the board related to the 2024 election, when Nanos suspended his Republican opponent, Lt. Heather Lappin, as well as Cross — who was supporting her — several weeks before the November general election.
Both are actively suing Nanos for his actions, and Cool framed his response carefully, arguing that any in-depth discussion could “create potential liability for the County in these cases where none currently exists.”
He argued that Lappin and Cross were suspected of violating department and county policy and were disciplined accordingly under county rules, and that his decision was independently reviewed by multiple agencies.
In terms of Cross, Cool told the supervisors that the deputy admitted to violating the Hatch Act — which bans employees from using government resources for political purposes — and eventually asked Nanos for leniency.
“The implication that the discipline given to Sgt. Cross was somehow ‘retaliatory’ or ‘uneven’ is absurd and unfair. Sgt. Cross was disciplined as a result of a sustained finding that he violated the Hatch Act,” Cool wrote.
Cross told us he read the statement from Nanos’ attorney Tuesday afternoon.
“I have read it several times and yet to find a true statement in it. I am looking forward to total vindication in court,” Cross said.
Lt. Heather Lappin during her 2024 campaign.
As for Lappin, Cool stated she was placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
“Although she was ordered not to discuss the ongoing investigation consistent with department policy, she was free to engage in all other protected speech activity, including continuing to campaign against Sheriff Nanos,” Cool wrote.
He argued that since Lappin has not been able to convince a judge of any wrongdoing, her claims lack merit.
“To be clear, the allegations made by former Lt. Lappin have been extensively litigated in both federal court and the court of public opinion,” Cool wrote. “Despite all this unrelenting scrutiny, there has never been a sustained finding critical of the department’s discipline of former Lt. Lappin. That is no accident.”
Working with ICE
Nanos’ attorney also pushed back on allegations that PCSD is collaborating with immigration officials, despite an active ACLU lawsuit seeking additional public records about interactions with ICE and other federal agencies during his tenure as sheriff.
Nanos has publicly stated he doesn’t want his deputies to enforce federal immigration laws, but the lawsuit includes several instances where deputies coordinated with ICE. This includes an alleged incident where deputies took several men to a local Taco Bell and bought them food to stall for time until federal agents could arrive to take them into custody.
Cool doesn’t address the Taco Bell incident in the memo, but said PCSD is working closely with the ACLU to locate and provide the public records sought in the lawsuit.
Additionally, he said Nanos has put in place a long list of formal policies limiting his deputies’ interactions with immigration agents.
This includes not signing a 287(g) agreement with the federal government.
“PCSD is the only agency in Arizona that has declined to mandate its deputies are 287(g) certified, which refers to the program that allows local law enforcement agencies to enforce certain aspects of federal immigration law,” Cool wrote.
While PCSD doesn’t have a 287(g) agreement, it is unlikely the Pima County Board of Supervisors would have supported it with or without Nanos’ support. Supervisors voted in 2018 and again in 2020 (before Nanos took office) to reject federal funding to enforce immigration laws as part of Operation Stonegarden. Those grants had previously funded sheriff’s deputy overtime for border security.
The feds are not investigating Nanos, but the county did ask last month if they were.
What’s next
During Tuesday’s meeting, the supervisors didn’t publicly respond to Nanos’ answers, with Supervisor Jennifer Allen merely stating the item on the agenda was for information only.
A second item that would have publicly released a 65-page report on Nanos’ actions related to suspending Lappin, performed by an outside firm, was tabled for the next meeting.
A leaked portion of the Tucson-based NorthStar Employment & Legal Solutions report, which was commissioned by the county, found Nanos violated county ethics rules when he suspended Lappin — and likely Cross as well.
It is unclear what action the board will take against Nanos, but if they try to remove him, expect a fight.
Cheap or affordable: A bill that squeaked through the Arizona Senate and is now being considered in the House would block many municipal design standards in the name of affordable housing, Bob Christie reports for Capitol Media Services. Critics of SB1431 say city officials understand local housing needs better than state lawmakers. They also worry that lowering standards could lead to junky houses or that corporate builders would simply pocket the cash they save by lowering the quality of homes. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Shawnna Bolick, says housing prices are way too high and some new homebuyers don’t need all the amenities that are currently required, such as garages, paved driveways or backyard patios. Similar bills that went under the moniker “Arizona Starter Homes Act” failed in the Legislature each of the past two years.
Jurisdictional jockeying: Residents of Tucson’s west side are dealing with a two-pronged problem: people are shooting guns on state land near their houses and nobody knows what to do about it, Vanessa Gongora reports for KGUN. Arizona State Land Department officials say they closed the land to the public in 2019. Now, state officials are directing residents to talk to county officials, who in turn are telling residents to talk to state officials. Pima County Supervisor Andrés Cano says he’s working on a fix, but it’s going to require all agencies getting on the same page.
Water worries: The uncertainty surrounding the Colorado River’s future is a big concern for a fourth-generation farmer in Marana who depends on water from Central Arizona Project canals, Katya Mendoza reports for Arizona Public Media. Brian Wong’s family has grown cotton since the 1940s, and over the years, they’ve been conscientious about their water use to the point that they’ve traded their groundwater rights for CAP water pulled from the Colorado River.
“Until we kind of get more firm or hard numbers, we can’t determine how much irrigation water we are going to have going into the future,” Wong said. “Personally I really don’t want to return back to groundwater if we don’t have to.”
Lots of money to throw around: As executives at Axon, the Taser manufacturer that got a sweet deal from the Arizona Legislature to pave the way for a new headquarters in Scottsdale, doled out campaign contributions last year, Tucson Democratic Rep. Alma Hernandez was one of the biggest recipients, KJZZ’s Wayne Schutsky reports. Hernandez got a $5,500 campaign contribution from Axon founder Rick Smith, which was a touch higher than the $5,000 that Axon’s political action committee gave to the bill’s sponsor, GOP Rep. Tony Rivero.
Instead of spending your money on politicians, put it to better use by supporting local journalism.
From Patagonia to Picasso: High school students in Santa Cruz County are learning how to make a living from Richard McPherson at the Rio Rico High School farm, the Nogales International’s Graham Krewinghaus writes in one of the more engaging features you’ll read this month. McPherson gave up fly fishing in southern Argentina to come to Rio Rico — which he calls “Picasso’s canvas” — and teach students how to raise lambs, cultivate an iris garden and fruit trees, and generally develop a solid work ethic.
“It‘s really hard to work at McDonald’s in a town that doesn’t have one,” McPherson said. “There’s not a lot of job opportunities for 14, 15, 16 year olds.”
Debates season is right around the corner!
As we prepare to grill the candidates as part of the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission legislative debate series, we want to know what issues matter most to you.
Sure, we know you care about issues like education, elections, water, the border, infrastructure and the environment.
But those are pretty broad.
So this week, we’re asking you to help us narrow it down a bit by filling out some simple surveys. Today’s “What’s Your Issue” is about education.
Think of it this way: If we can only ask candidates about one of the subtopics on this list, what should it be?
When it comes to education
- Teacher pay
- School vouchers
- School curriculum
- Funding for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) curriculum
- Funding for arts curriculum
- Transgender issues - sports and bathroom/locker room policies
- Affordability of preschools
- Affordability of community colleges
- Affordability of public universities
The proclamations at Pima County Board of Supervisors meetings are getting a little out of hand, as we noted earlier this week.
We’re not talking about the subjects of the proclamations — who would object to celebrating children? — it’s the sheer volume of the proclamations that’s bordering on ridiculous.
A keen observer at yesterday’s meeting pointed out to Joe that despite the supervisors issuing 17 proclamations, they missed an obvious choice: Earth Day.
The environmental movement’s biggest day of the year is today, but nary a whisper from the county supervisors about it.
It’s kind of like thanking people when you win an Oscar. No matter how hard you try, you always end up forgetting someone.
Anyway, happy Earth Day!