The badge of the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
This article has been updated to reflect the Arizona Attorney General's decision to not investigate the Sheriff's allegations.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors will consider censuring Sheriff Chris Nanos for election interference and First Amendment violations after he suspended both his political rival and the leader of a deputy’s union that spoke out against him.
Democratic Supervisor Matt Heinz introduced the motion through a press release on Wednesday, calling Nanos’ actions “an attempt to smear and silence his opponent.”
“You cannot effectively, in some ways, lock up your political rival during an election. I don't care why. You know what? I'm sorry you didn't like some people protesting against you on a street corner, saying not-nice things on a sign. That's their First Amendment, right, okay?” Heinz said.
Nanos suspended Lt. Heather Lappin on Oct. 14 for two policy violations, including allegedly knowing about employees campaigning on duty on her behalf and not stopping it, and for working with a local reporter, according to a department statement released the next day.
The outlet in question, AZLuminaria, has since released text messages between Lappin and their reporter about reimbursing an inmate for the cost of a phone call from jail, and emphasized there is a difference between paying sources and having to pay for access to information.
The comments from Heinz about holding up signs are referring to Aaron Cross, the President of the Pima County Deputies Organization, who was also placed on leave after he stood on a street corner carrying a sign that said “Deputies Don’t Want Nanos.” The picture of the sign was posted on Lappin’s Facebook page, and the Sheriff’s department claimed Cross was campaigning while in uniform.
Cross has since filed a lawsuit against Nanos for both his suspension of him, and the Department’s official statement of the incident, for violating his First Amendment rights.
Nanos released a four-page statement in response to Heinz’s motion.
In it, he denied Heinz’s allegations of election interference, and suggested it was an attempt to “make this situation into a political performance.”
“To suggest that being away from the workplace restricts the ability to campaign implies that campaigning was happening on duty- that would never be allowed during duty hours. Therefore, utilizing administrative leave in this case has no impact on individuals’ campaigning or other off-duty activity,” Nanos wrote.
Neither Lappin nor Cross have been able to speak about their suspensions or surrounding circumstances due to Sheriff Nanos placing a gag order on both of them, according to their attorney Steve Serbalik.
"It is unprecedented from my experience to have a candidate silenced by their political opponent," said Serbalik. "That goes against everything we think the Constitution stands for."
In his statement, Nanos said Lappin’s campaign has “put unnecessary strain on the department.”
“The genesis of this difficulty goes back to this Board’s decision to reverse policy and allow an employee who is currently working for a department to run for a position within that department without having to take a leave of absence,” he wrote.
County employees are no longer required to take leaves of absence if they are running for office, since Pima County changed a personnel policy in July 2023.
Nanos said both the FBI and Arizona Attorney General’s Office have agreed to assist in the investigation. On Oct 24, a spokesman for the AG's office said they have not agreed to assist.
Heinz said Nanos will be sheriff through the end of the year, regardless of the November election outcome.
“We're all asking for our jobs back, right? And they need to know what he's doing with county resources in their name,” Heinz said.
Heinz is one of many high-ranking Democrats who have endorsed the Republican candidate over frustration with Nanos' leadership. Former Supervisor Sharon Bronson, Tucson City Council member Paul Cunningham, and former Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona have recently endorsed Lappin, according to a statement released by her campaign. The former Republican Sheriff, Mark D. Napier, also expressed his support.
"It is wrong on many levels and painfully transparent as a politically vindictive action designed to denigrate a political opponent," he said in a statement. "The people of Pima County should not tolerate this abuse of power."
The politics of the board are likely to impact whether Nanos will be censured or investigated again. Supervisor Sylvia Lee and the only Republican Supervisor Steve Christy have previously voted with Heinz on similar action regarding the sheriff, including voting in favor of an Attorney General’s investigation into his handling of a sexual assault case last year, and requesting he appear before the Board in September to discuss that same investigation.
In his statement, Nanos repeatedly told the Board they can contact him at any time with concerns or issues. The last time the Board requested him to appear was Oct. 15, and he did not show up based on an ongoing investigation.
Board Chair Adelita Grijalva and Supervisor Rex Scott, both Democrats, previously voted against the Arizona Attorney General’s investigation and against requesting Nanos to appear in front of the board to address that investigation last month. They reasoned that the Sheriff is an elected position and would be a conflict of interest.
The potential censure will be discussed at the Nov. 12 Board of Supervisors' meeting.
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