Sunnyside School District Superintendent Steve Holmes is set to become Pima County’s next deputy county administrator.
Holmes will join the county on July 18 and earn an annual salary of $230,000. He will oversee administrative support departments such as IT, procurement and public defense services.
The county’s top administrator, Jan Lesher, announced the new hire in a memo to the Board of Supervisors Friday. Holmes is taking over Lesher’s former job that she vacated when she took over as county administrator after Chuck Huckelberry was severely injured in a biking accident in October.
Holmes has served as Sunnyside’s superintendent and assistant superintendent for 14 years. He has a master’s degree in administration, planning and social policy from Harvard and was named 2022’s Superintendent of the Year by the Arizona Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents.
“I’ve been in community service for many years, that’s been my calling,” Holmes said. “I love trying to improve on our communities to do great for not only the children that I’ve served for many years but the broader community that are impacted by the decisions we make as leaders.”
Holmes said his experience overseeing transportation, grants management and budgeting will translate to his new county position.
His approach to the job is “ensuring that the departments, under my oversight, receive all the support necessary to operationalize and execute some of those charges that (Lesher’s) going to have in place.”
Holmes is joining the county’s executive leadership team next to Deputy County Administrators Carmine DeBonis and Francisco Garcia.
The new hire also comes with some organizational changes, Lesher announced.
The current assistant county administrator positions, held by Yves Khawam and Mark Napier will become “senior advisors to the county administrator” on July 1. Diana Durazo, special projects manager, and Nicole Fyffe, executive assistant to the county administrator, will also become senior advisors.
The senior advisors will help develop policy recommendations, coordinate special projects and conduct research and analysis, Lesher said.
Napier, however, is retiring from the county within the next six months. The former Pima County sheriff was hired by Huckelberry as assistant county administrator in July 2021. Lesher will not fill the vacant position.
