A Republican candidate who unsuccessfully challenged then-Sheriff Clarence Dupnik in 2012 is running for the job this year.
Mark Napier formally announced his candidacy for Pima County sheriff at a Tucson Republican Women’s luncheon on Monday.
“The organization needs change,” Napier said Tuesday. “It’s been under the same leadership for 30 years, and there’s a considerable amount of room for improvement.”
On March 10, Napier and two other potential candidates met with the Pima County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and Fraternal Order of Police for an informal interview.
At the time, he hadn’t made a definitive decision to run, but things changed when it became likely that no one else was going to run, presumably against Sheriff Chris Nanos, who has yet to announce his plans.
In the end, it was his family who helped him decide.
“My wife asked me, ‘If (our son) worked for the sheriff’s department, what would you want someone to do?’ ” Napier said.
His son is a Tucson police officer. Napier said issues at the sheriff’s department made it clear that running was the right thing to do.
After spending 21 years working for the Tucson Police Department, Napier became associate director of operations for the University of Arizona’s Parking and Transportation Services.
He’s running as a Republican, but said the sheriff’s election shouldn’t be decided by party affiliation.
“Public safety is not a partisan issue, it’s a quality of life issue,” Napier said.
In the 2012 election, Napier ended up with 46 percent of the vote to Dupnik’s 51 percent.
