Mark Napier will face a familiar political foe in the November election to keep his post β Chris Nanos, whom he beat in the 2016 race for Pima County sheriff.
Nanos defeated his democratic challenger Kevin E. Kubitskey with about 65% of the vote, the countyβs vote tally showed Wednesday. Kubitskey did not respond to multiple calls for comment.
Nanos lost to Napier after serving as interim Pima County sheriff for a year.
βThis just has a different feel to it,β Nanos said Tuesday night. βAnd I think itβs the feel of support.β
Nanos said he feels the community and Sheriffβs Department employees are behind him now compared with his 2016 campaign.
βWeβre going to show the community why I should be the sheriff,β Nanos said. βItβs a really distinct choice between two candidates β one who wants to serve his community and support the team that does that and one who has nothing more than his own self-interest at heart.β
Leading up to the primary election, Nanos said his top focus, if elected, would be to reform the department in several ways, including by rethinking bail requirements and reducing the jail population.
Nanos was interim sheriff from 2015 to 2016 after Clarence Dupnik, who held office from 1987 to 2015, retired. During his year leading the department, an FBI investigation found that several members of the department βconspired to circumvent the restrictions on the use of forfeiture funds.β
The departmentβs then-second-in-command, Chris Radtke, pleaded guilty in February 2017 to three counts of misdemeanor theft of government property, according to Arizona Daily Star archives.
Nanos did not face charges in the investigation, which he has said he inherited from his predecessor.
βLast time around the election there was a lot of straight up lies from my opponent trying to muddy my name and my career,β Nanos said.
Nanos said he hopes someone will set up debates leading up to the November election, βso that people can see the real difference between Mark and I.β
βI think itβs pretty clear that I have experience and Iβve done Markβs job and itβs kind of interesting because what I did in one year as sheriff Mark hasnβt been able to accomplish in four years,β Nanos said.
The department has lacked transparency under Napier, he said.
Nanos has 41 years of experience in law enforcement, starting as an officer with the El Paso Police Department and working his way up the ranks in the Pima County Sheriffβs Department from 1983 to 2016.
Napier on Wednesday said his main focus leading up to the November election is to continue to serve as county sheriff.
βPeople elected me to be the sheriff for four years not three and a half years,β he said.
Napier has 38 years of law enforcement experience in four different departments, including 21 years with the Tucson Police Department.
If elected, Napier said heβll continue to move the department forward, be fiscally responsible and engage in law enforcement reform efforts.
βI have a proven track record as sheriff and my opponent does, too, and those track records are significantly different,β Napier said.
Napier said since 2016, his track record shows he sees public safety as a community and quality-of-life issue rather than a political one. Napier says his time in office shows he serves all Pima County residents.
Photos: 2020 Primary Election in Pima and Maricopa counties