Incumbent Chris Nanos (D - left) and challenger Heather Lappin (R - right) are both running for Pima County Sheriff.
The Republican candidate for Sheriff is arguing that disciplinary action taken against her is evidence that leadership at the Pima County Sheriff’s department needs to change.
In what has quickly become a contentious local race, Republican candidate for Sheriff Heather Lappin held a virtual town hall last night, one of her first events since being placed on administrative leave and under a gag order from current Sheriff Chris Nanos.
She said she is unable to talk about her internal investigation due to that gag order, but criticized Nanos’ actions and said she wants to “restore the integrity of the Sheriff’s Department.”
“The sheriff is allowed to allege all kinds of things about me, and I don't get to defend myself. It’s a bully tactic. As I say, they cover things up or they shut you up, and that was his attempt to shut me up,” she said.
Lappin, a corrections lieutenant, was placed on leave for collusion with a journalist “to facilitate payment to an inmate in exchange for a news story,” according to the Oct. 15 press release from the department. The outlet in question, AZLuminaria, publicly released text messages showing the reporter had reimbursed an inmate $20 dollars for the cost of a phone call from jail, and asked Lappin how to do so.
Nanos said the gag order was due to an ongoing Internal affairs investigation, the division that investigates problems within the department.
One week before the election, Lappin made the case for “restoring integrity to the Sheriff’s Department,” which she said starts with top leadership.
“We have to be focused on competency and character in our leadership, in our staff, in in every aspect of our department, and not loyalty. When you are loyal to a person, your agency becomes political. Backstabbing is not only accepted, it's rewarded,” she said.
As for specific policies, Lappin advocated for increasing patrols, raising training standards, and combatting staffing issues.
The amount of deaths at the Pima County Jail became a recurring issue of Nanos’ most recent term, and one that received intense concern from the community.
When asked about the jail, Lappin said the deaths were a result of a staffing problem created by the current administration.
“We were burning our people out to no end, people were being forced to stay in the jail and work doubles and go home and get four hours of sleep and come back and do it again. It was terrible,” she said.
She also called for increasing transparency.
“I am proud of the job we are doing in the jail. So why are we hiding anything? What is there to hide? Let's bring people in. Let's bring the reporters in. I'll give you a tour as I'll show you anything you want,” she said.
Since her leave placement, multiple Pima County Democrats have thrown their support behind Lappin, including District 2 Supervisor Matt Heinz, Tucson City Council member Paul Cunningham, and Arizona House Representative Consuelo Hernandez.
Heinz is also calling for the Board to censure Nanos for possible election interference.
Lappin also said that her campaign received almost $30,000 in individual donations in the three days following her suspension.
If she wins, Lappin would be the first female sheriff elected in Arizona.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.