Mitchell Must Restore Voters’ Trust In The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office

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Rachel Mitchell was sworn in as Maricopa County Attorney in 2022. [Photo courtesy Maricopa County]

When voters elected Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell to office, they trusted she would foster a renewed confidence in the Office that had been lost due to the secrecy and unprofessionalism that enveloped it during the late Allister Adel’s tenure.

Based on the most recent filing by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in the matter of Hamadeh vs. Mayes, it would appear those voters’ trust was misplaced.

During Ms. Adel’s tragic tenure, petty bureaucrats were allowed to run roughshod over the public because the person who was supposed to be the accountable public servant was unable to perform her duties. Perhaps those bureaucrats maintained a level of secrecy to protect the troubled elected official, or their own jobs – we do not know which is the case. What we do know is that the public’s trust suffered as staff attorneys used their unsupervised positions to bully and bluster in the face of the public’s legitimate inquires on a plethora of matters.

The most recent filing in the Hamadeh vs. Mayes case shows clearly that County Attorney Mitchell has little to no interest in renewing the voters’ confidence in the Office. The County’s decision to file a response in the case only serves to buttress the arguments made by those who think the County has something to hide.

In its filing, Maricopa County takes a preposterous position that Mr. Hamadeh cannot rely on any evidence obtained after trial as it was “properly denied” discovery. Essentially, they assert that the provisional ballot information withheld prior to trial should not be considered at all. As taxpayers, we paid for that information to be created and there is absolutely no justification for having withheld it.

In fairness, withholding valuable information to which we are all entitled is not just a problem for Maricopa County. We have since learned that former Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ attorney withheld crucial information from the courts. The attorneys we have talked to believe that the information would have changed the landscape on the legal front considerably.

It has been clear from even before Election Day, that Maricopa County was not going to cooperate with candidates, or the voting public. That unwillingness to cooperate became more evident when the County chose to fight the candidates on the issue of extended voting hours. The request for extended hours was only necessary because of the County’s gross incompetence which led to voter disenfranchisement.

Later, Maricopa County Supervisors brushed off the disenfranchising failures. Supervisor Gates tried to portray the matter as insignificant and one that was quickly remedied. Of course, that was not the case, but as is the case in Maricopa County, the truth did not matter if the mainstream media was willing to avoid asking hard questions.

County Recorder Richer rightly claimed that he was not responsible for Election Day Voting, but seemed to think his responsibility to the public ended with only that explanation. In fact, as our elected Recorder, his responsibility to the public was to ensure that every legal voter had an opportunity to vote and have their vote counted. That would include fighting for a seamless process and an open and transparent office quick to provide any and all public documents to resolve election matters.

The Maricopa County offices of Recorder, Treasurer, and Attorney have a fiduciary responsibility to the County as a whole, but each has unique tasks and goals. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is tasked with seeing that justice is done, not obstructed or obfuscated.

Overall, there were many working parts in Maricopa County government that failed or fell short. None might be as disappointing as Ms. Mitchell’s response to these matters. The message she has sent is that if the government hides the ball long enough in election contests, they can run out the clock – and avoid scrutiny.

Jose Borrajero is the Director of the Arizona People’s Lobbyist. William T. Smith Sr. is the founding Manager of the Election Integrity Project AZ.

About Jose Borrajero and William T. Smith Sr. 1 Article
Jose Borrajero is the director of the Arizona People's Lobbyist. William. T. Smith Sr. is the founding manager of the Election Integrity Project Az.