Cochise County Superior Court Visiting Judge Michael Latham slapped down Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and her client Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in a case involving Cochise County’s 2023 Jail District election.
At issue is a 2023 ballot measure asking voters to approve an excise (sales) tax dedicated to acquiring, constructing and financing new county jail facilities. The tax would end when sufficient revenue has been collected to build the facility and retire any related debt, after which the Jail District dissolves.
On Tuesday, Latham approved the parties’ motion to dismiss in LaChance, et al., v. County of Cochise, Cochise County Jail District, Board of Supervisors, et al., concluding that a new Jail District excise tax election on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, is “the most effective and efficient way to correct the issue” and falls squarely within “the Cochise County Board of Supervisors’ primary authority.”
The Court denied the Secretary of State’s Motion to Intervene in the Cochise County election contest.
The Court’s ruling follows the Board of Supervisors’ earlier adoption of Resolution JD25-01 on May 6, 2025, which formally restarted the process and called the November election on the question of an excise tax for acquiring, constructing and financing a new county jail.
Voters approved the 25 year sales tax in 2023 in a botched election in which around 10,000 voters were disenfranchised.
A lawsuit, alleging that election was invalid, was then filed by resident Daniel LaChance.
The Board of Supervisors reached a settlement in the case at a special meeting on March 21.
The terms of the settlement included holding a new election and pausing the collection of the existing tax.
Timothy La Sota, who represents the Board of Supervisors in the litigation weighed-in after the ruling, “Today, Cochise County once again prevailed in court in its efforts to protect the citizens of this County. The Board has agreed to hold a new election because the last election was seriously flawed and left nearly 11,000 eligible voters without ballots. Oddly, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General have attempted to usurp the Board’s lawful functions; first at the Supreme Court and now at the Superior Court and have failed at every turn. This ruling is a vindication of Cochise County’s plan to address a difficult election situation and a repudiation of efforts by statewide officials to butt in, take over local elections, and disenfranchise Cochise County voters in the process.”
As previously reported by the Arizona Daily Independent, the one-half cent sales tax was approved May 16 with less than a 800-vote margin in a by-mail-only special election in which only 25,000 of Cochise County’s roughly 86,000 registered voters took part.
Challenge To Jail Tax Assigned To Judge Whose Wife Works In Office Defending The Tax
Democrat despots put to the curb!
“Oddly, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General have attempted to usurp the Board’s lawful functions …”
Odd only if one thinks these political activists could actually carry out their sworn duties with dignity, honor, integrity, and impartiality. They are apparatchik first and always.
Fontes hails from Nogales. Liz Gutfahr, the criminal Democrat treasurer of Santa Cruz county, who stole 38 million dollars from the local school districts, has yet to be sentenced. One might think that the smallest Arizona county has the largest criminal problem.
Great to hear. Need to tell Fontes more often to take a long walk off a short pier!
put MAYS in the jail