Maricopa County Board of Supervisors elects first female Chair in 25 years

The first female chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in nearly a quarter century has been unanimously elected by her colleagues. Kate Brophy McGee laid out a plan for Maricopa County that includes new actions to ensure efficient elections, prevent evictions, reduce the backlog of seriously mentally ill individuals needing treatment and promote balanced and sustainable growth.

Chair Kate Brophy McGee joined “Arizona Horizon” to speak about her new position and some of the initiatives she has proposed.

The chair has lots of responsibilities, including being the spokesperson on behalf of the board, setting the agenda, working with the county manager and various elected officials.

“I think it’s another step to keeping cohesion and stability for the county,” McGee said. “It is something I’m very honored to do, and I’m really looking forward to in the next year.”

“We’re in the process of wrapping up an audit of both election equipment and the chain of custody and elections procedures,” McGee said. “We’re expecting to put that on a public agenda soon and really review any changes or recommendations they make and implement them.”

McGee explained the biggest message she has received from her constituents is to fix the problem and to have good, fair elections.

“It’s really not about differences between personalities or offices,” McGee said. “It’s about working together for a good outcome on behalf of the constituents who elected us to office.”

McGee also emphasized she is always making sure to do the proper research beforehand.

“Over the course of 10 years in the legislature, I gained a lot of experience,” McGee said, “And so you know when to land on them, you know what questions to ask, and I feel that is the same as being a County Supervisor.”