In your lead Gila Valley Herald article, “Letter to the Editor: When politics erodes the public’s trust”, the author Frank Reed, Jr. of American Public Affairs lists his concerns that the least educated candidate was selected by the Board of Supervisors to serve as Interim Justice of the Peace until the 2026 election. The transparency and integrity of the Board of Supervisors were called into question because of this decision. If the letter’s author were a Graham County resident rather than a director of a Phoenix marketing firm, I would reach out to discuss his concerns. I will reply to his concerns in like manner. I cannot speak for my fellow supervisors, but I can share my rationale for selecting Stephanie Newton.
Judge Wyatt Palmer has been a remarkable judge who served our County very well and successfully led the consolidation of the Pima and Safford J.P. Courts to a single Safford Court. He nobly served as J.P. even as his health began to fail. I am grateful for his terrific leadership and devotion to sustaining the rule of law and justice in Graham County. I continue to wish my lifelong friend and his family the very best.
Judge Palmer’s sudden retirement, along with a large pending caseload and increased vigilance and enforcement by all our local agencies, necessitated quickly filling the interim J.P. position, ideally with someone familiar with Graham County’s Courts and Clerk’s Offices. In my opinion, the luxury of a lengthy learning curve was not an option. The Board of Supervisors’ appointee lacked a secondary education but had 20 years of service in the Graham County Clerk’s Office and the Courts. In 2019, during a period of crisis in our clerk’s office, the Chief Justice of the AZ Supreme Court appointed Ms. Newton to lead the office until another clerk was elected. Most recently, Stephanie has been employed as a lead clerk at the Safford Magistrate Court. Additionally, she conducted Initial Appearances on weekends for Graham County Courts. There are thousands of intelligent, capable, wise, honest, experienced, and highly successful men and women in Graham County who did not have the opportunity, means, or desire for a college degree.
I was elected nine years ago to represent Graham County residents. My decisions as a County Supervisor are based on the greater good and what is best for my constituents and Graham County. In filling this and previous interim positions, I’ve passed over childhood, school, church, and community friends whom I genuinely like and admire (much to their distress and my discomfort) in seeking the greater good. In appointing an interim J.P., I take comfort in knowing that during the July and November 2026 Primary and General Elections, the will of the people, not the decisions of three supervisors, will ultimately determine who should be Graham County’s next Justice of the Peace.
Paul R. David, District 1 Supervisor/Graham County
