Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Graham County Sheriff P.J. Allred speaks during the Graham County Republican Party’s monthly meeting on Friday and asks for their support in his re-election campaign.
By Jon Johnson
THATCHER – There is only one contested race in Graham County this election season, and that will be decided in the primary.
Graham County Sheriff P.J. Allred spoke at the monthly Graham County Republican Party meeting on Friday at Eastern Arizona College and exhorted his reasons for re-election. Allred’s opponent in the primary, former deputy Michael Bodine, was present for the meeting but did not speak at the event. No debate between the candidates has been set.
During the meeting, Allred said in his 37 years in law enforcement he has never desired any other employment than to serve the citizens of Graham County. After graduating from law enforcement training academies in Tucson, he was offered a job with the Tucson Police Department but Allred returned home.
“I’ve never wanted a job other than right here in our Valley,” he said.
He began as a reserve deputy while doing a 6-month stint as a corrections officer for Fort Grant prison. Allred then labored for the Safford Police Department for 20 years, working patrol for his first three and as a detective for the following 17. Allred then decided to run for sheriff and was elected in 2008. Since then, has won re-election for the past three election years in 2012, 2016, and 2020.
Allred went over his record and some of his accomplishments in office, including the construction and opening of the Graham County Adult Detention Facility – which has allowed the county to avoid litigation from inmates. The cost of the jail is also partially offset by Graham County being able to hold federal inmates and inmates from other counties. The $25 million, 68,000-square-foot facility was made possible by the voters of Graham County when they voted for a half-cent sales tax that began July 1, 2015, and is expected to be in effect until July 1, 2040. That half-cent sales tax passed by just 63 votes out of nearly 7,000 cast in the November 2014 election.
Seen astride a horse adorned with his black cowboy hat at parades and ceremonies, Allred is as advertised and is an authentic Western sheriff.
“People ask me all the time, ‘Do you have guns in Graham County?’ Well, I hope you do have guns in Graham County. I was raised with them. Of course, I was raised in the day when if you didn’t have a gun in your pickup and a pocketknife in your pocket the teacher made fun of you at school . . . I hope you have a weapon. I hope you can defend your family. I hope you can do all those things if it comes down to that. I hope our deputies or law enforcement are there fast enough that you don’t have to do that, but if you do, I’m ok with it. Of course, everybody knows if anything takes place you’re going to be held accountable. But that doesn’t mean being held accountable is a bad thing.”
With rural parts of Graham County covering a swath of the San Carlos Apache Reservation and other parts rarely seeing law enforcement, Allred said he heads out nearly every night and often hits the outskirts of the county. It’s a remnant of his detective days working nights for the SPD.
“I’ve been sheriff going on 16 years, and I go out every night,” Allred said. “I haven’t quit. I go out every night and I patrol our county.”
Allred said he believes he has shown his dedication to the people of Graham County during his 37 years of law enforcement and that being a sheriff isn’t a 40-hour-a-week job but a lifestyle.
“I love being the sheriff of Graham County,” Allred said. “I want to keep being the sheriff of Graham County.”
The Graham County primary election will be held July 30, with early voting beginning July 3.
