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Allister Adel died
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She has time now to undertake the hard work of recovery and in that, I wish her well. But clearly, it wasn't something she could not do while serving as county attorney.
She leaves in her wake investigations by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, the State Bar Association and the Attorney General’s Office, which on Friday demanded a report about those 180 botched cases.
She leaves in her wake an agency in disarray and a community in dismay, one that wonders whether we can trust prosecutors to do their jobs fairly, equitably and competently.
She leaves with just two weeks left before the April 4 filing period for candidates who want to run for the job in November. (Politicians are reportedly already lining up.)
Don't appoint someone who can get elected
Meanwhile, it’ll be up to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to name an interim replacement. These are the same people who selected Adel, who at the time of her appointment worked as an adviser to nonprofits but was seen as someone who could win the vote in 2020.
This time, may I suggest that the supervisors focus less on a candidate’s ability to win an election this fall and more on his or her ability to lead the state’s largest prosecutorial agency? Someone already in the office, perhaps a career prosecutor who already knows the ropes and can get a quick start.
As for all the politicians tempted to line up to try to snag this interim political plum to get a leg up in November: Please don’t.
Leave this one to the professionals because someone’s got a lot of rebuilding to do over at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
How it is going:
https://ktar.com/story/5034458/former-maricopa-county-attorney-allister-adel-dead-45/
BY KTAR.COM
PHOENIX — Former Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel died due to health complications on Saturday, according to a statement by made by her family.
Adel was 45 years old.
Adel assumed office as Maricopa County Attorney in 2019 and resigned in March.
She is survived by her husband, David DeNitto, and two children.
“This May we would have celebrated 20 years of marriage. My family and I are utterly heartbroken by this unimaginable loss,” DeNitto said in a statement.
“I am heartbroken to learn of Allister’s passing. Her many years of service to our community leaves a legacy that impacted crime victims, first responders, and animals, just to name a few. My thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and this community that she so dearly loved,” Interim County Attorney Rachell Mitchell, who replaced Adel, said in a statement.
Adel was first chosen to replace Bill Montgomery as county attorney in 2019 after Montgomery was named to the Arizona Supreme Court.
She was reelected to the position in 2020, becoming the first woman elected to the role, after defeating Democrat Julie Gunnigle.
Adel spent the election night in the hospital having emergency surgery for a brain bleed, the result of an earlier fall at home.
In August, Adel sought in-patient services for anxiety and alcohol abuse and was later transferred to a facility in California for further treatment.
The Maricopa County Democratic Party called on Adel, a Republican, to resign immediately to focus on her recovery in September.
She issued her resignation in March after it was revealed Adel and MCAO were forced to drop 180 criminal cases after charges weren’t filed before the statute of limitation expired.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey issued his condolences on Twitter, calling the death a “tragic” incident.
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors chairman Bill Gates also issued a statement on Twitter.