County attorney working part time after surgery
Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel is back to work part time after emergency brain surgery and treatment at Barrow Neurological Institute, her office said.
Adel, who was hospitalized for almost two months, is working from home, as is the majority of her staff.
“The county attorney has been in some form of communication with her executive team every day last week and periodically since late December,” spokesperson Jennifer Liewer said.
“She appeared telephonically at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Wednesday, January 13, as well as with staff in a leadership call last week.”
During the call, Adel thanked the board for its support during the pandemic, and with her own medical concerns.
“Thank you guys with your support not just with COVID, but the fact that I’ve been out a couple of months on leave with health challenges,” she said. “As evidenced by my excitement to be with you today, I’m on the mend.”
Liewer said Adel is involved in the decision making on filing notices of intent and resolutions of any cases concerning the death penalty.
On Friday, Adel made her first workrelated public statement since her surgery.
Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake, introduced a bill seeking to require prosecutors to criminally charge women who have abortions.
“As County Attorney, I have been clear that I will not prosecute a woman for her healthcare choices, and I stand by this position,” Adel said in a statement. “I do not support this bill.”
Blackman had endorsed Adel’s appointment to the position by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, even though he lives in another Arizona county.
The issue over prosecuting women for reproductive choices created heated exchanges between Adel and her Democratic opponent, Julie Gunnigle, during the 2020 county attorney race.
Adel had surgery to treat a blood clot on the night of the November election. She was transferred to Barrow a few days later for treatment. As she was recovering, Ken Vick, her chief deputy, and Candice Copple, her chief of staff, helped to manage the office. They informed the staff of Adel’s release from the hospital on Dec. 31.
The County Attorney’s Office did not say when Adel would return full time.
On Jan. 13, Adel told the supervisors, “I’m doing post-surgery work, and it’s going to take me a couple of months of doing that to get back to that full time. But I’m already engaging with my staff more.”
Adel was elected to serve a full term in November. The office has more than 1,000 employees and more than 300 prosecutors.
She was appointed to the office by the Board of Supervisors in October 2019 after former County Attorney Bill Montgomery became a justice on the Arizona Supreme Court.
Between Nov. 3 and Jan. 21, Adel made two personal statements — one to thank the community, doctors and her staff for their support during her illness, and in a Dec. 4 statement, Adel said she felt stronger every day.
Her office made clear that Vick and Copple were overseeing daily operations but provided little other detail. Adel appointed them to their positions when she took office.
As chief deputy, Vick oversees the office’s criminal division. Last year, he fired high-profile prosecutor Juan Martinez on Adel’s behalf.
The Arizona Republic’s public records requests to the County Attorney’s Office and to the Board of Supervisors asking for more details about how the agency was operating during Adel’s surgery and recuperation either have been denied or not responded to.