Why Adel’s replacement matters

It’s a good thing Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel will soon be gone.

Now it’s time to focus on her replacement — somebody who can handle the deep turmoil she’s leaving behind after three tumultuous years leading the state’s largest prosecutorial agency. Adel resigned effective March 25. Her personal and professional troubles were simply insurmountable. Those troubles kicked into high gear after she checked into rehab last summer for alcohol abuse, anxiety and an eating disorder, and culminated with her office botching 180 misdemeanor cases.

It’s now up to the Maricopa County supervisors to appoint her replacement.

Adel is a Republican, which means the supervisors are required by law to appoint another Republican, though it’ll be on an interim basis.

Because Adel is resigning 10 days before the filing deadline for the Aug. 2 primary election, state law also requires there be an election this year to serve the final two years of Adel’s term, which would have been up in 2024.

Adel was appointed in 2019 and was elected in 2020.

Surely, the supervisors have already been thinking of potential candidates to lead the office, even if on an interim basis. They’ve been pondering what power they had over a fellow elected leader like Adel since she began ignoring calls to resign.

While we need to let Adel focus on her personal struggles, it is important to dissect the disarray she’s leaving behind so her successor can begin to steer the office in the right direction.

This new boss must be highly respected to lead prosecutors and other staff. Adel’s top deputies had lost confidence in her abilities and had asked her to resign.

The new boss needs to be present. Adel was accused of being constantly absent and drunk on the job. Her replacement needs to connect with her staff and make tough decisions (or at least take full responsibility for them – not blame others).

Rebuilding public trust also is paramount. Black Lives Matter protesters lost trust after they were slapped with bogus gang charges. But it’s not just them.

The latest revelation that her office dropped the ball on 180 misdemeanor cases that ranged from DUIs to domestic violence may point to larger problems, the extent of which we may not yet fully understand.

The county’s five million residents that rely on the justice system deserve somebody with an impeccable record of fairness and toughness. Residents must have confidence that the new county attorney won’t just be a political hack looking toward winning an election.