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The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is easily one of the most important elected boards that manages to fly under the radar of the overall electorate. These are the five people that are in charge of the people who run the 4th largest county in America; their inherent importance shouldn’t be understated. They manage a multi-billion dollar budget allocated to all of our county departments, including our county sheriff’s and attorney’s offices and all other county entities. So when Steve Chucri, the Supervisor from district #2 which covered all of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills and Cave Creek (amongst other areas) announced that he was stepping away from his seat, it was a big deal that few seemed to care about.
The list of applicants who wanted to be his successor was a veritable who’s who of local Republican politicos. Former Scottsdale city councilmember Suzanne Klapp was amongst them, and former Mayoral candidate Lisa Borowsky was there as well. But this past week, the Board of Supervisors took a different approach, and went with local attorney Thomas Galvin to replace Chucri.
People who have been around the political scene for a while likely know of Thomas, as a moderate Republican with a seriously sane streak who cut his teeth as a land use and government affairs attorney. He has long shown the sort of non-extremist temperament that non-partisans desire in governance, and the deep and targeted professional experience that political and policy wonks alike salivate over.
One of the most important roles of a County Supervisor is deliberating over the boring minutiae of zoning. Of understanding the intricacies of land issues and the interplay between different echelons of government. Galvin’s expertise will undoubtedly add value in that regard. And his government affair experience will certainly assist in his ability to cut through bureaucracy and actually accomplish what he was appointed for, as opposed to being a talking head with ideas but no capability.
The choice of Thomas Galvin would be considered boring by many who don’t know him. The political pundits were probably disappointed by the lack of material. But we see a smart, reasonable, and experienced person who is equipped with the ability to deal with the tough and wonky work necessary to be a County Supervisor. This wasn’t a sexy pick, but it was a good pick, which is what we should reasonably ask from our elected leaders.