Jerry Sheridan: New sheriff for Maricopa County weighs in on priorities, addresses extremism accusation

Maricopa County is starting 2025 with a new sheriff: Jerry Sheridan.

Sheridan, who ran for sheriff but lost in 2020, won the November 2024 race for sheriff against Democrat Tyler Kamp. Sheridan is the first GOP member to hold the office since Joe Arpaio, who lost in 2016 to Democrat Paul Penzone.

Sheriff Sheridan said his office will be transparent, and that the people will be protected.

Sheridan goes over his top priorities

Sheridan worked his way up the ranks over the past 40 years.

"I wore that uniform for 40 years, said deputy sheriff on it, and now my patch says sheriff," said Sheridan. "I don’t think the reality has kicked in."

Now, Sheridan is in charge of an allotted 4,000 employees. He is now the head of an agency that covers more than 9,000 square miles, serving a population of about 4.6 million people.

On Jan. 2, which was his second day on the job, Sheridan went over some of his top priorities while in office, like homelessness.

"I've reached out to some of the [Non-Governmental Organizations] that help with some of the missions, and I’ve already had discussions with them about what we can do to help you get people off the street," said Sheriff Sheridan.

Another priority for Sheriff Sheridan is immigration enforcement, under his leadership and the second Trump Administration.

"I will focus on arresting criminals now," said Sheriff Sheridan. "Whether they’re illegal aliens or not, doesn’t matter to me."

Sheriff Sheridan said he will bring back the posse system. Per an Associated Press report from 2017, the posse program was placed under review by then-Sheriff Penzone. The posses were lauded for saving taxpayers money, but were also criticized for serving as one of Arpaio’s political tools.

Other things Sheriff Sheridan says he will focus on include the beefing up of staffing, pushing for better pay, and making the office feel like a family.

Sheridan addresses extremism accusations

On the campaign trail, Sheridan was criticized for being a constitutional sheriff, a movement the Anti-Defamation League calls an extremist group.

"Don’t forget, I took an oath to support the Constitution of United States and the constitution in laws of the State of Arizona, and I will be faithful to that oath," said Sheriff Sheridan.

Arizona PoliticsCrime and Public SafetyPhoenixNews