Maricopa County appoints Rachel Mitchell as interim County Attorney

PHOENIX - The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has appointed Rachel Mitchell as the interim Maricopa County Attorney on Wednesday, April 20 in a unanimous vote to replace Allister Adel.

Mitchell, a Republican with more than 30 years of experience working for the county attorney's office, was sworn in on Wednesday afternoon. She will remain as county attorney until the November election.

Other candidates vying for the position included Gina Godbehere and Anni Foster, who submitted enough signatures required to get on the ballot in the August primary. On April 15, the Board of Supervisors invited Foster, Godbehere and Mitchell to apply for appointment to the position on an interim basis.

Democrat Julie Gunnigle, who is also running for the position, was not invited because the interim attorney must be affiliated with the same political party as the former office holder.

Adel announced her resignation as Maricopa County Attorney back in March. Adel had been faced many controversies during the latter part of her time in office, including treatment for mental health and use of alcohol and other work-related issues, including a controversy involving protesters being falsely arrested on gang charges during protests in 2020.

Prior to Adel's resignation, she had been facing calls to resign, both from outside groups and from those within the MCAO. Adel had previously resisted pressures to resign.

"I will show up. I’ve been showing up for 30 years and I care about the office," Mitchell said.

Mitchell is now the incumbent going into the August primary election. Meanwhile, Mitchell says she will waste no time in righting the ship at the county attorney’s office.

"I want to get a handle on the number of backlogs as well as the staffing shortages," Mitchell said. "It needs to be worked on immediately."

Mitchell now faces a backlog of thousands of felony cases, sitting for months, waiting for a prosecuting decision. One of which is the Charles Ryan Case where Tempe Police recommended aggravated assault charges against the former Arizona prisons director for pointing a gun at officers.

Mitchell was expected to be briefed on that case just after her appointment.