Cochise County jail district measure passed; sheriff says construction to proceed unless court orders otherwise

Sheriff Mark Danels said the Cochise County jail district ballot measure passed and that county officials and jail leadership plan to move forward with design and construction unless a judge orders otherwise.

"We won. Right. We won," Danels said on KWCD's First Watch, adding the victory was meaningful for "the men and women that work in that facility" and for the community. He noted the current jail is nearly 40 years old and needs replacement to meet operational mandates.

The sheriff described the measure’s path: it passed once, was legally challenged and later settled, and then passed again. Danels said turnout for the recent vote was lower than in a prior election and that community outreach meetings had low attendance; he cautioned that the county could face additional legal claims but emphasized that an allegation does not equal a court order to stop construction.

Danels said planning continued during the legal delay and that officials had not paused design work. "We've been doing a lot of planning, a lot of design, a lot of discussions ... we haven't lost a lot of time," he said, but added the setback cost about a year. He estimated a realistic timeline of about a year to a year and a half before a ribbon-cutting, while noting that timeline could change if a judge intervenes.

The sheriff framed the project as a community resource. "This is your community jail. This is not Mark Danels' jail," he said, asking residents who opposed the measure to help the county with the project going forward.

No vote tallies, ordinance or bond numbers, or implementation timelines beyond Danels’s timeframe were provided on the broadcast. Danels said he had discussed next steps with board members and his leadership team and that construction will proceed "unless the judge tells me stop it."