Kate Brophy McGee unanimously elected Maricopa County board chair; outlines public-safety tax renewal, eviction-prevention plan

Kate Brophy McGee was elected chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors by a unanimous voice vote on the first day of the board’s 2026 term after Supervisor Debbie Lesko nominated her and Supervisor Stewart seconded the motion. The board approved the nomination with no opposition.

In her inaugural address, Brophy McGee framed public safety as her first priority and told supervisors she will ask voters to renew the county’s one-fifth-cent public safety sales tax. “This tax has provided sustainable public safety funding for nearly 3 decades, and it is my first priority as chair,” she said.

Why it matters: The sales-tax renewal would continue a long-running local revenue stream for the sheriff’s office, courts and public-safety partners. Brophy McGee also used the speech to lay out immediate county initiatives — ranging from eviction prevention and mental-health placements to infrastructure transparency and election process reviews — that the board plans to pursue in 2026.

Key actions and proposals

- Public-safety tax renewal: Brophy…