Voters to decide Maricopa County recorder, treasurer in 2024 election

Sasha Hupka, Arizona Republic

September 3, 2024 at 9:01 PM·4 min read

ARIZONA ELECTION 2024

This year's election cycle is expected to be a pivotal one for Maricopa County, the most populous in Arizona.

Its past decade has been dominated by a population boom, mounting costs from a landmark racial profiling lawsuit, several high-profile resignations and a wave of election denialism that has led to threats against sitting elected officials.

Now, all of its top seats are up for grabs.

The county recorder, who maintains voter registration records and administers early voting, will be on the ballot. So will the offices of assessor and treasurer.

Maricopa County recorder

The county recorder manages public records, including property documents and governmental information.

The recorder is also responsible for maintaining voter registration records and administering early voting, including mailing out early ballots, providing on-site early voting locations and verifying voter signatures on early ballot affidavits and petitions.

The recorder holds tremendous power over how elections are run within the county, and previous politicians in the position have pushed massive changes to the way their county votes.

Here's who is running for recorder:

Justin Heap, Republican: He is a state lawmaker representing a legislative district that spans parts of east Mesa and Apache Junction. Heap is a member of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus. During his time in the Arizona Legislature, he has supported bills to remove the state from a multistate voter registration list maintenance effort and divide Maricopa County into several smaller jurisdictions. Heap in the GOP primary defeated incumbent Stephen Richer, who has been a lightning rod for election criticism.
Timothy Stringham, Democrat: He is an attorney and Naval Reserve officer. Stringham previously served a tour in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army. In the Navy, he gave human rights training to foreign partners in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Stringham lives in Tempe.

Coverage of the recorder race

In their words: We asked the Maricopa County recorder candidates five questions. Here’s what they said
In the courts: Kari Lake is seeking to forfeit the ability to defend herself in a defamation lawsuit brought by a county recorder. Here's why
Streamlining workflow: Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer is exploring using artificial intelligence to aid in pulling data from voter registration forms and other recorded documents

Maricopa County treasurer

County treasurers act as the county tax collector and safeguard the county's money.

They are responsible for disbursing money from the county treasury and pursuing those who have not paid their county taxes. They receive all county revenues, manage credit accounts and invest county funds with guidance from county supervisors.

They also serve as treasurer for all schools and special districts within their county.

Incumbent John Allen defeated challenger William Lichtsinn in the GOP primary for Maricopa County treasurer. He will be unopposed in November

Allen was elected county treasurer in 2020. Allen is a former state lawmaker and has worked in construction, airline ground operations, sales and as a small business owner. He lives near Scottsdale.

Maricopa County assessor

The assessor is responsible for identifying, mapping and assessing all properties in the county.

It's a job that is little known but vitally important. The assessor determines the value of properties, which dictates how much a property owner pays in taxes and works with other county offices to maintain records and provide valuation information.

In Maricopa County, the office is responsible for keeping track of roughly 1.8 million real and personal properties with a combined value of more than $700 billion.

The usually sleepy position last saw heat when former Assessor Paul Petersen was arrested on human trafficking and fraud charges in three states over adoptions he facilitated through his Mesa law firm. Petersen ultimately resigned from his position and pled guilty to some of those charges, receiving 11 years in prison in Arizona and Arkansas. He also was convicted in Utah.

Here's who is running for assessor:

Eddie Cook, Republican: He was appointed assessor in 2020. Prior to taking the position, Cook served on the Gilbert Town Council for nearly a decade. He also sat on the Arizona State Information Technology Authorization Committee, which reviews some of the state’s largest IT projects, and led a technology company that provides cloud-based data services to other businesses.
Gregory Freeman, Democrat: He is a commercial property manager at MPB Realty and touts a decade of experience in the real estate industry. Freeman, a native of Phoenix, has worked as an escrow officer, notary, residential leasing agent and construction manager.

Both Cook and Freeman ran unopposed in their primaries.