In this episode of Inside Pima County with Supervisor Rex Scott, we’re pleased to host a conversation with the head of Pima County’s Public Defense Services Department, Dean Brault. Dean has spent nearly three decades in public service as an attorney, administrator, and advocate, and we’re grateful to have him with us.

Public Defense Services performs duties that aren’t optional — they’re required to provide legal services under both Arizona law and the United States Constitution. As Dean explains, the right to legal representation for indigent individuals originates from foundational principles affirmed in landmark case, Gideon v. Wainwright. Those protections ensure that anyone facing prosecution has access to a lawyer regardless of their financial circumstances.

Dean walks us through his professional journey, beginning with his graduation from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1996. His career started here in Pima County as a law clerk and bailiff, followed by years of service as a public defender handling everything from misdemeanors to serious felonies. Over time, Dean became a trial team supervisor, then served as the county’s legal defender, and eventually stepped into his current leadership role overseeing Public Defense Services.

Dean breaks down the many divisions that fall under Public Defense Services, including the Public Defender’s Office, the Legal Defender’s Office, the Office of the Legal Advocate, the Office of Court Appointed Counsel, the Office of Children’s Counsel, the Mental Health Defender, the Public Fiduciary, and the administrative unit that ties them all together. Each division carries unique responsibilities—from criminal defense, to protecting the interests of children in dependency cases, to supporting vulnerable adults who have no one else to manage their affairs.

Dean offers insight into how cases are assigned, why conflicts of interest require multiple divisions and contract counsel, and how the department balances a wide array of constitutional duties with limited resources. He also highlights one of the department’s most impactful public-facing services: the Pima County Legal Clinic, which helps individuals take important steps after their cases conclude—restoring civil rights, sealing records, or addressing the long-term consequences of past convictions.

Above all, Dean emphasizes the dedication of the professionals who make up Public Defense Services. Their commitment ensures that every person entitled to representation receives high-quality advocacy during some of the most challenging moments of their lives.

In this latest edition of Inside Pima County with Supervisor Rex Scott, we’re shining the spotlight on one of the County’s most essential, yet often lesser-known, departments: Justice Services. We’re thrilled to be joined by the Director of Justice Services, Kate Vesely. Born at TMC and raised here, she’s a proud product of local public and private education, now raising her own children in the community her family has called home since the 1800s. With parents who dedicated their careers to public service and education, Kate grew up surrounded by a duty to serve her community. While other kids dreamed of being astronauts, she knew early on she wanted to be a bureaucrat — someone committed to strengthening systems and helping people navigate them. That commitment led her into a 25‑year career in justice system innovation.

Justice Services is a department where the work happening within that team is fast-paced, data‑driven, and deeply impactful. Justice Services itself is a relatively new agency, about five years old, and was originally established to address jail overcrowding. A decade ago, the jail population regularly exceeded 2,300 individuals, presenting major challenges for detainees, staff, healthcare providers, and the broader justice system. Through targeted strategies and partnerships, the department helped drive the jail population down by 500–600 individuals, improving safety and saving millions of taxpayer dollars — all without increasing violent crime. With that success, Justice Services expanded its mission: advancing community safety, reducing unnecessary incarceration, supporting recovery, and improving outcomes for individuals and families involved in the justice system.

One of the most visible and transformative elements of this work is the Transition Center: the “crown jewel” of Justice Services. It grew due to community feedback and from a simple but powerful question: if individuals with non‑violent misdemeanors aren’t entering custody, how do we ensure they still receive support? Open seven days a week, the Transition Center has become a trusted, walk‑in hub for people seeking help, guidance, and connection to services. Staffed entirely by justice navigators with lived experience, it offers stigma‑free support, immediate trust, and a path forward for individuals and families facing some of the hardest moments of their lives.

In the latest episode of Inside Pima County with Supervisor Rex Scott, Supervisor Scott is joined by someone whose work touches nearly every aspect of how our county operates: the Director of our Office of Finance and Risk Management, Art Cuaron.

Art begins by sharing a bit about his deep roots in our community. A Tucson native born and raised on the upper west side, he built his academic foundation at the University of Arizona, graduating in 2004 before earning his MBA from the University of Phoenix. His career in public finance now spans almost two decades, beginning in 2007 with the Town of Oro Valley, where he served as a Financial Analyst for five years. He then moved to the City of Tucson in 2012, taking on a series of increasingly complex leadership roles—managing debt, banking and investments, and eventually overseeing the city’s internally managed pension system along with its benefits programs.

Art explains that public service runs in his family. His father served as Finance Director for the Town of Marana, and his mother worked both for Pima County and the City of South Tucson. Growing up around those conversations and examples of civic leadership, Art knew early on that he wanted to become a finance director. When the opportunity to serve Pima County opened in late 2024, the timing aligned perfectly with both his professional goals and personal readiness. He was hired that December, and for the past 18 months he has led the department through a period of significant work, growth, and responsibility.

What drives him, he says, is the daily challenge of balancing community needs with the long‑term fiscal health of the organization, work that is never repetitive, always important, and deeply meaningful. Today he oversees a $1.8 billion county budget and a department made up of 11 divisions that carry out essential functions ranging from budget development and financial reporting to grants management, payroll, accounts payable, internal audit, and risk management.

Art describes how his team anchors its work in transparency, accountability, collaboration, communication, and service excellence. Whether supporting the budget process, managing revenues, ensuring accurate and timely financial information, or responding to public claims through Risk Management, the department works every day to protect taxpayer dollars and support the effective operation of every county department.

He also shares insights into the County’s annual budget process—an effort that begins each fall, involves extensive collaboration with the County Administrator, department directors, and elected officials, and culminates in the Board’s tentative and final budget adoptions each spring and summer. This year included a new board retreat that Art describes as both successful and valuable in aligning priorities early in the process.

Art outlines the difference between DREAM requests and supplemental requests, the role of state cost shifts, and the annual challenge of budgeting before the State finalizes its own spending plan. He also provides clarity on the functions of the Risk Management division and highlights several other key divisions within his department, including Financial Control and Reporting, Financial Grants, Departmental Analysis, Internal Audit, Financial Operations, Revenue Management, and Treasury and Capital Projects.

Looking ahead, he previews two major initiatives: implementation of the Workday Grants module to strengthen financial reporting and compliance, and a countywide education campaign around the proposed expenditure limitation adjustment—an issue that has not been revisited in 45 years but will be essential to sustaining county operations moving forward.