Welcome to this latest episode of Inside Pima County with Rex Scott. In this installment, we are joined by Constance Hargrove, Director of the Pima County Elections Department, for an in-depth and wide-ranging conversation about how elections are administered in one of Arizona’s largest counties. The discussion begins with Constance’s unexpected entry into the elections field—an opportunity that emerged when she was working at the Virginia Legislature and was invited to join the City of Richmond’s elections office. What started as an unfamiliar role grew into nearly two decades of experience, followed by time in seminary and later positions in Chesterfield County that ultimately led to her becoming Director of Elections for Pima County in 2022.

The conversation focuses on the structure of election responsibilities in Pima County, clarifying the distinct duties of the County Recorder’s Office—such as voter registration, list maintenance, and early ballot handling—and providing an overview of the Elections Department, which is responsible for ballot processing, vote center operations, election programming, equipment testing, and tabulation.

Constance provides a detailed look at how early ballots are processed, how damaged or unreadable ballots are duplicated, and how vote centers are identified, evaluated, and maintained across the county. She explains the intricacies of ballot-on-demand technology, electronic poll books, connectivity challenges in remote locations, and the extensive training, staffing, and coordination required for both permanent and temporary election workers. We also walk through the safeguards built into every election, including logic and accuracy testing, post-election audits, chain-of-custody procedures, and the creation of the official canvass. Constance outlines how each step ensures accuracy and transparency before results ever reach the Board of Supervisors for certification.

Finally, the discussion highlights recent improvements such as Pima County’s new election night reporting platform and the optional early ballot drop-off verification process. Constance also shares her enthusiasm for launching a voter academy in the coming years to further improve public understanding of elections.

Through this discussion, listeners gain a clear, accessible overview of the complex work required to run secure, accurate, and transparent elections in Pima County.

Welcome to the latest episode of Inside Pima County, where today’s conversation highlights one of the County’s most far-reaching and community-centered departments: Parks and Recreation. Joining in this conversation is Vic Pereira, the department’s director, whose path to this role is grounded in service, leadership, and a deep connection to the community he now helps shape.

Pereira’s journey to Pima County began with a distinguished 31-year career as an Air Force officer, culminating in his assignment as Deputy Commander at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. In that role, he was responsible for community engagement, forging relationships with civic leaders across Tucson. As he approached retirement, a family decision to remain in the area created an opportunity for a new chapter. That led Pereira, first, to the Health Department, where he served as Deputy Director, and later to Parks and Recreation, a position he assumed in 2022.

Today, Pereira oversees a department whose footprint stretches across Pima County’s 9,200 square miles, touching nearly every community and every age group. The Parks and Recreation Department is made-up of 42 urban parks, 12 community centers, nine pools, a shooting sports complex, a golf course, and the iconic Chuck Huckleberry Loop. But Pereira emphasizes that beyond the parks, pools, and programs, the department’s true strength lies in its people: the hundreds of dedicated professionals and seasonal staff who maintain facilities, teach children, support families, and often go above and beyond in moments that matter most.

In this episode, Pereira shares some stories of staff, outlines the departments newly completed master plan, discusses priorities for rural and fast-growing communities like Vail and Catalina, and offers a look at upcoming initiatives—from a countywide e-bike study to future accreditation. He also highlights beloved programs such as youth aquatics, adult fitness opportunities, seasonal community events, and the critical role of the Parklands Foundation in supporting Parks and Recreation.

Through the conversation, one theme stands out: Parks and Recreation is not only about infrastructure and amenities; it’s about enriching lives. Pereira’s leadership reflects that belief, and his team’s work demonstrates it daily. This episode offers a closer look at the department’s mission, its people, and its plans for a future that continues to serve Pima County residents with excellence, accessibility, and heart.

Today’s guest brings decades of expertise in air quality, water protection, solid waste, and climate planning. We are glad to be joined by Scott DiBiase, Director of the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality. Director DiBiase’s professional journey spans several states, agencies, and roles, all of which shaped the deep technical and leadership experience he now brings to Pima County. After earning his degree in atmospheric sciences from the University of Arizona in 1991, he began his career in Connecticut in 1993, working in the state’s air monitoring program. He then returned to Arizona to work for the Maricopa Association of Governments, focusing on air quality modeling and state implementation planning. That technical foundation led him to Pinal County in 2004, where he grew from planning manager to deputy director, eventually serving as interim director of their air quality program before joining Pima County DEQ in 2023.

Today, Director DiBiase leads a department of about 40 professionals across a broad range of programs including air, water, waste, climate planning, and community outreach. DEQ’s responsibilities stretch from air monitoring, permitting, and enforcement, to water system inspections, septic reviews, pool and spa permitting, hazardous waste oversight, and management of the county’s landfill and transfer stations. The department also plays a major role in stormwater inspections, landfill closure maintenance, and regional climate planning efforts. These programs, though diverse, share a common goal: safeguarding the air residents breathe, the water residents drink, and the environmental quality of Pima County as a whole.

Director DiBiase explains how DEQ’s air program is the largest and most technical component of the department, requiring daily fieldwork, precise monitoring, rulemaking, and enforcement. He outlines the county’s stormwater inspections, water sampling responsibilities, and the complexities of maintaining closed landfills for three decades. He also discusses recycling services at county transfer stations, the challenges of expanding those services in unincorporated areas, and the realities of tracking septic system use across the region. The Director also shares updates on the county’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant, a four‑year EPA planning effort that has produced both a Priority Climate Action Plan and a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan in collaboration with regional partners. He highlights workforce development efforts with the University of Arizona’s Drachman Institute, aimed at preparing residents for jobs in home energy auditing and weatherization that support both household savings and regional emissions reductions.

Finally, Director DiBiase touches on one of the most important roles the Department plays, managing the concerns of the public while ensuring environmental protection. Learn more about the types of complaints DEQ receives from the public, how residents can report concerns, and ongoing outreach programs including the state’s “No Drive Day” and Lawn and Garden equipment exchange grants.

It’s a wide‑ranging conversation that sheds light on the daily work required to maintain environmental quality across a large, diverse county. We’re grateful to Director DiBiase for sharing his insight, and grateful to all of you for tuning in to Inside Pima County.

In this latest episode of Inside Pima County with Supervisor Rex Scott, we shine a spotlight on a department whose work often happens behind the scenes but makes an enormous impact on how Pima County can serve its residents: the Grants Management and Innovation Department, known as GMI. Joining the podcast is GMI’s director, Ken Walker, along with Dorothee Harmon, who manages the division responsible for countywide grant development. Both bring decades of experience in nonprofit and governmental work, and both play critical roles in ensuring that Pima County can identify, secure, manage, and monitor the grant funding that supports so many essential public services.

We discuss the mechanics of grant development, grant compliance, and the partnerships that make these funds possible. Learn how Ken’s and Dorothee’s backgrounds help shape the County’s grant strategy, how GMI supports departments large and small, and how their roles connect directly to the public good. We explore what makes federal and state grant opportunities so complex, why indirect cost recovery matters, and how GMI’s partnerships with dozens of nonprofit subrecipients strengthen the countywide network of services residents rely upon. You’ll also hear about recent grants that have benefited District 1 and Pima County as a whole, from FEMA-funded improvements to flood control infrastructure to innovative water conservation upgrades at Arthur Pack Park, as well as the essential human services delivered by organizations like Interfaith Community Services and IMPACT.

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.

Sarah Hanna, Director of the Kino Sports Complex and head of the Kino Stadium District, brings a uniquely diverse professional background to one of Pima County’s most dynamic public assets. A Tucson native and Sabino High School graduate, Hanna’s early life revolved around competitive swimming—an experience that led her into lifeguarding and eventually into the water‑park industry. Director Hanna was able to make her way through leadership roles at major facilities in Arizona, Louisiana, and Connecticut.

Her return to Tucson in 2011, prompted by family needs, shifted her career trajectory. With no large water parks to manage locally, she leaned into her passion for risk management and joined Pima County as a loss control officer. Over 12 years in the county’s Risk Management Department, she became deeply familiar with the stadium district through inspections, event oversight, and safety evaluations. That experience eventually led to her appointment as Deputy Director and, later, Director of the Kino Sports Complex.

Today, Hanna oversees a 300‑acre, multi‑complex operation that functions not as a park, but as a sports‑tourism engine for Southern Arizona. The North Complex houses FC Tucson, public parks, and the Kino Environmental Restoration Project (KERP) recreation path. The Main Complex includes the 11,000‑seat stadium, ten baseball fields, administrative offices, and vast parking areas that support major events such as the Tucson Gem Show. The South Complex—opened in 2020—features 12 soccer fields and 20 pickleball courts and sits adjacent to the emerging Mosaic Quarter development.

Kino hosts events 363 days a year, from local birthday parties to international tournaments like the World Baseball Classic Qualifier. The Kino Sports Stadium is supported by 56 full‑time staff and roughly 70 event workers.

Hanna emphasizes a philosophy of flexibility and partnership. Whether accommodating professional soccer, building a 30,000‑gallon dock‑diving pool for a world‑class dog‑agility championship, or helping families plan small gatherings, she strives to “say yes” whenever possible.

Above all, Hanna sees Kino as a community hub that has evolved far beyond its former identity as a spring‑training baseball site. With graduations, festivals, league play, international sports, and cultural events filling the calendar, she and her team continue to shape Kino into one of the region’s most vibrant public spaces.