Paul Penzone
Former Maricopa County Sheriff
Paul Penzone is the former Sheriff of Maricopa County and Chief Community Relations Officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.
He was born March 29, 1967, in Trenton, New Jersey, and grew up in an Italian Catholic neighborhood. The family moved to Phoenix because of his mother's respiratory illness. He attended Cortez High School and studied criminal justice at Glendale Community College and Northern Arizona University. His mother worked in the justice courts; as a teenager he volunteered as a bailiff.
Phoenix Police Department hired him in 1988. He spent 21 years there, including seven running Silent Witness during the Baseline Killer and Serial Shooter investigations, and built a Spanish-language version of the tipline. After retiring from the force he became vice president of Childhelp.
He ran against Sheriff Joe Arpaio twice. In 2012 he lost 44.7 percent to 50.7 percent, outspent roughly eight to one. In 2016 he won 665,478 votes to 531,674, ending a 24-year incumbency. He was re-elected in 2020 against Jerry Sheridan. As sheriff he closed Tent City in October 2017, ended the pink-underwear policy, and shut down the Obama birther investigation. In November 2022 federal Judge G. Murray Snow held him in contempt over Melendres internal-affairs backlogs; Penzone appealed. He resigned January 12, 2024, declining a third term, and joined AZ Blue.
How I Beat Sheriff Joe Arpaio After Losing Once | Paul Penzone
Former Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone lost once to Sheriff Joe Arpaio after getting outspent 13 to 1. His wife heard him complaining at the TV, took his man card, and told him to step up again.
He did. Then he won by 13 points.
Paul tells Mike Lindstrom and Scott Leese the part most people never hear. He was a volunteer bailiff in high school. He spent 21 years at Phoenix PD. He ran as a Democrat after Republican strategists told him he had no shot. He refused to endors…