12-02-2025
Cochise County officials want to sue over colleagues' legal bills from 2022 election delay
The Cochise County Board of Supervisors wants to know if it can sue its insurance provider and former county attorney for damages after two supervisors were denied insurance coverage in an ongoing election interference case.
The move by county officials centers on legal bills incurred by former Supervisor Peggy Judd and current Supervisor Tom Crosby, a pair of Republicans who voted in 2022 to delay the certification of the election. The delay came despite documentation supplied by the state election director showing the voting machines were certified, repeated legal advice from the county attorney that their actions were illegal, and a warning from the county's insurance provider that it would not cover legal bills stemming from the vote.
They were quickly sued and eventually indicted by a grand jury for felony counts of conspiracy and interference with an election officer.
Cochise County is among thirteen of Arizona's counties that have joined together to secure insurance through the Arizona Counties Insurance Pool. Though the pool is designed to cover some legal bills, Republican former Cochise County Attorney Bryan McIntyre said it only pays expenses related to civil litigation, not criminal actions brought against public officials.
That meant Judd and Crosby were not covered by the Arizona Counties Insurance Pool and had to foot their own legal bills.
Judd in October 2024 pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor as part of an agreement with the Arizona Attorney General's Office, which investigated and presented the case to a grand jury. Crosby currently faces felony counts of conspiracy and interference with an election officer. He petitioned the Arizona Supreme Court to review the case against him.
Supervisor Frank Antenori, a Republican former state legislator who was elected to the board in 2024, said the new lawsuit came from concerns public officials would "go bankrupt because of a political difference with an attorney general."
'I don't want to be bankrupt and deny my kids their inheritance because I took a political stand on an issue,' he said.
The Arizona Counties Insurance Pool and McIntyre did not respond to requests for comment.
The current board of supervisors wants to make sure they don't foot the bill for future decisions they might make 'in good faith,' Antenori said during a special board meeting on Feb. 5.
He said the insurance pool told him it would not cover the legal fees in the case against Judd and Crosby because the supervisors were going against the advice of the county attorney.
Judd had her life was 'basically taken away from her,' Antenori said. He noted that she ultimately lost her house to pay for legal bills. He also said she had to move in with her mother and has very little to live on during her retirement.
'She thought she was doing what was best for her constituents,' he said. 'She heard from a lot of voters they wanted her to do a deep dive and look at what happened in that election before approving the canvas.'
Supervisor Kathleen Gomez, a Republican who was elected to the board in 2024, said that had she been a sitting board at the time, she would not have certified it.
'I made a joke that no matter what I would probably end up going to jail for my constituents,' Gomez said.
Gomez's statement echoed a similar statement Judd made two years prior when the board of supervisors was considering a full hand count of the ballots ahead of the 2022 election. Judd said during a board meeting she could go to jail for her vote after the county attorney told her and the other supervisors repeatedly that hand counting was unlawful.
'I'd like to take this chance. My heart and my work have been in it, and I don't want to back down. I might go to jail,' Judd said about the hand count proposal.
Judd and Crosby ultimately voted to authorize a hand count audit of voting precincts. Trial court judges blocked the hand count, a decision that was affirmed by the state appeals court last year.
The Arizona Counties Insurance Pool warned the supervisors at that time that it would not cover any legal costs resulting from the matter, noting it would be improper to expect other member counties in the insurance pool to pay Cochise County's attorney bills in the face of a lawsuit.
During the board meeting on Feb. 5, Antenori requested the county hire outside counsel to investigate whether the board has a case against the insurance pool and McIntyre. He suggested hiring Rusing Lopez and Lazari, a firm with offices in Scottsdale and Tucson, who he said would be willing to look into whether they have a case.
Antenori told Paul Correa, chief civil deputy county attorney, that the crux of the issue is that McIntyre's legal opinion was taken on by the attorney general and the insurance pool.
'I would like to remedy that, and I would like to set a precedent so if this occurs again, we have the ability to get multiple opinions, and that the attorney's one opinion ... isn't the one that is used to beat us over the head because we decided to go against your opinion and go with another opinion,' Antenori said.
Correa said in the instance where board members disagree with the county attorney's advice and interpretation of a statute, finding a second opinion would be a valid practice and help when the insurance pool is deciding whether to insure board members.
Gomez and Antenori voted to hire the firm of Rusing Lopez and Lizardi to provide them with legal counsel and determine if they have a claim against ACIP and McIntyre. Crosby left the room during the discussion and did not vote.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cochise County officials want to sue over bills from election delay
