top of page
KEVIN CAVANAUGH was elected in 2020 as a Pinal County Supervisor and is now running for Sheriff. He is the most experienced candidate. He began his police career as a reserve police officer in 1986 and served as patrolman, detective, and manager of Internal Affairs. Kevin attended two police academies, one in Kalamazoo Michigan, and another in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Kevin has owned several successful businesses. As Sheriff, Kevin Cavanaugh will prioritize public safety, work to reduce crime rates, and address critical issues facing the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.
BEST QUALIFIED, MOST EXPERIENCED
PUBLIC SAFETY
- The Open Border is allowing criminals and likely terrorists from all over the world to flood our nation. We must fight against these open border practices and take enforcement measures within Pinal County to protect citizens from the open-border lawlessness. I will start a motor-carrier enforcement unit and stop trucks and busses carrying illegal substances. We will act within the law to thwart the federal government's disasterous border policies.
- Drug Trafficking is more prevalent than ever. Global state actors want the United States in chaos, providing dangerous drugs or their precursors to be delivered through our southern border. Using our own motor carrier division, we can conduct operations to catch the drugs the federal government lets through.
- Freedom of Movement is the next target on the liberal's hit list. We should be free to travel whenever and wherever we desire but legislators are already considering pay by mile taxation for your car. To do that, they will need to know everywhere you go. I will oppose vehicle tracking as it is antithetical to basic Constitutional rights.
- I opposed COVID tyranny. I was the only Board of Supervisor member pushing back against the dubious claims of the COVID pandemic and the questionable vaccine. I asked that the warnings about the dangers of the vaccination be published along with the purported benefits. I opposed the vaccine 'Equity Coordinator' who would decide who could receive the vaccine based on race.
- I opposed NGO giveaways. Non-Government organizations take your tax dollars and are effectively unaccountable for how it is spent. Much of the covid money was a giant wealth transfer from the federal government, through local governments, to big socialist supporters.
- Keep and Bear Arms. The Constition is clear. The reason we have guns isn't for deer hunting. It's is to protect citizens from the eventual tyranny that governments throughout history have become. Guns are the last line of defense in your fight to maintain liberty and freedom. Guns are to protect you from those who would cause you harm. The recent riots all over the United States supporting Hamas demonstrate the need for individuals to have the ability to protect themselves. Even news reporters have been attacked for reporting "hostile news" about the hostile takeover of college campuses.
- I will support the Second Amendment with every tool possible. I will make every law abiding citizen who desires a member of the Sheriff's Posse with all the rights and privileges thereof, including carrying a firearm. I will organize the County posse into smaller teams to help respond to natural or human-caused disasters, civil unrest, or disease outbreak. The Posse units will work hand in hand with deputies and serve logistics, supply, support, medical, informational, and enforcement roles.
- We must fight for our country. We must not give in to soft-on-crime policies implimented through federal funding with strings attached. Pinal County, among the 'red-ist' of all Arizona counties has sold our soul to the federal government. Another Republican County Supervisor recently said at a meeting "We take the federal government money and do what we want with it." That simply isnt' true. We must spend the money the way the federal government tells us to and that has what has bloated both Pinal County government and burdened federal taxpayers.
- Cavanaugh's Law Enforcement History
Kevin Cavanaugh began his law enforcement career reserve police officer in 1986, then went to the police academy and served as a patrolman, detective, and manager of Internal Affairs. Kevin Cavanaugh has the expertise needed to keep Pinal County safe. He knows what it takes to reduce crime rates and increase public safety.
Preston Lord was a teenager who was murdered in Queen Creek, but the case has Pinal County connections. Pinal County Sheriff Deputies are discouraged from acting on offenses committed by juveniles because our County Attorney's Office has a soft-on-crime approach praised in liberal media. Kevin will change that and cause deputies to address juvenile crime in spite of the weak approach by the County Attorney. We need to act on juvenile crime and help correct behavior before it's too late. If the County Attorney refuses to prosecute, the responsibility for increasing crime rates in Pinal County from juvenile crime will fall squarely on the shoulders of that office. PCSO will do it's job.
Kevin knows how to solve crime. In his police career he has worked thousands of felonies. Kevin also has thousands of hours of training in policing. Additionally, he holds two bachelor's degrees, one in Public Affairs, and another in Accounting.
Kevin has responded to the scenes of more than 150 deaths, including homicides, suicides, and accidents. Kevin has developed and taught death investigation curriculum with practical application and skills testing in a three-day seminar. The quality of death scene investigations will improve with Kevin as Sheriff.
Kevin helped pilot the Child Forensic Interview techiques and has given expert evaluation, opinion, and court testimony in this field. When children are harmed by a sexual offender, he can help guide detectives and make sure that the cases are rock-solid.
Kevin has been a manager inside a jail facility. He knows the problems unique to custody environments and knows how to solve them. From inmate violence, PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) compliance, to stopping drug trafficking inside the jail, no TV reality show will be needed to clean up operations.
Some of Pinal County's checking accounts have not been balanced in as much as seven years. I'll balance the books. There is no excuse for any government agency to ignore such a fundamental accounting tool.
There is no candidate in the race for Pinal County Sheriff with more expertise in solving crime. None.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
As Sheriff, Kevin Cavanaugh will work to build stronger relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. He believes that community involvement is key to creating a safer Pinal County.
When a bad guy is kicking in your door, the Sheriff's Office shouldn't be 30 minutes away. Kevin will re-evaluate and manage districts and deputies to minimize response times. He will make patrols more visible and be accountable to communities we serve with reports of activites, patrols, and arrests.
As County Supervisor Kevin worked hard and got things done. He engaged the community in problem solving. Kevin moved projects in the Copper Corridor to the front burner and supported the expansion of the Pinal Regional Park system, worked to get a Million dollars in seed money for the highway 347 expansion, and stands on principle when addressing misconduct within government.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
Kevin Cavanaugh understands that our Sheriff's Office is in need of reform. He will work to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equally under the law, and that our criminal justice system is just and effective.
A few bad apples will not be permitted to spoil the bunch at PCSO. Kevin has received reports of a small handful of deputies mistreating citizens. Women arrested for Drunk Driving offenses have allegedly been offered leniency in exchange for sexual favors. When women reported to Internal Affairs, this small cadre of rogue deputies found the woman, arrested them again, this time on more serious charges, including aggrevated battery on law enforcement. Their stores are similar, and at least one deputy was terminated but is fighting to get his job back because of the poor job done by Pinal County Internal Affairs (Professional Standards) unit. Two women left the state, one died in a tragic car accident, another committed suicide due to the stress, according to her friend, and a fourth has recently given sworn testimony regarding her experiences. This wrongdoing has been hidden from public view, and likely hidden from our current Sheriff until it was too late. I will not permit these acts to happen when I am Sheriff. I am an experienced Internal Affairs manager and will properly supervise the Professional Standards Unit. I will not be an absentee Sheriff. I will greet the morning sun from my office to make sure Deputies and the public know they have a sheriff fully dedicated to delivering results.
TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
As Sheriff, Kevin Cavanaugh will prioritize transparency and accountability. He believes that the Sheriff's Office should be accountable to the people it serves, and that transparency is essential to building trust between law enforcement and the community. Citizens will not have to fight for public information, we will publish as much information as reasonably possible for the public to see. From financials to patrol statistics, the public will see the same data each week as it is delivered to the Sheriff.
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Kevin Cavanaugh knows that managing resources effectively is essential to providing quality law enforcement services. He will work to ensure that the Sheriff's Office is using taxpayer resources responsibly and efficiently.
Kevin has been a stalwart fiscal conservative as County Supervisor. He is often the lone vote on the board rejecting wasteful spending or federal funds with strings attached. He is a proven financial conservative and the only candidate with a record to prove it. Moreover, Kevin has a bachelor's degree in Accounting, experience in running multi-million dollar businesses, and knows how to organize work flow and resource management.
LEADERSHIP
As a successful business owner and experienced law enforcement professional, Kevin Cavanaugh has the leadership skills needed to be an effective Sheriff. He will provide strong, decisive leadership to the Sheriff's Office, and will work tirelessly to ensure that Pinal County is a safe and secure place to live.
Leadership is nothing until put into action. When citizens or employees report wrongdoing on the part of another elected or employee, Kevin has done what is and reported the information consistent with law and policy. Kevin has received reports of corruption and appropriately passed the information to the County Attorney's Office where the facts have been improperly investigated and spun into political attacks. It doesn't matter. Kevin still does the right thing, follows law and policy. When Kevin is sworn in as Sheriff those inclined to commit criminal acts using Pinal County resources will likely stop, knowing there is a Sheriff who will not hesitate to act to protect the citizens and government from further harm.
The public elects politicians and expects them to go into government and fight corruption and waste. The public often underestimates the power of the 'swamp' and the corruption inside County Government, even locally.
On July 3, 2024, a man connected to federal law enforcement came to the Board of Supervisors meeting and spoke at call to the public. He said federal agents were asking him about corruption in Pinal County. Before I was sworn in as County Supervisor an elected official and county staff described bribery, theft, misuse of funds, and more. Before I was sworn in, I was merely a regular Joe Citizen with no power to act, and no responsbility to look into the issues. After being sworn in, each time a person repeated the information I heard prior to taking office, I took the information to our County Attorney. Their office never asked for names, dates, or any information that would lead one to learn whether or not the allegation brought forward were true. They did this in several instances.
When the County Attorney's Office holds a potential crime over the head of another elected official, even the suggestion of a crime, they are able to exercise enormous control over that elected official. It would have been proper in each instance to ask an outside agency to clear each matter.
In one instance, nearly $200,000 in rent had not been collected in 12 years from a private business who rented from the County. The County Management team said a former Supervisor said "not to collect the rent" and they acted on that instruction. The problem is, one Board member cannot make such a decision. The issues was farmed out for investigation to the Gila County Prosecutor who never interviewed the one key witness from the accounting department to determine if instructions to avoid collecting rent were given. County management changed their story and said the reason rent wasn't collected is that we didn't have an accounts receivable module - like Quickbooks. This overlooks the fact that rent is successfully collected by the County on many other buildings. The renter paid a $25,000 payment to avoid further liability and the issue was buried. - This is just one example of the corrupt practices present in Pinal County for decades.
bottom of page