Political Notebook: Progressive supervisors pick former Republican to lead Pima County

DeBonis was an aide to then-Supervisor Ed Moore, a Republican known for attacking perceived political foes. In 1993, DeBonis was tasked with calling around the country to probe similar interfaith groups, an effort that led to him being lampooned in print by a San Antonio Express-News columnist.

After Moore lost in 1996, DeBonis was hired on as a Pima County staffer and brought into the more apolitical realm of county bureaucracy. DeBonis was a registered Republican up until March, 2021, when he switched to party not declared, or independent.

Although he maintains something of a reputation for hewing to the political center right, especially in favoring development, he was able to win the faith of the progressive left on the board.

“He does come from those roots, from that supervisor’s office, but it wasn’t a factor for me,” said supervisor Matt Heinz, a Democrat. The possibility that DeBonis has a different political core than the board, “never really factored into this.”

Fellow progressive Andres Cano added, “I was very enthusiastic to be able to ensure that the candidate we chose was someone from Pima County.”