Local opinion: Businessman calls for Conover to resign

As a local retail business owner and chair of the Coalition Against Retail Theft (CART) for the Tucson Metro Chamber, I am frustrated to see companies of all sizes in our community being subjected to lawlessness because our county prosecutor is failing to do her job. When we had a security incident at my business which resulted in our employees and some customers afraid for their lives paired with over $30,000 worth of damages, I was sad to see how demoralized the arresting police officers were because they knew that the perpetrator who had a rap sheet with a history of violence would be out within a few days because of Pima County Attorney Laura Conover’s “catch & release” policies.

If it were not for that incident, I would not have cared much about CART or become as interested in local government and civics. But because I felt helpless and saw how residents and businesses would be affected by this chaos, I became more involved and feel the need to share some simple examples of what we see on an ongoing basis.

The lack of prosecutorial enforcement has resulted in the following examples. At least one local mortuary had urns burglarized or vandalized. The same mortuary reported incidents of seniors being assaulted while visiting the graves of their loved ones. Several restaurant employees or owners have been physically assaulted by addicts in their parking lots of back alleys, and at least two big box store locations have a 10% theft loss rate. A large convenience store chain has also reported that petty loss incidents have increased and perpetrators are often timing their thefts with the city bus, effectively using it as a getaway vehicle.

These incidents result in increased insurance and security costs which are passed on to our community while adding a new layer of inflation on top of existing economic drivers. Folks are quick to blame the police, Tucson Mayor and Council, the Pima County Board of Supervisors, the Governor, or even the President and federal officials. They should be looking at the Pima County Attorney’s office, a role created by Arizona’s Constitution, to focus on the genesis and complexity of the problem. In recent years, the Pima County Attorney’s Office has been plagued by rampant turnover, staff upheaval, and a lack of leadership.

Rick Unklesbay wrote an op-ed in November 2023 that “in the criminal division, Conover quickly removed three female supervisors (two of them women of color) and replaced them with white males, mostly with less experience. This had a demoralizing effect as the women were highly respected both in the office and by judges.”

The turmoil within the office has also led to a lack of focus on the office’s core mission: to protect the public and ensure that justice is served. This was evident in the case of the man accused of killing a Tucson police officer who is now being prosecuted in Maricopa County, the mismanagement of the Dr. Meixner case, which has hurt the University of Arizona’s reputation for safety far more than reported, and most disturbingly, the number of abused women being subjected to life-threatening domestic violence situations where the worst did happen as documented by Valerie Cavazos’ “Free to Kill” series on KOLD in October 2022.

Despite these failures, Conover prioritizes bail for violent offenders with prior convictions and she won’t deal with the fentanyl crisis. She has announced her intention to run for re-election in 2024. This reflects a distant relationship with reality by her and those who choose to endorse her.

The evidence is clear: Laura Conover has failed as Pima County Attorney. Her inability to manage her office, protect the public, and ensure that justice is served has left us worse off than before she took office. It is time for her to acknowledge her failures and resign. The people of Pima County deserve better.