¶ Pinal County Supervisor Kevin Cavanaugh Is An Election Denier Whose Workplace Malconduct Has Cost The County Over $150,000
SUMMARY: Pinal County Supervisor Kevin Cavanaugh’s three-year tenure has been marred by faulty election-related proposals and conflicts with both county staff and fellow county supervisors.
Cavanaugh has used his office to push false claims of election fraud and promote voting policies that could lead to increased errors:
- In the 2022 primaries, errors left Pinal County precincts without ballots, in addition to incorrect ballots mailed to voters the month before. The ballot issues in the 2022 primary election led to a lawsuit from congressional candidate Kathleen Winn. Cavanaugh pushed for post-election hand-counted audits in Pinal County, and he justified it using the “repeated and unfounded claims by former President Donald Trump about ballot tabulation machines.”
- After the 2022 general election, Pinal County discovered a “500-vote discrepancy between certified election tallies and recounted results,” which Cavanaugh does not believe is the result of voter fraud. After the miscount and ballot errors in the 2022 election, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors discussed changes to restore public trust, with Cavanaugh pushing for hand counts of ballots in the 2024 election, even though the problems were not caused by machines and he acknowledged that he’s “not an elections expert.”
- In November 2022, Cavanaugh proposed increasing the number of hand-counted precincts–a move criticized as aimed to appease “people who did not believe in facts,” and “a fringe movement of election deniers”–though he ultimately voted against his own motion.
- In 2018, after Cavanaugh appeared to lose an election, he called on the county recorder to resign, alleging her office slow-walked providing data and implying that “a statistical anomaly” with provisional ballots could have accounted for his loss.
In addition, Cavanaugh has slung false allegations of quid pro quo, and one employee sued over discrimination:
- Two Pinal County employees won a $40,000 settlement after suing Cavanaugh for his false allegations of quid pro quo in the Pinal County Attorney’s Office “without any factual basis.'' An outside investigation found “no evidence to support the allegations'' of the misconduct he alleged of the two county employees. The incident resulted in a lawsuit that cost the county $145,000 in legal defense costs. The outside investigation into the claims made by Cavanaugh repeatedly found that the sources Cavanaugh named “did not disclose to Kevin Cavanaugh the information that Cavanaugh attributes” to them.
- In addition to accusations against Stanford and Shreves, Cavanaugh accused Supervisors Goodman and Miller of wrongdoing that the outside investigation found to be unsubstantiated.
- The county was also sued by Cavanaugh’s former Administrative Assistant for age and sex discrimination, with the county insurance paying $20,000 to settle. The complaint details comments made by Cavanaugh, which in one instance was concluded by stating simply, “You are both old!” When Mellado sought a meeting with HR, she was fired.
Cavanaugh’s volatile term has put the security of future elections in Pinal County at risk.
¶ Learn More about Kevin Cavanaugh
- Biography
- 2022 Pinal County Election Troubles: Ballot Shortages, 500-Vote Discrepancy Leveraged by Cavanaugh for 2024 Hand Count Advocacy
- Nov 2022: Cavanaugh's Proposal to Increase Hand-Counted Precincts Criticized, Votes Against Own Motion Amid Denier Claims
- 2023: Pinal County Board Unanimously Votes for Recorder to Oversee Elections, New Proposal Involves Parties in Hiring Elections Director
- Cavanaugh's Unfounded Misconduct Allegations Against County Employees and Supervisors Lead to $145,000 Legal Cost for County
- Pinal County Faces Lawsuit for Age, Sex Discrimination by Cavanaugh's Ex-Assistant, Settles for $20,000
- 2018: Cavanaugh Alleges 'Statistical Anomaly' in Provisional Ballots, Calls for County Recorder's Resignation After Apparent Loss
- Cavanaugh Withdraws from Board of Supervisors Reelection Bid, Files Interest in Running for Pinal County Sheriff
- Campaign Finance
- Properties, Business, and Tax Records
- Other Cavanaugh Controversies