Steven Slugocki Talks About His Time as the Maricopa County Democratic Chairperson

When Steven Slugocki became the Maricopa County Democratic Chair in 2015, that part of the Grand Canyon State had been a reliable electoral bastion for Republican contenders for local, state, and national offices.

Not anymore.

While work remains to be done, there is no doubt that the efforts of Mr. Slugocki and his team have made Maricopa County one of the bellwether counties in the United States.

Thanks in part to their hard work:

• Krysten Sinema, Katie Hobbs, Kathy Hoffman, Anna Tovar, Sandra Kennedy, and Mark Kelly won statewide elections.
• Democrats are near parity with Republicans in the State Legislature with gains in Legislative Districts 17, 18, 20, and 28.
• Joe Arpaio is no longer the Sheriff in Maricopa County.
• Adrian Fontes helped bring the Recorders Office into the Twenty-First Century.
• Democratic gains were made in the Board of Supervisors and Community College District.
• High-quality Democratic Candidates ran for all county offices for the first time in decades.
• Joe Biden won Arizona for the Democrats for the first time since 1996.

After these five eventful years, Mr. Slugocki will be leaving his position as the Chairperson of the Maricopa County Democratic Party this weekend.

He graciously took the time to respond to questions about his tenure and what he would like to pursue in the future.

The questions and his responses are below. 

1) What are the three moments you are proudest of as Chairperson of the Maricopa County Democratic Party?

“This is a really tough question. In five years, there have been incredible highs. There are so many great memories and it’s hard to put into just three. I’ve been so lucky to have some of these experiences and work with so many incredible people.”

 “I would say in no particular order, our county wins in 2016, the incredible growth we saw all of 2017 and finally having a full slate of countywide candidates this year for the first time ever combined with a Democratic candidate for President winning Maricopa County for the first time since 1948.”

 “In 2016 we made history by ending one-party rule in Maricopa. Defeating Joe Arpaio, electing Adrian Fontes, we showed that Dems can win countywide. MCDP really led the way in 2016 by winning six of the nine races we were responsible for, and I want to make sure to thank our Executive Director Jon Ryder at the time for his great leadership during a tough year. in 2017 we saw incredible growth, largely a result of the chaos we saw from Trump. Every district had to get new meeting space because of the crowd size, our PC numbers doubled, and we had a surge of new activism across the county that led the way to great victories in 2018. Our Executive Director Miguel Medrano really did fantastic leading the way for all the newly engaged people. Finally, I would say having a candidate, and not just any candidate, but all highly qualified candidates for every county position in 2020 was huge. I am so proud of our current Executive Director Maritza Miranda Saenz for working with and helping to develop our strategy for 2020. While we didn’t get all the results we wanted, we re-elected Paul Penzone, and helped elect Senator Kelly and win Maricopa County for Joe Biden.”

2) What are the three moments that you have regrets about your time as Chairperson?

 “Losing Adrian as our County Recorder is definitely a big one. That is a tremendous loss that we have yet to really see the effects of but will for sure in the future. The second I would say is the other county races this year. We had such fantastic candidates and a real opportunity for change in our county. We could have flipped the board of supervisors and elected real change in our community. Unfortunately, it did not happen, and I think that really ties into my last one. My last regret is the Kevin Patterson for the city council race in 2017. I think about this one often. Kevin was a dedicated, and passionate advocate who would have represented the city so well. Kevin was one of my favorite candidates to work with, always so incredibly positive and upbeat, wanting to do more. Despite our best efforts, we got very little help. I struggled to get people to believe that this was a winnable race. People were so focused on the Trump chaos; they didn’t see a golden opportunity in a local race to defeat Sal DiCiccio. I think far too often, people don’t pay nearly enough attention to local races that could make a dramatic change in our everyday lives. The day after, and Kevin barely lost by 1,800 votes, everyone was like “I wish I did more, I should have got involved”. How different would Phoenix be if Kevin Patterson and not Sal was on the council?”

“I sincerely hope in the future people see the importance of local races. I can’t stress this enough; we need to care about these local races as much as the top of the ticket.”

3) To what extent is the county party infrastructure and organization superior to when you took over? Please explain

“It’s hard to say “superior” but I think we are much more financially stable and more organized along with our districts than ever before. We have a very close relationship with our districts, and I am really proud of that. We really worked hard together, and I talked quite often with the district chairs. We really found ways to work together and I think it shows with everyone being successful.”

“We are also able to accomplish much more because we have a solid financial support system. Our circle of friends group has grown tremendously under Carol Maas’s leadership. We have more recurring donations than ever before. People understand that this is the most important battleground county in America and that you cannot win Arizona without Maricopa. The Maricopa County Democratic Party is one of the best county parties in the country and that took years of hard work by so many and I am lucky to have been part of this team.”

“I am confident I am leaving MCDP in very good hands and that the county will continue to be successful.”

4) Are there at least two points of advice you would convey to your successor on how to take the County Party forward?

“I tell people all the time that something I have learned over time is that the Chair position is a job based on relationships. Relationships with the LDs, the candidates, donors, and of course the staff. Speaking of, I swear some days I talked to Martiza more than my wife. Ha! I am obsessed with sports so I use the word “team” a lot so I try to convert that into politics. You have to trust and depend on your “team” so much as Chair. Once you build up that level of support and trust, you can accomplish great things. Some relationships come easy, some take time, but it’s critical to have strong relationships across the county. I was extremely fortunate that the Chairs before me helped me and guided me, especially when I was just getting started, and I pledge to do the same for whoever comes after me.”

5) Politically, what will you attempt to do after a well-deserved vacation?

 “First, I’m going to spend some time with my family, who have been so supportive of me. It’s been extremely difficult at times to have a full-time day job, be a full-time Chair, AND have a wife and small baby. So, I am looking forward to being with them. I am extremely lucky that my wife Megan, who I met through MCDP when she was a district Chair, is very supportive of me.”

“Politically, I am honestly not sure what I am going to do. Truly, I don’t know. I have spoken with some elected officials about potential opportunities to run for office in 2022 that interest me. I will definitely run for office one day, and I think with my experience I would be a strong candidate, but it needs to be the right fit.”

 “I am also being pushed to run for the state party leadership to help bring our successes to the other counties. There are also some upcoming campaigns I could join as well.”

“While my plans are not set, I am really excited for new challenges and a new beginning. After 12 years on the board, my heart will always be with MCDP and I will still be involved I am sure, but I am looking forward to the future. It’s a very exciting time for me.”

6) Is there anything not covered in the first five questions you would like the reader to know.

“I can’t express enough my sincere appreciation and gratitude to everyone who supported me and MCDP the last several years. We have accomplished some major things in my time as Chair that I will forever be proud of and I couldn’t have done it without you all. Being Chair has been the hardest job in the world, but I have loved it more than anything. So many difficult times, and even a few times I didn’t know how to continue but knowing, in the end, we were making a difference in our community made all this worth it. It’s an incredible feeling knowing that I was a small part in making this state a better place to live. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t all get together for one last party to celebrate our successes, but I just want to thank everyone once again. When life gets back to normal, I can’t wait to see you all again in person as we continue the work to turn Arizona blue!”

The vote to choose Mr. Slugocki’s successor as Chair of the Maricopa County Democratic Party will be held at the County Party’s Winter Convention on Saturday, December 19, 2020.

Please click here for more information on that event and here for the candidates vying to succeed Mr. Slugocki.