Phoenix (3TV/CBS 5) – Over the past few years, the Maricopa County Supervisory Board has come under attack. A lot of it is due directly to how the election was handled. Last week, the board elected Clint Hickman as chairman. He wants to do more with the social issues that affect Maricopa County.
Hickman will replace Bill Gates, who scrutinized the issue in November’s election. Gates said of Hickman, “Knowing that he’s been in this position twice in the past gives me a great deal of peace and quiet.
As 2020 chairman, Hickman led the county through the COVID-19 pandemic and the November general election. “He handled the 2020 election. The pressure that came from literally declining a call from the White House. I know,” Gates said.
Outside of politics, Hickman is probably best known for his family’s egg farm. “They know our family. We are part of this community,” he said. Hickman is also no stranger to conspiracies. When his family’s farm caught fire in 2021, many accused Hickman of burning ballots on his family’s farm that set it ablaze, which was ultimately proven untrue. It’s a thing. “I accept criticism. I will listen to opinions, but I will do what I am elected to do,” he said.
Hickman said election integrity aside, the county has a lot to catch up on, including many social issues. “We think countywide problems, homelessness, the fentanyl epidemic, that’s just what it is, affordable housing, and what? This guy is leading us to the biggest tax cut in Maricopa County.” It’s conservative Republicans working with conservative Republicans,” he said. Hickman acknowledges that this will require cooperation at all levels of government, which he hopes to achieve this year.
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