FLORENCE — The halls were decked and the crowd was jolly for the oath of office ceremony at Pinal County’s Administrative Complex.  

Former Maricopa Vice Mayor Rich Vitiello was one of 10 newly elected county officials sworn into office in Florence this afternoon.  

Vitiello, who won his second bid for county supervisor in District 1 by 15 points in the November general election, doesn’t officially clock into his first day until January, but he said he’s ready to start working. 

“I’m so excited. The day after the election, I was already meeting people with the county and I wanted to get to work immediately,” he said. 

He’s not the only one.  

Sheriff-elect Ross Teeple said he also started some on-the-job training shortly after the election with Mark Lamb, the popular outgoing sheriff who had endorsed him.  

“It’s a bit like drinking from the fire hose,” he said. “We met on Veterans Day, and I helped him clean out his office and we switched vehicles.” 

It’s been a close working relationship for the two, which is partly why Teeple chose “the best boss to work for” to swear him into office.  

“He’s just been outstanding and so for him to entrust in me to take charge of the sheriff’s office after he steps out, was very important,” Maricopa’s new sheriff told InMaricopa. 

Other elected officials sworn in today were Supervisors Stephen Miller, Jeff McClure, Jeff Serdy and Mike Goodman, Assessor Douglas Wolf, Recorder Dana Lewis, School Superintendent Jill Broussard and Treasurer Michael McCord. 

The only official absent from the swearing-in ceremony was Pinal County Attorney-elect Brad Miller. 

Looking toward day one 

Although Vitiello said he intended to follow up on the tasks that the beleaguered outgoing Supervisor Kevin Cavanaugh had been working on, the longtime Cobblestone Farms resident said his priorities would stay true to his Maricopa roots.  

“Of course, the focus is on [State Route] 347 and economic development throughout the county,” he said, although he did not elaborate on any specifics.  

Teeple’s first goals: Increasing pay for detention officers and addressing felony animal cruelty, an issue brought to him by voters and featured prominently in the December issue of InMaricopa Magazine, including on its cover.  

“They were really concerned with hoarding and mistreatment of livestock,” he said. “I want to make sure we stay ahead of that, so I’ve already reached out to the head of animal control and we’re going to form a task force.” 

And taking his lead from the voters is part of the job, he added. 

“I’m just really thankful for the voters and citizens of Pinal County,” Teeple said. “Please understand that I take this responsibility very heavily and will do it to the best of my abilities to … continue to make Pinal County the safest large county in Arizona.”