Republican Pima County sheriff candidate Heather Lappin has a history of financial difficulties but says the lessons will guide her as an elected leader responsible for understanding the needs and hardships of the public.
Lappin declared bankruptcy in 2010, after incurring thousands of dollars in debt and missing loan payments, public records from Pima County Justice Court show. Lappin says she has learned from the issues with medical debt and other financial problems.
“In hindsight, was it stupid? Absolutely. But I was in panic mode,” Lappin told Arizona Luminaria about some of her past personal financial decisions.
She said that despite the financial difficulties she has faced in life, “I remained resilient. I didn’t crumble.”
“Not once did any of these issues affect my work,” Lappin added.
If elected, Lappin would manage the Pima County Sheriff’s Department’s annual budget of about $170 million.
Lappin is one of three candidates running in the Republican primary. She is facing fellow Republicans Bill Phillips and Terry A. Frederick, both former deputies in the sheriff’s department. Lappin works as a corrections lieutenant in the Pima County jail.
Lappin has been part of the sheriff’s department for 19 years. She previously worked as a Training Section Commander, overseeing various programs for personnel, according to her campaign website. She’s also worked as a district commander and in internal affairs.
The winner of the Republican primary will face either Democratic incumbent Chris Nanos or challenger Sandy Rosenthal. The primary election is July 30, with early voting beginning July 3.
Arizona Luminaria checked the background of each candidate running for sheriff this year. See the background checks for other candidates. Arizona Luminaria found that neither Rosenthal nor Phillips had significant legal histories — as was the case with the other three candidates — to merit an explanation to voters.
A trying financial past
Lappin said her financial straits began in 2010 when her husband lost his job at a Harley Davidson dealership in Tucson. Her son had severe asthma and the family struggled to pay hospital bills, she said. Later, her son also experienced prolonged difficulties stemming from substance abuse and addiction, she said.
Lappin helped put her son into four different rehab facilities over the years, she said, at costs mounting up to $1,500 per day.
All of that led to Lappin and her husband jointly declaring bankruptcy in 2010 and then dealing with a rash of financial lawsuits in the following years, according to public records and lawsuits reviewed by Arizona Luminaria.
A snapshot of those lawsuits shows:
- In 2011, she and her husband were sued in the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court for missed vehicle loan payments of more than $6,500.
- In 2018, she and her husband were sued for more than $1,250 in medical debt.
- In 2022, the homeowners association where she and her husband lived put a lien on their property for missed payments.
A U.S. Census Bureau study from 2021 found that 15% of all households had some form of medical debt. An estimated 20 million people, or 1 in 12 adults, in the country owe medical debt, according to a study from The Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF, two non-profit healthcare analysis organizations.
Lappin said that she and her family have “climbed back out” of debt and are making regular payments now. Together the couple has paid off about $25,000 in debt and have another $40,000 or so to go, she said.
“I made a lot of financial mistakes. I will completely agree with that. But I would never go back and do anything different,” Lappin said. She took the financial hits, including getting new credit cards to pay her debt and to pay for her son’s treatment.
“I saved his life,” she said.
Trust through transparency
Lappin wants to assure voters that she believes in budget transparency and financial accountability.
She stressed that she has experience with budgets from when she used to manage a restaurant and a local public safety agency, where she worked before signing on with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. She was a general manager at two Phoenix-area IHOPs and traveled the country opening new stores, she said.
Lappin also said she used to manage the San Xavier sheriff’s district budget when she was a section commander stationed there.
“I hated the bankruptcy 100%,” Lappin said. “But I’ve battled through some really hard, hard situations and come out on top.”
“As far as having trust in me to handle that, I think my past shows that I am resilient to struggle,” Lappin said. “I’m resilient to adversity.”
Read more about this series
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