Proposed New Counties for Arizona

With 15 counties and an area of 113,000 square miles, Arizona is drastically under-countied. I propose a 60% increase in the number of counties in the state, though it probably could use a few more than that.

Chiricahua County

County Seat: Benson
Formed from: Cochise
Named after the highest peak in this part of Arizona, Chiricahua County would comprise the northern part of what is now Cochise County.

Douglas County

County Seat: Douglas
Formed from: Cochise
This county would allow the growing city of Douglas to be in its own county. Unimaginitively named after the city, it would make up the southeasternmost part of what is now Cochise County.

Geronimo County

County Seat: Casa Grande
Formed from: Maricopa and Pinal
Maricopa County is too large, and Casa Grande is not the seat of its county. This is how I solve what seems to me to be a problem. Approximately the area south of I-10 currently in Maricopa County would join with the western part of Pinal County to form a new county for Phoenix's southern suburbs.

Hualapai County

County Seat: Lake Havasu City
Formed from: Mohave
Lake Havasu City is a relatively new community, but it is growing rapidly and the county seat in Kingman is not within easy reach. This county would give the local population autonomy. The Hualapai Mountains are the source of the name.

Kaibab County

County Seat: Page
Formed from: Coconino and Mohave
It seems very odd that the area north of the Colorado River is not its own county. Even stranger is that it is split between two counties, only one of which has a bridge connecting the northern part to the southern part. This means that the residents of Kaibab, Moccasin, Cane Beds, and Colorado City must travel through Utah, another part of Arizona, Nevada, and back into Arizona to reach Kingman, their county seat. This seems like too much trouble to me. My plan puts them within reach of Page, a city technically on the south side of the Colorado, but just across the bridge. The area near Page is also part of this proposed county. The only problem would be for residents of the Virgin River valley in extreme northwestern Arizona, but Page really isn't any farther than Kingman for them. A better plan for them might be to secede and join Utah or Nevada. The name of the county comes from the Kaibab Plateau.

Mogollon County

County Seat: Payson
Formed from: Coconino and Gila
Payson exists a great distance from Globe, the seat of its county. This plan allows the community to have local government, and places other nearby areas of Coconino County in the new county as well. The Mogollon Rim passes through the county.

Monument County

County Seat: Kayenta
Formed from: Apache and Navajo
Nearly all of the vast Navajo and Hopi reservations in northeastern Arizona would be in one county under my plan, which also would do away with the irony of the Hopi reservation being mostly in Navajo county. The Monument Valley is the source of this county's name.

Papago County

County Seat: Ajo
Formed from: Pima
Pima County includes Tucson and a very large desert area to the west. My plan would put the less-populated area under its own jurisdiction. Papago is a historical name for a tribe native to what is now Arizona.

Salt River County

County Seat: Apache Junction
Formed from: Maricopa and Pinal
This county would unite in all of Phoenix's eastern suburbs from Mesa to Apache Junction in one county. The name comes from the river that runs through the region.

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