Peoria City Council at its public meeting March 5 unanimously approved the new presiding judge to be John Tatz.
He currently is the presiding judge at the city of Mesa. Tatz’s first day in Peoria will be April 15.
His salary will be $232,648, according to his employment agreement, which expires in April 2028.
Tatz replaces Presiding Judge George Anagnost, who retired March 1 after nearly 30 years of service.
City Manager Henry Darwin said Tatz is a longtime Peoria resident with children in the Peoria school system.
“I’ll tell you why I am most proud to make this recommendation. That’s because of Judge Tatz's connection to the city of Peoria,” Darwin said. “Judge Tatz has been a resident of the city of Peoria for 23 years. ... Not only are his qualifications impeccable, his connections to the city of Peoria make this an easy recommendation.”
Recruitment for this position closed Feb. 21. Applications and resumes from applicants were reviewed by the Peoria Judicial and Public Defender Advisory Board and the board forwarded five applicants who were interviewed by Darwin. Following those interviews, Darwin recommend Tatz for council appointment.
The Peoria municipal court handles criminal misdemeanors, traffic violations, city code violations, injunctions prohibiting harassment and orders of protection in Peoria.
Tatz was appointed by the Mesa council as a city magistrate on Sept. 19, 2016, and as presiding city magistrate on July 8, 2020. As a city magistrate, Tatz presided over the arraignment court, the in-custody court, the veterans court and the community court. He was instrumental in planning and implementing a domestic violence court in Mesa, according to a news release.
Prior to his appointment, Tatz was in private practice for 15 years. During some of that time he served as a judge pro tem in Maricopa County Superior Court, Scottsdale City Court and Wickenburg Town Court. He also held public defender contracts in Mesa, Phoenix and Peoria municipal courts, and represented veterans in the veterans courts of Mesa and Phoenix.
Prior to private practice, he served as a prosecutor in Peoria, Scottsdale and Flagstaff municipal courts, and as a public defender in Navajo County.
Tatz has been a member of the Arizona Bar since 1993. He earned his bachelor's degree from Drake University, his MBA from the University of Phoenix, and his law degree with distinction from the University of Iowa School of Law.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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