Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
In the first contested election in some time, the Sun City Posse members elected a new commander and four members to its board of governors.
Richard Nonini will lead the Posse in the coming year. He won the position in a close race with Vicki Foelsch.
Also elected to the board of governors were Lewis Ezsak, John Gerlach, Gene Papineau and Dave Miller.
It was the first contested Posse election for commander in at least five years. Danny Moore, the outgoing commander, served in that position for three of the last four years. Following his 2015 term, in which he was the only candidate, he was elected again for the following year when a second candidate was forced to withdraw due to personal reasons. Mary Heiser served in 2017 and Mike Murphy served as commander in 2018, both having been the only candidate, and Mr. Moore was elected again as a sole candidate for the 2019 term.
Sarah Davis, Posse Election Committee chairwoman, reported 90.5% of Posse members voted in the election this year.
“It was exciting to have a choice in the election this year,” Mr. Moore said, to hearty laughter, at the Dec. 3 membership meeting where election results were announced. “It shows there is interest in the Posse and people are willing to serve.”
The Posse had gone through a period of declining membership due to a federal court order stemming from a racial profiling case against Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and former Sheriff Joe Arpaio requiring additional training conducted in downtown Phoenix when the Posse was affiliated with MCSO. The Posse deaffiliated from MCSO in late-2017 to become an independent organization, exempting it from the court order.
Mr. Nonini joined the Posse in 2015, having waited almost one year through the drawn-out qualification process at that time due in large part to the court order.
“I believe the Posse is a great organization that adds value to the Sun City lifestyle,” Mr. Nonini said. “Helping our neighbors is a goal we all aspire to.”
Mr. Nonini believes the Posse needs to plan for the future, both operationally and fiscally. He plans to continue to focus on recruiting to expand the Posse membership. He also hopes to develop an operational and fiscal strategic plan to provide a road map to continued success.
“As treasurer, I have been part of the transition over the last two years,” he said. “As commander, I will do my best to ensure the continued success of the Posse.”
Mr. Nonini holds a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and a master’s in business administration from Drexel University. He was in the Navy ROTC at Penn State then served three years in the United States Marine Corps.
Mr. Miller joined the Posse in 2008 and has been on patrol duty ever since. He is also a duty officer and lieutenant of operations.
“Sun City Posse now has greater opportunity to define its place in the community and identify how the Posse and its members can make a contribution to the residents of Sun City,” he said.
Mr. Ezsak has been a Posse patrol officer more than two years and serves on the organization’s color guard.
“I believe in the need to promote the safety of our Posse and the community,” he said. “This includes the discussion of safety issues between us as well as researching new technologies that will make our work safer and easier.”
Mr. Gerlach joined the Posse in 2017 and now serves as a duty officer and master sergeant of traffic. He is also a member of the color guard.
“I’d like to be part of setting the direction for the Posse’s future,” he said. “I’m particularly interested in bringing training methods up-to-date to match our new technology and incorporating more flexibility into patrol and traffic duties.”
Mr. Papineau is a 10-year member of the Posse, and has been on its color guard the last seven years, helping make it a well known unit.
“I believe in leadership by example,” he said. “I have applied that in my work with the color guard, two years leading recruitment, during the last year in supply and during my patrol duties.”
Rusty Bradshaw News Editor | Sun City &
Sun City West @SunCitiesEditor
Rusty Bradshaw is a 40-year veteran of community journalism, having worked at newspapers in Wyoming, Oregon and Arizona. He has been with Independent Newsmedia 15 years.
Rusty earned a junior college certificate from Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming and a bachelor of science degree from Eastern Oregon University in LaGrande Oregon.
An avid football fan, Rusty also enjoys photography, reading, spending time outdoors and enjoying life with his wife. He also authored three books of fiction, “The Rehabilitation of Miss Little,” “Moist on the Mountain” and "Gorge Justice." Visit www.rustythewriter.org.
By 
