2026 Election: Inside the race for Arizona State Mine Inspector

PHOENIX - It sounds like a job from the days of gold pans, pickaxes, and donkeys, but during Arizona's primary election on July 21, a surprisingly large number of voters in the state cast ballots in the race for State Mine Inspector.

"A lot of folks don’t know what the mine inspector does," Democratic candidate Brian Matlock said.

"99% of the people, when I ask that question in an audience, nobody raises their hand when I ask them 'what do I do?" incumbent Republican Les Presmyk said.

Big picture view:

Per our report on the post during the 2022 election cycle, the state mine inspector has the duty to inspect, at least once every three months, every active underground mine in the state that employs 50 or more people, and at least once each year, every other mine.

In addition, the Arizona Clean Elections Commission website states that the state mine inspector also has the authority to "suspend or close mining operations to ensure the proper safety measures are being applied."

The requirements to hold this position are extensive for a position that only pays $50,000. By statute, candidates must have at least eight years of operational and management experience in mines, including a minimum of four years within Arizona operations.

What we know:

Presmyk is the incumbent in this race. He was appointed to the role by Governor Katie Hobbs after the previous inspector, Paul Marsh, resigned.  

Gov. Katie Hobbs appointed Presmyk to the role last September after the previous inspector resigned. He faces Matlock this November.

"I bring 41 years of mining experience as a mining engineer to this job," Presmyk said.

"As a mechanical engineer, I have literally decades of heavy industry experience which includes mining operations here and around the world," Matlock said.

Dig deeper:

So, what does the State Mine Inspector actually do?

Both candidates say the job boils down to one fundamental mission: safety.

"It’s all about safety," Presmyk said. "The safety of miners, and by miners it’s anyone that steps onto a mine set to work whether they’re employees of the mining company, contractors, consultants, whomever."

"At the end of the day it all comes down to one thing," Matlock said. "A miner is expected to go home without injury and without distress and that’s basically what the job of the mine inspector is."

On top of site safety, the inspector enforces state mining laws.

"The legislature has set out a bunch of rules and guidelines that says this is the way a mine is supposed to operate and the mine inspector, as an office, we go in and we check those mines to make sure that they are complying with those laws and those statutes," Matlock said.

Why you should care:

The Mine Inspector’s duty doesn’t stop at active job sites: it extends to the public as well.

"We estimate there are another 90,000 abandoned mines out there that should have some sort of hole on them," Presmyk said. "So we’re out looking for them, fencing them and securing them so the casual hiker, ATVer, 4-wheeler, whatever doesn’t fall in to one of these holes and get hurt."

There are also more than 400 active mines in Arizona.

"It’s about the safety of our 29 thousand people who work directly in mines, another 70 thousand that work indirectly at mines," Presmyk said.

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