Yavapai County District 2 Supervisor and Board Chairman James Gregory [R] announced on Facebook on Wednesday, Jan. 29, that he was resigning after having accepted the position of chief of police in Williams.
“So now I’m making the transition from leaving the board and moving up to Williams,” Gregory said. “I have a history of being in law enforcement, and I enjoyed serving the community in that capacity, and we were planning on retiring in the Williams area anyways, and I have family up [there]. So the position came open sooner than I thought it would, and when it did, I applied for it, and this is where we want to retire.”
The job posting for the Williams post listed a salary range of between $103,272 and $131,810. Gregory interviewed in December. Gregory said that he plans to submit a letter of resignation to the Yavapai County Recorder on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
His successor will have to be a Republican, per state law, and will be appointed by the remainder of the board to serve until the 2026 general election; following that election, the seat will come up for election again in 2028.
Gregory formerly worked for the Prescott Valley Police Department for 25 years before retiring in November 2020.
“[Gregory] was tasked with numerous duties with PVPD which included patrol lieutenant responsible for managing patrol, K-9 and SWAT operations,” his county biography stated. “He also supervised criminal investigations, community services, support services and Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking, a multi-agency drug task force in Yavapai County.”
Tad Wygal, the previous police chief, worked for the city of Williams for 28 years, including as police chief since 2021, and has also been the head coach for the Williams High School football team.
“I’ll probably shadow [Wygal] now … and then I’ll be transitioning off the board within the next three or four weeks,” Gregory said.
“This decision was made after a rigorous hiring process which included multiple interviews including a panel consisting of city of Williams council members, as well as community and law enforcement leaders,” Williams City Manager Tim Pettit stated in a press release. “We are confident that Chief Gregory’s experience and dedication to the profession of law enforcement will immensely benefit the Williams Police Department and the city of Williams as a whole.”
Gregory won the six-candidate 2020 Republican primary with 31% of the vote, followed by Wiley Cline with 19.5% and Jodi Rooney with 19%, then ran unopposed in the general election and took office in 2021.
He was reelected in 2024, again besting Cline in the primary and running unopposed in the general, and was re-sworn-in on Dec. 16.
Gregory said he hoped his successor would be able to finalize the expansion of Windmill Park in Cornville and would continue supporting broadband construction in District 2.
The park expansion is undergoing a National Environmental Policy Act planning process; Red Rock Ranger District District Ranger Alex Schlueter said there is no estimated date for that process to be completed.
“[Gregory] has been part of the driving force in regularly meeting with the Forest Service, to connect on this project,” Schlueter said. “This is one project clearly he has cared about and been diligent in communicating with us … and he’s been nothing but professional and great to work with.”
“I really enjoyed James’s leadership style, so I am disappointed I don’t get to work with him longer,” District 3 Supervisor Nikki Check said. “I do wish him the best, police work is in his heart and Williams is lucky to have him.”
Gregory said that the long commutes to Prescott would be the part of the job he will miss the least, while working with Yavapai County staff is what he will miss the most.
“I hope that the public feels like I served them well, and I’ve always been very respectful to the community and to staff, and always served and given 110% toward the community,” Gregory said.
Yavapai County Public Information Officer David McAtee said that the timeline for appointing Gregory’s replacement would be determined once Gregory submits his letter of resignation.
“The board will put out a press release requesting interested parties submit a letter of interest,” McAtee said. “The board will review those letters and put out a second press release with the names of people who have submitted letters ofinterest. Then, at a regular Board of Supervisors meeting, the board will hold public interviews with those interested, and then select someone to take Supervisor Gregory’s position.”
Cline confirmed that he will be seeking the appointment
