By AZFPI
Who is Chad DeVries? Perhaps a better question is exactly how far will DeVries go to get elected to Prescott City Council? There is the campaign persona that he is a “family man” and a successful businessman. Then there is the reality DeVries wishes to hide from public scrutiny. Since DeVries himself has encouraged voters to research candidate backgrounds, this is what a quick public records search shows about this candidate.
DeVries filed for bankruptcy twice in the past 24 years, with the last proceeding concluding in 2020. Among the listed creditors is the IRS, which filed a tax lien totaling more than $85,000. The IRS did not release this lien for full payment until February 2020. Another listed creditor is his ex-wife, to whom he owed more than $127,000 plus interest from their 2005-2007 divorce.
Court records also show the self-proclaimed family man was in continuous litigation in Family Court for 12 years (between 2005 and 2017), over child and spousal support. The divorce decree awarded DeVries joint custody of the couple’s five children. DeVries declined to exercise his parental rights for 12 to 18 months, or more, opting to reside in the U.S. Virgin Islands immediately following the divorce.
As far as his employment history, DeVries has been affiliated with 15 different real estate brokers in the past 30 years. Recently, DeVries opened yet another real estate practice with Malcolm Barrett, Jr., a broker who is also his campaign adviser. Public records paint an irresponsible and erratic personal, financial, and employment history that should raise red flags about DeVries serving in public office.
Next is the matter of DeVries’ party registration. When he announced he was running for office, DeVries stated in promotional materials that he was Republican. It would probably come as a surprise, then, to the various Republican groups that he was actually registered as an Independent. Only this month did DeVries re-register as a Republican. While Prescott City Council is a non-partisan race, changing party registration for political expediency in heavily Republican Prescott speaks volumes about his character.
DeVries even got Republican State Treasurer Kimberly Yee to endorse him under false pretenses. While she later withdrew her endorsement, that has not stopped him from using her name in campaign advertisements.
Given that his profession requires him to deal accurately with numbers, DeVries’ first campaign finance report is curiously riddled with errors. It is missing a committee ID number, a date stamp, and a signature from the city clerk’s office. Moreover, it inexplicably tabulates two different figures in its total financial summary. DeVries also states he collected $4,000 in funds without donor information because they were supposedly $100 or less. This is an incredibly high number of small donors, especially since it was between mid-January and the end of March, and before he even qualified as a candidate. DeVries’ lack of attention to detail in this report bodes poorly as a competent city council person.
Prescott is no longer the sleepy little town it once was. We need honest, hardworking leaders who have Prescott’s best interests at heart. We cannot afford to have another elected official take advantage of political connections and real estate deals to the public’s detriment. Like with other con men who have shown up in Prescott waving flags and claiming to have God on their side, Prescott voters need to look beyond the façade and see who DeVries really is.
Federal Tax Lien. Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, Recording Document #: 2010-0549913. https://recorder.maricopa.gov/recdocdata/GetRecDataDetail.aspx?rec=20100549913&suf=&bdt=1/1/1947&edt=6/1/2023&nm=&doc1=&doc2=&doc3=&doc4=&doc5=
Federal Tax Lien Release. Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, Recording Document #: 2020-0202322
Child and Spousal Support. Family Court with Children Case #: FC2005-006209. Filed 5/17/2005. http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/FamilyCourtCases/caseInfo.asp?caseNumber=fc2005-006209
Bankruptcy #1. Arizona Bankruptcy Court. Case #: 2:1999bk00077. Date Filed 1/5/1999. Date Closed 7/13/2000
Bankruptcy #2. Arizona Bankruptcy Court. Case #: 2:2014bk16480. Date Filed 11/3/2014. Date Closed 6/8/2020
Arizona Real Estate Licensing/Employment https://services.azre.gov/PdbWeb/IndividualLicense/ViewIndividualLicense/102610
City of Prescott Campaign Finance Report Report
https://www.prescott-az.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/DeVries_2023-Q1-Report_04.17.23.pdf
Voter Registration Option #1, VRAZ
Registered “Other” or Independent, effective 11/16/21
Voter Registration Option #2 (Democratic VAN)
Still registered “Other” or Independent until May 2023
From Chad DeVries’ Facebook page—yachting while bankrupt.
