A review of Maricopa County Board of Supervisors records shows the board never voted on, or even discussed, creating a "Maricopa County Excellence Award" — despite state Rep. Matt Gress receiving and publicizing one bearing that name.
Gress was among eight people honored on Sept. 25 at a summit on teen violence organized by Supervisor Mark Stewart, a fellow Republican, in recognition of Gress's work on Preston's Law, legislation targeting group assaults like the 2013 killing of 16-year-old Preston Lord in Queen Creek. Gress then posted about the award on social media.
Stewart told Axios the certificate template came from county communications staff and was meant to represent only his district, not the full county, noting "District 1" appears under his signature. Honorees were chosen by a youth mental health advocate, not Stewart. The other four supervisors declined to comment. Gress said the award was never presented as countywide, though he did not say whether he would correct his social media posts. The episode draws attention to Gress ahead of a closely watched re-election race.
