KINGMAN – That Cameron Patt is leaving Kingman for a new job and will resign his city council seat became public just hours before the Kingman Council conducted separate meetings Tuesday. The news surfaced during the afternoon portion of Tuesday’s Mohave County Board of Supervisors meeting.
Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith told the board he was losing a promising young prosecutor over concern about the hiring freeze that supervisors approved Aug. 21.
“One of our best young attorneys who had a felony trial record of 20 wins and two losses just resigned this morning, and it was over his fear because of the hiring freeze,” Smith said. He told supervisors that Patt moved quickly following last month’s hiring freeze decision.
“A week later he went to Pinal County, interviewed there, and of course they offered him a job,” Smith said. “I mean how many young attorneys have had 22 felony trials already.”
Smith never mentioned the attorney by name, but confirmed after the meeting that he was speaking about Patt. The prosecutor last month won his high-profile trial and convictions in the case against the Lake Havasu City drug dealer who shot a DPS trooper near the Mohave Community College Kingman campus.
Patt too, confirmed his community and council exit by text this afternoon. “I think I’m resigning tonight,” Patt said by text, roughly 90 minutes before the start of two Kingman Council meetings, possibly his last.
Neither County Human Resources Director Ken Cunningham nor Acting City Manager Tina Moline were aware of Patt’s resignation intent when contacted Tuesday.
