[4] Penzone went to Phoenix's Cortez High School and studied criminal justice at Glendale Community College and Northern Arizona University.

[5] Penzone, a Democrat, made his first bid for elected office in an unsuccessful campaign for Maricopa County sheriff in 2012 against incumbent Republican Joe Arpaio.

[6][7] In the Democratic primary election, Penzone initially faced former Arizona Department of Corrections supervisor Joe Rodriguez, but Rodriguez withdrew from the race in April 2016 and threw his support behind Penzone "to defeat Sheriff Arpaio in November for the good of Maricopa County citizens.

[7] During his campaign, Penzone pledged "to refocus the agency on law enforcement and rein in taxpayer dollars previously spent on civil-rights lawsuits.

[17] To that end, he promised to reverse several of Arpaio's "unorthodox and divisive" practices (see Maricopa County Sheriff's Office controversies), which Penzone considers to be publicity stunts, such as forcing jail inmates to wear pink underwear and "investigating" President Obama's birth certificate.

[17] In 2020, Penzone won reelection over Republican Jerry Sheridan, a longtime aide to Arpaio, again winning by a double-digit margin.

Snow stated Penzone, "does not demonstrate that he has taken all reasonable steps to comply with the order, especially as the backlog has increased.