For eight NASCAR races, he took a monkey as a co-pilot. For 40 others, he just took the checkered flag. The monkey’s name was Jocko Flocko and with him, Tim Flock was in for the ride of his life.

Following reports that his likely opponents in the Maricopa County attorney’s race are already on track to break campaign contribution records, candidate Gerald Richard said he, too, is hoping to become one of the top fundraisers in county history by June.

Even 20 years on, he still remembers the name. "S-I-A-H," he says, spelling it out with typewriter precision. "When somebody puts a contract out on you, you learn how to spell their last name."

A candidate vying to become the Valley's chief prosecutor has used the help of a convicted felon to qualify for a spot on the ballot this fall, public records show. Gerald Richard, a Democrat, recently turned in more than 5,000 signatures to run in the Maricopa County Attorney's race later this year.

Mesa Unified School District will need to hire another high school principal after first-year principal Tim Richard announced he will leave Westwood High School at the end of the school year.

I came up with this description of the Democratic primary for Maricopa County attorney shortly after I first learned the race would feature Gerard Richard, who was the police director for the Phoenix Police Department, and Tim Nelson, who was general legal counsel for Gov. Janet Napolitano. My impression of their strengths and weaknesses has shifted only slightly after the Tribune Editorial Board had a chance to chat with each candidate one-on-one.