As of Monday, Staten had not yet submitted his petitions for candidacy, according to Pima County Elections Director Brad Nelson.

Staten, a Republican, filed a statement of organization with the county’s election department May 3 and announced his intentions to run against Nanos, a Democrat, on his campaign’s Facebook page last Tuesday.

“My captain brought me in (Friday) and said I was going to be put on administrative leave without pay,” Staten said. “He told me the reason was that Sheriff Nanos had overheard an interview I’d done and was unhappy with what had been said.”

Staten appeared on the Jon Justice radio show Thursday, and spoke about his candidacy and some of the issues surrounding the department’s current leadership.

“Everything I put in the interview about the FBI investigation into Nanos ... (and members of the command staff) was all public knowledge,” Staten said.

Last year, the Star learned the FBI was conducting an investigation into the use of department funds in connection with a cafe operating at the main headquarters and jail.

Huckelberry's memo references Staten's appearances on radio shows, saying that Staten criticized the department's current operation.