Apache County Manager Delwin Wengert Abruptly Retires After Executive Session

Apache County Manager Delwin Wengert abruptly submitted a letter of resignation and announced his retirement in mid-February immediately after an executive session of the Apache County Board of Supervisors, The Independent reported. The Independent said the resignation was emailed to Board Chairman Dr. Joe Shirley at 4:37 p.m. Tuesday; Navajo Times reporting said a special supervisors’ meeting was scheduled to discuss appointing an interim county manager.

In a telephone interview with the Navajo Times, Wengert said he had been planning to retire “for a while” and that he “felt no pressure to leave.” Wengert told the paper, “I’ve had a good 23 years,” and “I’ve enjoyed working with all the supervisors. We got a lot done.” He added, “It’s been a good run and the supervisors and I agreed it was a good time for me to retire,” and said he is eligible for full retirement benefits. Wengert pointed to two new county office buildings on the Navajo Nation in Chinle and Ganado, Arizona, and “miles of road improvements” as highlights of his tenure.

The board session that preceded Wengert’s resignation was called to discuss his employment status, according to reporting that reconciles the executive-session timing with the immediate resignation. The Navajo Times also noted that two supervisors who took office this year, Alton Joe Shepherd and Doyel Shamley, are part of the current board makeup. Multiple reports said supervisors had not returned phone calls by press time; Dr. Joe Shirley is named in The Independent as the recipient of Wengert’s resignation email.

Photographs published with local coverage show Wengert addressing a crowd at an Apache County inauguration event held last January in Ganado, underscoring his visible role during the transition that brought new supervisors to the board. The abrupt resignation following an executive session has left county leadership in flux ahead of the board’s special meeting to consider an interim manager.

Unverified allegations appeared as reader comments on The Independent’s website accusing Wengert of ties to Blue Hills Environmental Association, Inc., including claims that he served on its board and was a majority stockholder, that the group charged Apache County and the City of St. Johns “hundreds of thousands of dollars per year,” and that it controlled the St. Johns landfill. Those claims were posted by commenters and remain unconfirmed; they do not appear in county records cited in the reporting.

The Apache County board is scheduled to meet in a special session to address interim leadership. The outcome of that meeting will determine who manages county operations while the board moves to fill the permanent county manager role.