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Arpaio announces run for U.S. Senate

In this Jan. 26, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
In this Jan. 26, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is running for U.S. Senate, he told the Washington Examiner this morning.

While Arpaio had hinted at a run for months, many political insiders doubted his interest in actually running for the seat currently held by Sen. Jeff Flake, who announced last year that he wouldn’t run again.

Arpaio was first elected as Maricopa County sheriff in 1992 and held the seat until 2016, when he was ousted by Democrat Paul Penzone.

His reign as sheriff was marred by controversies over racial profiling against Latinos. He was convicted of criminal contempt in 2017 for defying court orders for his office to stop detaining people because they were believed to be undocumented. President Donald Trump pardoned Arpaio last year.

Arpaio running for mayor of Fountain Hills

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpiao. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Beaten in his last three elections, former six-term Sheriff Joe Arpaio is attempting another comeback, this time running for mayor of the affluent Phoenix suburb where he has lived for the past two decades. 

The former lawman on October 5 announced his entry in the 2022 mayor’s race in Fountain Hills, a town of about 25,000 people on the northeastern edge of metro Phoenix. 

After getting crushed by a Democratic challenger in 2016 after 24 years as sheriff, Arpaio finished third in a Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat in 2018 and second in the GOP primary in his 2020 bid to win back the sheriff’s post. In both comeback attempts, Arpaio lost the vote in Fountain Hills. 

In an interview, Arpaio said his last comeback bids failed because he entered those races too late in the election cycle and that his early entry in the mayor’s race is an attempt to avoid the same fate. 

He rejects criticism that he should walk away from public life. The 89-year-old said he remains in good health and wants to push a pro-business agenda on behalf of the town. “It’s not in me to retire,” Arpaio said. 

Arpaio, a skilled political fundraiser who spent more than $12 million in his 2016 sheriff’s campaign, has $284,000 in campaign money, according to his latest campaign finance reports. 

Arpaio was voted out as sheriff in 2016 amid voter frustration over his headline-grabbing tactics and legal troubles, including his disobedience of a judge’s 2011 order to stop his traffic patrols that led to his 2017 criminal contempt of court conviction. He was pardoned by then-President Donald Trump.  

Before the federal government and the courts stripped away his immigration powers, Arpaio led 20 large-scale traffic patrols that targeted immigrants and more than 80 business raids to bust people working in the United States without permission.  

While his defiant streak played well with voters for many years, Arpaio faced heavy criticism for taking on policies that he knew were controversial and racking up $147 million in taxpayer-funded legal bills. 

Though he billed himself as the toughest sheriff in America, his agency botched the investigations of more than 400 sex-crimes complaints made to his office. 

Fountain Hills doesn’t operate a police department and instead contracts with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services. 

Arpaio and businessman Kelly Smith are the only candidates to file paperwork so far with the town expressing interest in the mayor’s race. Though she hasn’t yet filed such paperwork, incumbent Mayor Ginny Dickey said she will be seeking re-election next year. 

Arpaio’s lawyer casts blame on sheriff’s staff, others at contempt trial

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, second from right, leaves U.S. District Court on the first day of his contempt-of-court trial with attorney Mark Goldman, left, Monday, June 26, 2017, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, second from right, leaves U.S. District Court on the first day of his contempt-of-court trial with attorney Mark Goldman, left, Monday, June 26, 2017, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

An attorney defending former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio against a contempt of court charge involving immigration patrols blamed sheriff’s employees and a lawyer who once defended the lawman in a racial-profiling case for not following a court order to stop the strategy.

Attorney Dennis Wilenchik also said during closing arguments July 6 that the judge’s order to stop the patrols was vague.

Arpaio is facing a misdemeanor charge for prolonging the patrols.

Wilenchik contended that attorney Tim Casey didn’t approve training materials aimed at helping deputies comply with the order. Casey previously testified the materials contained problematic legal instructions.

Wilenchik said Casey and other sheriff’s employees failed Arpaio by not making sure the training reached deputies.

Prosecutor John Keller said in his closing argument that Arpaio continued the patrols for political gain. Keller said Arpaio cast himself as an anti-government figure and used the patrols to help raise money during his 2012 campaign for re-election.

Arpaio is charged with misdemeanor contempt of court for violating a 2011 order to stop the patrols that a judge later determined racially profiled Latinos. The 85-year-old retired lawman would face up to six months in jail if convicted, though attorneys who have followed the case doubt that someone his age would be incarcerated.

Arpaio’s tactics over 24 years in office drew fierce opponents as well as enthusiastic supporters nationwide who championed what they considered a tough-on-crime approach, including forcing inmates to wear pink underwear and housing them in tents outside in the desert heat.

Prosecutors cited Arpaio’s use of TV interviews and news releases to boost his popularity as they try to get a conviction from U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton. Keller played videos of TV news interviews in which the sheriff promoted his immigration enforcement efforts.

A clip from a Fox News interview six months after the order showed Arpaio saying federal authorities were taking custody of immigrants detained by his deputies, even though they had not been suspected of state crimes.

“ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has been taking them off our hands when we have no state charges,” Arpaio said in the March 2012 interview.

Keller said Arpaio’s motive was to collect campaign contributions and used the sheriff’s words to back up his argument.

“They don’t give you money if they don’t believe in you,” Arpaio said in a video clip recorded six months after the order.

The prosecutor also pointed out news releases in which Arpaio’s office acknowledged that deputies were turning over immigrants not accused of state crimes to federal authorities, which wasn’t allowed under the court order. Keller said Arpaio bragged to news reporters that he was still detaining immigrants.

Arpaio carried out the sort of local immigration enforcement that President Donald Trump has advocated. To build his highly touted deportation force, Trump is reviving a long-standing program that deputizes local officers to enforce federal immigration law.

Arpaio’s immigration powers were eventually stripped away by the courts and federal government.

Arpaio’s legal woes are believed to have contributed heavily to his crushing defeat in November to retired Phoenix Police Sgt. Paul Penzone, a Democrat.

Arpaio’s political future uncertain, pulls tricks from the past

In this February 4, 2009, file photo, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio orders approximately 200 convicted illegal immigrants handcuffed together and moved into a separate area of Tent City for incarceration until their sentences are served and they are deported to their home countries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
In this February 4, 2009, file photo, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio orders approximately 200 convicted illegal immigrants handcuffed together and moved into a separate area of Tent City for incarceration until their sentences are served and they are deported to their home countries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Joe Arpaio is flirting with another campaign that will never happen, according to some political insiders, but he could still serve as an effective surrogate for rising conservative figures.

On August 28, the Washington Examiner launched a torrent of speculation on the former Maricopa County sheriff’s political future after proclaiming he might challenge Sen. Jeff Flake in the Republican primary for his seat.

The locals didn’t buy it though, as Arpaio has teased that he would run for governor on several occasions over the years, none of which ever materialized in a real campaign.

Arpaio said he hasn’t ruled out anything, which he reiterated during an interview with the Arizona Capitol Times.

“What’s definite is I’m sure going to help people, help them raise money, help the president, make sure he gets some support. That’s a given,” he said. “I’m going to get back on the campaign trail as far as helping other people.”

Jason Rose
Jason Rose

As for another run of his own, Arpaio’s longtime friend and former publicist Jason Rose said that’s “a flirtation that will not result in a date.”

“He might surprise us all, but he loves being the sheriff,” Rose said.

He loves it so much, he added, that “there has been serious discussion about running for sheriff again.”

Arpaio, in response to Rose’s comments, said: “Who? What’s he know? I don’t talk to him. Jason Rose? I haven’t talked to him in months. Disregard what he’s saying.”

He said he has not told anyone he would challenge current Sheriff Paul Penzone to regain his seat. Then again, he would not say whether he’d ruled that race out either.

For what it’s worth, Rose would advise against it after he “lost in his home base by a considerable margin” to Penzone.

“There was always a presumption that the sheriff was a formidable political force and could potentially wage an interesting race for governor or whatever he wanted to do,” he said. “In this case, the question is does the emperor have any clothes.”

Constantin Querard
Constantin Querard

Arpaio may be “done as far as running for office,” but political consultant Constantin Querard said his political identity will live on as a “celebrity endorser.”

Like former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer and others who left office with “a legion of fans” still behind them, Arpaio remains a “valuable commodity,” Querard said.

But President Donald Trump, who won Arpaio’s enthusiastic support early on and pardoned him from a criminal contempt of court conviction last month, may not be the best target for the sheriff’s dollars or his time.

“Now that Trump is president, I don’t know that Arpaio necessarily brings anything to Trump that Trump doesn’t already have,” Querard said. “Whatever Trump does, Joe Arpaio is not going to be able to change that. If Trump delivers, great. If Trump fails to deliver, having Arpaio say Trump’s great on border issues isn’t going to help Trump.”

Arpaio lent the president credibility on issues important to his base, which both men realistically share. Now, Trump has the “biggest microphone in the world” to talk about immigration, Querard said..

Candidates who do not command the same level of name recognition – and millions of Twitter followers – need Arpaio far more.

Querard said much of Arpaio’s negative publicity was focused in Maricopa County, so support for him improves the farther away he goes.

Arpaio should look to the national stage, he said, and find Republican primaries where he can tilt the odds in favor of the candidate more in line with his supporters. If the fervor that followed the Examiner article is any indication, an endorsement from “America’s Toughest Sheriff” will help a candidate dominate the news cycle for several days.

Chad Willems, Arpaio’s political adviser and campaign manager when there’s one to manage, would not name names, but said politicians across the country continue to seek the 85-year-old ex-sheriff’s endorsement.

Arpaio has more than $460,000 left in his “Elect Sheriff Joe Arpaio” campaign account, according to filings with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office, but Willems said they have no immediate plans on how that money may be used.

He said the options are to return the money to donors, transfer them to a new political committee, transfer them to a political party or donate them to a nonprofit organization, not including Arpaio’s own Sheriff Joe Arpaio Action Fund.

Arpaio said he donates out of his own pockets to candidates he favors, but he’s “not out there raising money myself.”

He said he’s not “looking for a job,” and for a short time after he lost his latest re-election bid by about 10 points, he thought he was out of politics for good. But after seeing Trump attacked by both the Democrats and Republicans like Flake and Sen. John McCain, he decided the country needed him to keep speaking.

“I would hope senators support their president,” he said. “And I would hope even some Democrats would get out there and support our president, try to get things together, get this country back on track.”

While he’s busy weighing his political options, Arpaio is also working on a book – “Maybe Jason will buy ten copies,” he said. “Why would he know what I’m doing? He must be making it up.”

And early next year, he will accompany a tour group to Normandy.

“The Sheriff Joe Arpaio Tour” was originally scheduled for October, the same month Arpaio was slated to be sentenced for his contempt of court conviction. But he said too few people signed up for the excursion by Conservative Tours, a venture operated by former U.S. Senate Republican candidate from Massachusetts Kenneth Chase.

Still, Arpaio said it would be a great occasion to be a “celebrity” tour guide.

Behind the Ballot: Toxic

 

toxicArizona is no stranger to legislative candidates with baggage, but this election cycle stands out for the number of candidates, namely Republicans, who are seeking office despite their tarnished reputations.

Candidates like Don Shooter who was expelled from the state House just this year and Representative David Stringer who made comments widely condemned as racist want a second chance.

And in a year when promises of a blue wave were already being made, Democrats are practically salivating at the chance to flip the seats these toxic candidates seek.

Don’t forget to subscribe to The Breakdown on iTunes and Stitcher.

Music in this episode included “Creative Minds,” “Funky Element” and “Energy” by Bensound.

Campaign season officially kicks off – let the games begin

It’s election season once more, and this cycle starts with a few curveballs.

May 30 marked the deadline for candidates to submit petitions to run for legislative, statewide and congressional offices. Unlike in previous election cycles, few legislative races are uncontested.

In addition to incumbents, a few familiar names popped up, including a surprise primary challenger for Gov. Doug Ducey, a bid by recently-expelled former Yuma Rep. Don Shooter to reclaim his old state Senate seat, and former House Speaker David Gowan, who was accused of misuse of state vehicles, likewise is running for the state Senate.

So, pop some popcorn and settle in for an entertaining election season.

U.S. Senate

Sen. Jeff Flake
Sen. Jeff Flake

The race to fill the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Jeff Flake, who is retiring, is expected to be the biggest contest in Arizona this year.

Republicans face a contentious primary with U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, former state Sen. Kelli Ward and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio duking it out in the primary.

Likely Democratic nominee U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema also qualified for the ballot. She faces first-time political candidate Deedra Abboud, who is also a lawyer, in the primary.

Governor

Gov. Doug Ducey (Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times)
Gov. Doug Ducey (Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times)

State Sen. Steve Farley and educator David Garcia, who ran for superintendent of public instruction in 2014, will face off for the chance to take on Gov. Doug Ducey. Also on the Democratic primary ballot is Kelly Fryer, a first-time political candidate who is CEO of the YWCA of Southern Arizona.

But Ducey won’t get to coast to the general election. A last-minute addition to the governor’s race, former Secretary of State Ken Bennett gathered 7,828 signatures in about six weeks to qualify for the Republican primary.

Ducey’s campaign seems unfazed by the competition. “It would not be an election cycle without Ken Bennett on the ballot,” said J.P. Twist, Ducey’s campaign manager.

Ducey’s campaign war chest sits at $3 million on hand, which means Bennett, who is hoping to use Clean Elections funding, can’t compete financially. But Bennett, who came in fourth in the six-way Republican primary contest for governor in 2014, is undaunted by Ducey’s formidable cash advantage and is preparing to hit the governor on his record.

“Four years ago, he ran on a bunch of promises,” Bennett said. “Many of those promises turned out to be not true. We’re in this race because the truth matters.”

Secretary of State

Michele Reagan at her 2015 inauguration (Photo by Evan Wyloge/Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting)
Michele Reagan at her 2015 inauguration (Photo by Evan Wyloge/Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting)

In the secretary of state’s race, Republican Steve Gaynor takes on incumbent Michele Reagan. A wealthy businessman, Gaynor has vowed to self-fund his campaign to take out Reagan, who some Republicans fear may be vulnerable in the general election.  Democrats in the race are Sen. Katie Hobbs, Leslie Pico and Mark Robert Gordon.

 

Congress

Four Republicans and four Democrats are hoping to get their party’s nod for the congressional seat that McSally is vacating. This could be the most competitive congressional race, not only because of the open seat but because history shows the 2nd Congressional District is a true tossup district.

A similar situation exists in CD9, the seat occupied by Sinema, with three Republicans and two Democrats vying for the nominations. But that district leans slightly more Democrat in performance than southern Arizona’s CD2.

And in CD8, Republican Debbie Lesko, who just won a special election to replace Trent Franks, will have to defend her seat in the primary. Former Maricopa County School Superintendent Sandra Dowling, who pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor to end felony bid-rigging charges years ago, wants to be the GOP nominee in the heavy Republican district. Democratic candidate Hiral Tipirneni, Lesko’s opponent in the special election, is also gunning for a second chance at the seat.

Arizona Senate 

LD6: Rep. Brenda Barton, R-Payson, who is termed out after serving eight years in the House, is looking to unseat her seatmate, Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake. The Republican winner will face off against Democrat Wade Carlisle in the general election.

LD23: Tim Jeffries, who was fired as head of the Department of Economic Security, is running in a four-way GOP primary that includes Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, who is termed out of the House. Jeffries was ousted amid reports that he fired hundreds of state employees and used a state plane to travel to Nogales to drink with employees who gave up their job protections.

LD27: As Sen. Catherine Miranda, D-Phoenix, steps down to run for Congress against U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, her nephew, Cipriano Miranda, aims to keep the family name in the Legislature and has filed to run for the open seat, but so has House Minority Leader Rebecca Rios, D-Phoenix, who hopes to make the switch to the Senate.

LD28: Mark Syms, husband of Rep. Maria Syms, R-Paradise Valley, is challenging Sen. Kate Brophy McGee, R-Phoenix, in a move that could jeopardize the GOP’s hold on the critical swing district. Running as an independent, Mark Syms’ candidacy has some Republicans worried that his campaign will throw the race to Democratic candidate Christine Marsh. Mark Syms had jumped into the legislative race after Republican Kathy Petsas, who is viewed as holding more centrist views, filed to compete for a House seat.

LD30: House Reps. Tony Navarrete, D-Phoenix, and Ray Martinez, D-Phoenix, are facing off for the seat.

Arizona House

Teachers: A handful of teachers inspired by the “Red for Ed” movement are running for legislative seats. Middle school teacher Jennifer Samuels qualified to run for the House in LD15 and is one of three Democrats in the race. Bonnie Hickman, a teacher in the Gilbert Unified School District, is competing in a crowded field of Republicans gunning to take out Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, in LD16. Several other teachers are seeking legislative seats.

LD2: Former state Rep. John Christopher Ackerley, a one-term Republican who held a seat in the predominantly Democratic district, is attempting a comeback. Ackerley pulled off an upset victory in 2014 but lost to Rep. Daniel Hernandez, D-Tucson, two years later. Ackerley will face off against Anthony Sizer, an engineer also seeking the Republican nomination. Hernandez and Rep. Rosanna Gabaldon, D-Green Valley, have also filed to run.

LD5: Incumbents Paul Mosley, R-Lake Havasu City, and Regina Cobb, R-Kingman, face two primary challengers – businessman Leo Biasiucci, who ran as a Green Party candidate in 2012, and Jennifer Jones-Esposito, first vice chair of the La Paz County Republican Committee. The two GOP winners will face off against Democrat Mary McCord Robinson in November. The race, however, recently turned ugly after Biasiucci and his allies accused Mosley of stealing his nominating petitions from a Lake Havasu City gun store. Mosley denied the allegation and instead accused the gun store owner of having thrown away his petitions. Though Cobb said she isn’t running on a slate with any of the three other candidates, she said she urged Biasiucci to get into the race and run against Mosley.

LD16: Five Republican candidates are looking to fill the seat being vacated by Rep. Doug Coleman, R-Apache Junction, or to unseat Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, a vocal opponent of the “Red for Ed” movement. Townsend consulted with lawyers about the possibility of a class-action lawsuit on behalf of those affected by the walkout.

LD24: Democrats, including incumbent Rep. Ken Clark, of Phoenix, faces a seven-way primary for the district’s two House seats. Rep. Lela Alston, D-Phoenix, is termed out and is running for the Senate.

LD28: Democrats abandoned their single-shot strategy as they seek to capitalize on an expected “blue wave” in November. In addition to Rep. Kelli Butler, D-Paradise Valley, Aaron Lieberman, also of Paradise Valley, has filed to run for the Democratic nomination. This is the first time since 2002 that Democrats have fielded two House candidates in the district. Two Republicans are also gunning for the House seats: Rep. Maria Syms, R-Paradise Valley, and Kathy Petsas, the district’s GOP chairwoman and a longtime Republican activist. While Petsas is ostensibly running against Butler and Republicans are hoping to get three for three in November, Petsas could unseat Syms instead. Syms has struck a decidedly conservative tone in her famously moderate district, while Petsas boasts more moderate credentials.

 Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services contributed to this report.

County attorney race shaping up to be competitive

From left are candidates for Maricopa County Attorney, Democrat Julie Gunnigle and Republican Allister Adel
From left are candidates for Maricopa County Attorney, Democrat Julie Gunnigle and Republican Allister Adel

Anticipation around the Democratic primary for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office race was shaping up to be a two-person race between Julie Gunnigle and Will Knight, but when the county uploaded early ballots at 8 p.m. on August 4, Gunnigle won by a landslide. 

Gunnigle’s victory, where she still maintains 60% of the vote, puts her in prime position to lead the office as the first Democrat since Charles Hyder in 1980, and the first woman elected to the seat.

But she has to take down Allister Adel, the Republican appointed incumbent first. 

Adel was appointed in October by the Board of Supervisors after Gov. Doug Ducey tapped Bill Montgomery to the Arizona Supreme Court a month prior. She is the first woman to hold the top prosecutor role in the county. 

Neither Gunnigle nor Adel has ever won a general election, but Gunnigle at least had prior experience running a campaign when she tried for the state House in Legislative District 15 in 2018. The two candidates seem to be doing alright in fundraising for county offices, too.

Gunnigle raised the least amount of money of the three Democratic candidates, but kept the most on hand. She brought in $122,000 overall with $48,000 left in the bank. Adel raised $268,000 and has almost $100,000 heading into the general election cycle, but she did not have a primary opponent to spend against. 

This race to lead the nation’s fourth largest county prosecutor’s office is a far cry from the 2016 election that pitted now-Rep. Diego Rodriguez, D-Phoenix, against Montgomery, the Republican incumbent. Montgomery won in a special election in 2010 and then again in 2012 for his first full term, but never faced a real opponent until Rodriguez, a relative unknown at the time. 

Bill Montgomery
Bill Montgomery

Rodriguez mustered enough support to cut Montgomery’s margin of victory to 5 percentage points, which for a political newcomer was quite impressive given the larger Republican hold the county had at the time. Four years later, Democratic turnout has skyrocketed with the party picking up seats left and right, meaning Gunnigle very well could flip that office if she runs a similar campaign that she did for the primary, consultants say.

Roughly 210,000 more voters participated in the County Attorney primary races this year than the 2016 primary, with still tens of thousands of ballots to count. 

Barrett Marson, a Republican consultant with Marson Media, said one aspect that could play well for Gunnigle’s chances is if Joe Arpaio, the convicted and pardoned former sheriff, is able to overcome his 500-vote deficit from his former chief deputy Jerry Sheridan.

“Sheriff and county attorney go hand in hand,” Marson said, adding that if Arpaio is not on the ballot then the outside spending that affected the 2016 county races won’t be the same this time around. 

That outside spending he’s referring to is mostly credited to Democratic billionaire and hedge fund tycoon George Soros, whose political groups typically target county/district attorney races around the country. Soros-funded groups contributed around $1.3 million to an anti-Montgomery group called Arizona Safety & Justice. He also spent heavily to defeat Arpaio, which came to fruition. 

“If they’re going to stay out of the sheriff’s race, I think that would bode well for Allister,” Marson said. “Neither Allister nor Sheridan are the same type of polarizing figures as Arpaio and Montgomery, so the risk or threat of outside money may be less.” 

Democratic consultant Chad Campbell, with Strategies 360, doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t think the other county races will have much of an impact on this race,” Campbell said.

The national conversation around criminal justice reform has put Maricopa County in somewhat of a spotlight and coupled with higher Democratic turnout could mean it’s time for a Democrat to control the office, he said. 

In this Jan. 26, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
In this Jan. 26, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Campbell said if Arpaio does pull off a win, the sheriff’s race will become a circus and will draw attention away from Gunnigle and Adel. 

Arpaio being on the ballot with President Donald Trump could also play into an even higher turnout for not only Democrats, but also Latinos, which would likely play into more down ballot races. 

Campbell said Trump is still the biggest factor for turnout this year, and that alone could spell victory for Gunnigle. He said he wasn’t surprised that Gunnigle won the primary or won by a lot because “she ran a better campaign” than Knight or Robert McWhirter. 

“On a national level people are looking at Arizona as a state that’s changing top to bottom … the turnout [in the primary] exceeded everybody’s expectations,” he said, adding that Democratic enthusiasm in that race will only increase for the general election. 

He said what will win Gunningle the election is support from suburban voters who see public safety as a priority. 

 “She will have some crossover appeal to those moderate Republican, suburban female voters that a Democrat will need in this county,” he said.

 The turnout in Maricopa County during the 2018 election was really the first time Arizona saw a significant increase from Democrats or Democrat-leaning independent voters and after picking up two seats from Republicans in 2016 (Sheriff Paul Penzone and County Recorder Adrian Fontes), Campbell thinks Gunnigle remains in good shape four years later. 

 More than just the turnout having a major factor is the element that stakes cannot be higher, progressive lobbyist Marilyn Rodriguez said. 

 “Electing Gunnigle would end a dynasty of mass incarceration in Arizona’s largest county. Julie has shown that she can win and brings an ability to unify the support she needs from the community behind her,” she said. 

 Unlike Gunnigle’s predecessors, who Rodriguez said oversaw a culture of discriminatory practices and shutting the public out, “we know Julie will bring changes to the office driven by actual community voices.” 

Court refuses to wipe Arpaio’s contempt verdict after Trump pardon

Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at the Capitol in Phoenix prior to turning in petition signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State in his bid to appear on the ballot in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake. The Republican lawman's campaign says it turned in 10,000 signatures on Tuesday so he can compete in the GOP primary on Aug. 28. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks Tuesday, May 22, 2018.  (AP Photo/Matt York)

A federal appeals court has rebuffed the bid by former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to have his criminal conviction formally erased.

In a unanimous ruling Thursday a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that Arpaio was found guilty by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton of criminal contempt. That stemmed from her finding that he had willfully violated an injunction issued by another judge prohibiting him from enforcing federal civil immigration laws.

Before he could be sentenced, though, President Trump granted the former sheriff a full and unconditional pardon. And appellate Judge Jay Bybee, writing for the court, said that left them with nothing to consider.

But Jack Wilenchik, Arpaio’s attorney, said he actually sees the ruling as a win.

He said the appeal was filed because Bolton, after considering the effect of the presidential appeal and dismissing the case, refused to vacate the verdict. And Wilenchik said Bolton suggested that conviction could be used against him in some future litigation.

What the 9th Circuit ruled, Wilenchik said, is that is not the case.

And Arpaio, who was sheriff from 1993 through 2016, told Capitol Media Services that’s precisely what he wanted.

“The main issue was I want this off my record,” said Arpaio, who again is running for sheriff this year.

The issue stems from a 2007 lawsuit filed by a group of Hispanic county residents who charged “illegal, discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against Hispanic persons in Maricopa County.” They said that Arpaio and his deputies “engaged in profiling” of Hispanic motorists by detaining people based solely on their ethnicity.

In 2011 U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow issued a preliminary injunction barring the sheriff and his deputies “from detaining any person based on knowledge, without more, that the person is unlawfully present within the United States.”

Five years later, Snow concluded that Arpaio and his department had intentionally failed to comply with the injunction.

Arpaio conceded his liability for civil contempt. But Snow concluded that the sheriff had “intentionally disobeyed” the order and he “did so based on the notoriety he received for, and the campaign donations he received because of, his immigration enforcement activity.”

The case was then referred to Bolton, with the case prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice. That ended with Bolton finding him guilty of criminal contempt of court.

Before he could be sentenced, though, Trump issued the pardon. But Bolton, while dismissing the charges, said that did not “revise the historical facts of the case.”

That led to the appeal.

Bybee, however, said there was really nothing to appeal.

“Arpaio never suffered a final judgment of conviction for criminal contempt,” he wrote, with no final judgment of conviction in the case. “Instead, there was a final judgment of dismissal with prejudice.”

And that, the judge said, means there cannot be “legal consequences” from the verdict, such as being able to use the conviction to enhance his sentence in any future criminal case. Nor can that conviction be used against him in any subsequent civil case.

Debbie Faillace: The politics of sandwich making

Joe and Debbie Faillace PHOTO BY CARMEN FORMAN/ARIZONA CAPITOL TIMES
Joe and Debbie Faillace PHOTO BY CARMEN FORMAN/ARIZONA CAPITOL TIMES

Debbie and Joe Faillace have been slinging subs together just around the corner from the Capitol for 25 years. Their restaurant, Old Station Sub Shop, is an eatery popular among lawmakers, lawyers and several of Arizona’s governors. The couple has seen Phoenix grow during their years near the corner of Jefferson St. and 13th Ave. Technically, their little restaurant is a part the Capitol community as it’s within State Capitol Police jurisdiction. Debbie, 55, tells what it’s like to be a part of the Capitol community, but from an outsider’s perspective.

Cap Times Q&AWhen did you open Old Station Sub Shop?

33 years ago in March. When Joe had bought the restaurant, it had been a restaurant for about two years. The landlords converted it from a garage to a restaurant and it wasn’t very successful. My husband bought it with the idea of building it up and then selling it, but it’s just been so successful that we hung onto it. I joined him about 25 years ago. I used to work at a travel agency back when there were travel agents, and then we got married. We decided this was where we needed to dedicate most of our time and energy.

Tell me about your family.

We have two kids. They’re both grown now. My daughter works at Maricopa County, and my son is pursuing his Master’s at Arizona State. When I had my son, we expanded [the restaurant] a little bit more so I could keep him with us. We made a little nursery area back here for him. When he was about two, we decided he needed to go somewhere, to daycare, for a few hours each day because it was getting a bit dangerous.

Restaurants are a tough industry. How have you managed for three decades?

We purchased the actual property about 15 years ago so we don’t have any rent, which was huge. And we work together. I work in the front and I watch the front door. My husband works in the back and watches the back door.

What have you liked most about being in this downtown location?

The best thing about the location is the government and watching it grow. We talk about it all the time. None of these buildings used to be here. The Supreme Court wasn’t here. A lot of the buildings weren’t here. There was nothing around so it was really exciting to see everything going on around the area.

Being so close to the Capitol, do you hear a never-ending stream of political talk?

We do. What’s interesting is my husband and I, we’re not into politics so much so we’re not into the who’s who.

Even Joe Arpaio, when he came in, he would ask us, ‘Do you know who I am?’ And we’d say, ‘Yes, you’re Joe Arpaio.’ ‘Well, I’m the elected sheriff of Maricopa County,’ he’d say. But we’d say, ‘Here, you’re No. 65 because that’s what your order number is.’

Do you have a lot of regular customers?

We have regulars that come every day, and the funny part is we don’t know their names. We might know their first names, but we don’t know their last names. A lot of times we call people by their food order. We had one guy — we just called him cup of tuna. Or we have a guy who eats meatballs with no bread. We call him skinny meatballs.

Do a lot of the lawmakers come in here during the legislative session?

Oh, yeah. We get a lot of important people. We get a lot of attorneys and a lot of legislators come in. We do a lot of catering for the government area, the Capitol Mall. We’ve fed a lot of important meetings, I’m sure.

You mentioned that some of the governors come here. Which ones have you seen?

I think we’ve actually fed all the governors. Jan Brewer used to come in when she was the secretary of state and then when she was the governor, she continued coming. She still comes in every once in a while. We haven’t seen [Gov. Doug] Ducey, but we have fed him.

Tell me about the time that Jan Brewer left one of the members of her security behind.

That was really funny. She was here, and she was just so nice because she would wait in line just like everyone else. The security came in and maybe they didn’t think we would be as fast as we were or something, but her sandwich was done so they whisked her away before the security guard came out of the bathroom. He had to walk back. It was funny.

What was it like when the “Red for Ed” teachers were marching down this street?

That was crazy. I think that was probably our most memorable time in business. We hadn’t prepared for it because being here 33 years, whenever there was a march or a race, no one ever ventured this far. We didn’t really expect to get much business. And then all of a sudden, we’re at the windows and you can see all of the red T-shirts coming this way, heading west. Then, after they had their march and they were heading back, they were everywhere out back, everywhere inside because they were all so hot and thirsty. We ran out of food. We ran out of bread. They were all just so nice. We ran out of certain meats and I remember one lady told me, ‘I don’t care. Just put something on two pieces of bread.’

How long do you and your husband see yourself doing this for?

My husband just turned 65 and he’s on Medicare so I keep pushing him to retirement. But this is his little gig. He just loves it. He’s always had restaurants in his blood. I keep talking about retirement, but my husband just keeps talking more and more about the area.

What would you do if you retired?

He, actually, would probably pick up another little, tiny restaurant that’s easier for him to manage. This is a busy busy place and it’s hard to manage during lunch hour.

But one of the other challenges is working with your husband. We don’t fight. I’m in the front, and he’s in the back. But we have customers that work with their spouses so we get together socially and talk about how difficult it is. That can be very, very hard because you don’t ever stop. You go home and you’re still talking about an order, you’re still talking about a customer. What’s really difficult is cutting off the work and then going into playtime.

Dem gubernatorial candidates deplete cash as primary nears

Steve Farley and David Garcia
Steve Farley and David Garcia

The winner of Arizona’s Democratic gubernatorial primary — whoever it is — will likely be strapped for cash upon entering the general election.

With a rare, Democratic contest in the governor’s race, the candidates are depleting their resources vying for the nomination as Gov. Doug Ducey waits in the wings with his veritable war chest.

Democrat gubernatorial hopefuls Kelly Fryer, Steve Farley and David Garcia debate Tuesday night. (Capitol Media Services photo by Howard Fischer)
Democrat gubernatorial hopefuls Kelly Fryer, Steve Farley and David Garcia debate Tuesday night. (Capitol Media Services photo by Howard Fischer)

Previous Democratic candidates for governor emerged from the primary with more than $1 million on hand. It’s unlikely Sen. Steve Farley, David Garcia or Kelly Fryer will exit the primary with that much spending power.

Garcia and Farley’s campaigns refused to disclose their current cash on hand, saying that information will be publicly available as of a campaign finance reporting deadline August 20.

Fred DuVal in 2014 and Terry Goddard in 2010 each emerged from their primaries with more than $1 million on hand. Goddard was a Clean Elections candidate, meaning he earned extra funding in the general election, but neither had opposition in the primary — allowing them to focus their time and money on their Republican challengers.

As of the end of June — the last campaign finance reporting deadline — Farley, Garcia and Fryer combined had less cash on hand than DuVal or Goddard when they came out of the primary.

Farley reported having $490,574 on hand. Garcia had $246,359 and Fryer had $40,884. And that was before Farley and Garcia started buying pricey TV advertising leading up to the August 28 primary.

Both went on air at the end of July and plan to stay on TV until the primary. Both campaigns started off with hefty ad buys coinciding with when early ballots dropped. The campaigns’ ad spending has dwindled in the middle of August, but representatives for both campaigns said the spending will ramp back up closer to Election Day.

Republican pollster Mike Noble said Arizona’s late primaries put those in competitive primaries at a disadvantage. Republicans in Arizona face this problem all the time, he said citing the contentious, three-way Republican primary for the open U.S. Senate seat.

U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, Kelli Ward and Joe Arpaio are spending their time and resources on each other while U.S. Rep Kyrsten Sinema coasts to the primary. Sinema, who faces a primary challenger, is expected to win easily.

In the governor’s race, the shoe is on the other foot, Noble said.

Ducey’s primary opponent is former Secretary of State Ken Bennett, but the challenge is relatively uncompetitive as Bennett has not yet qualified for Clean Elections funding. Ducey had $3.5 million on hand as of the end of June.

Arizona hasn’t had a contested Democratic gubernatorial primary since 2002 when Janet Napolitano easily defeated her three opponents. The last close Democratic primary in the state was in 1994, when Terry Goddard lost by less than 2 percentage points in a three-way matchup.

Noble also cited $7.2 million in recent ad reservations made by the Republican Governors Association. Noble predicts the RGA will use that airtime to go after the Democratic nominee right after the primary, when the candidate is working to build up his coffers.

On top of the RGA’s ad reservations, Ducey and the Arizona Republican Party have reserved a hefty chunk of general election airtime to push the governor’s re-election bid.

“Ducey is in a good position, and he’ll probably end the race before it starts,” Noble said.

Democrats disagree. Local and national Democrats argue the incumbent governor and his supporters are spending heavily in an attempt to offset Ducey’s precarious re-election position.

Groups like the Democratic Governors Association and the Arizona Democratic Party say they will support the party’s gubernatorial nominee, but would not specify how much, if any, they plan to spend in the general election.

“Arizonans are seeing how Doug Ducey and his Republican policies are leading to an exodus of teachers and undermining public education across the state,” said Democratic spokesman Les Braswell. “The Arizona Democratic Party is committed to making sure all of our nominees — from the top to the bottom of the ticket — have the resources and support needed to win in November.”

But the picture could become clearer shortly after the primary. The DGA plunked down a $1.8 million ad buy in Wisconsin on August 15 — the day after Democrats selected their gubernatorial nominee.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Arizona admit freely and frequently they know they won’t come close to Ducey’s spending power. But they say they’re still confident they can win.

Despite forcing candidates to spend money earlier, competitive primaries can actually be good for candidates, Garcia’s campaign manager Ian Danley said. Garcia’s campaign already has a practiced field team and it already started get-out-the-vote efforts, both of which will come in handy again soon because of the short turnaround to the general election, he said.

Because of the short time between the primary and when early ballots go out for the general, the campaign ads that go up in August will still resonate later, Danley said.

“We’ve got to raise a bunch of money really, really quickly once we’re the nominee, but all this organizing doesn’t go away,” he said. “The stuff we’re spending on right now will have an impact in October.”

Danley also predicts the progressive donor base will coalesce around the nominee and that national donors will spend heavily in the Arizona after the primary.

Like Stacey Abrams, who could be the first black governor of Georgia, and Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas, Garcia is building a national narrative that will hopefully translate into national money coming into the race, Danley said.

But the excitement around Arizona stems beyond any one candidate and has more to do with the idea that Democrats think Arizona is becoming more winnable as demographics change, Danley said.

“Arizona’s on the national radar,” he said. “We’re like the new, cool thing.”

Meanwhile, Farley’s campaign points to its superior fundraising leading up to the primary as a sign that they can bring in big bucks as the Democratic nominee.

Farley has consistently outraised his Democratic opponents. Farley spokeswoman Kelsi Browning said the campaign will expand on that momentum ahead of the general election.

“If anyone in the Democratic primary has proven they can take on Doug Ducey and the deep-pocketed Koch Brothers, it’s Steve Farley,” Browning said in an email.

Dems own top of ballot, but faded rest of the way

The Maricopa County Elections Department officials conduct a post-election logic and accuracy test for the general election as observers watch the test Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Maricopa County Elections Department officials conduct a post-election logic and accuracy test for the general election as observers watch the test Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona is not a blue state – yet. 

Races in the 2020 election were competitive up and down the ballot. Voter turnout percentage was at the highest since 1980, propelling Joe Biden to be the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Arizona since 1996. The turnout was the most voters to ever participate statewide and in Maricopa County.

Arizona will also have two Democrats as U.S. senators for the first time in more than 50 years in Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, and Democrats won a second seat on five-member Arizona Corporation Commission. 

Arizona Democratic Party Chair Felecia Rotellini cited those victories in saying that Democrats had a banner year. 

“We are a blue state,” she proclaimsed. 

Felecia Rotellini
Felecia Rotellini

But moving further down the ballot still shows Arizona’s deep red roots. 

Adding a seat to Corporation Commission still does not give Democrats control of the body. Three seats were open and Anna Tovar, a former state lawmaker and soon-to-be former mayor of Tolleson received the most votes, but two Republicans won the other spots to give them a three-to-two majority.

Republicans kept the majority in both legislative chambers – 31-29 in the House and 16-14 in the Senate, retained all Maricopa County seats and picked up the County Recorder’s Office, which complicates the simplistic argument that Arizona is blue. Most county races around the state went uncontested, but Democrat Chris Nanos ousted Republican incumbent Mark Napier for Pima County sheriff. 

Rotellini said nothing went wrong for Democrats in the election. 

“We killed it in early voting. That’s why Biden had a 10% advantage on the night of the election,” she said. Biden still won by only three-tenths of a percent. 

What was viewed as a red mirage in states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia had the opposite effect in Arizona this cycle. Because early mail-in ballot returns heavily favored Democrats, most races top to bottom showed a strong advantage that slowly dwindled into losses for several tight races. 

Maricopa County Democratic Party Chair Steven Slugocki said losing nearly every race for countywide office in Maricopa County was rough, and he attributed that to Democratic voters who did not vote past the U.S. Senate race and Republican crossover voters who chose Biden and Kelly yet stayed red down ballot.

“People just wanted to vote against Donald Trump and vote for Mark Kelly. They were just excited about the top of the ticket and unfortunately that didn’t carry all the way down the ballot,” Slugocki said. “But our candidates barely lost.” 

Slugocki said this was the first time ever where a Democrat ran for every county office for Maricopa County – all five Board of Supervisors districts, attorney, recorder, sheriff, school superintendent, assessor and treasurer. In each of the tight races, the results were all within 4 percentage points, some fewer than 1,000 votes. 

“They all ran incredible races. I’m proud of all of them. Unfortunately they just didn’t make it across the finish line,” he said. 

One glaring issue that kept them from getting to the finish line, Slugocki said, was under-voting.

That’s the concept of either choosing to ignore certain races on the ballot or picking fewer than the maximum number when there is an option of choosing two or three candidates.   

An average of about 200,000 voters did not vote in the races for county assessor, attorney, recorder, school superintendent and treasurer. The largest vote margins from those races were 89,000 and 87,000 votes for treasurer and assessor, respectively, which was likely out of reach depending how many Democratic-leaning voters did not vote in those races. But the margin for county attorney was fewer than 40,000 votes, school superintendent around 10,000 and recorder roughly 4,000. 

Slugocki said he’s going to spend some time figuring out why people didn’t vote all the way down, but acknowledges that not enough people know or care about those races. 

“They’re not the sexy races at the top,” he said. 

Both Slugocki and Rotellini mentioned the pandemic as playing a key factor in some losses due to the Democrats having a lot of strength in a ground game that did not seem feasible this cycle. 

“The biggest thing that really hurt us this year – that affected us more than anything else was not being able to knock on doors … that’s what we do best, and we were not able to do that this year,” Slugocki said, “Jevin Hodge (Board of Supervisors) lost by 403 votes. That’s the doors we would have knocked on a Saturday morning no problem.” 

He said he doesn’t know if he would do it differently in hindsight because “you can’t risk getting somebody sick.” 

Rotellini took a harder stance and seemingly blamed the pandemic for the losses the party saw. She didn’t think there were any areas Democrats “needed to improve” because they were just not able to go door-to-door. But she said Republicans continued to do so and “had messaging that was very negative about Democrats that I think a lot of folks bought into,” she said. 

She said she wouldn’t second guess organizers for not going door-to-door even though Democrats in other states were able to do so safely and successfully. 

The state party will have to do that without Rotellini in charge in 2022 as she has already announced she won’t run again.

One potential replacement is Slugocki, who said he is keeping his options open. 

Something in his favor, he said he jokes to people about, is that former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is further in the rearview mirror.. 

“Joe Arpaio has not won an election as long as I’ve been chair of the Maricopa County Democratic Party,” he said. 

Experts: Joe Arpaio’s pardon not likely to be overturned

In this February 4, 2009, file photo, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio orders approximately 200 convicted illegal immigrants handcuffed together and moved into a separate area of Tent City for incarceration until their sentences are served and they are deported to their home countries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
In this February 4, 2009, file photo, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio orders approximately 200 convicted illegal immigrants handcuffed together and moved into a separate area of Tent City for incarceration until their sentences are served and they are deported to their home countries. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

A court hearing Wednesday in Phoenix over former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s pardon isn’t expected to lead a judge to undo his clemency, even though some critics want it declared invalid and for the retired lawman to be sentenced.

Instead, it will likely focus on Arpaio’s bid to throw out a blistering ruling that explains the reasoning behind his guilty verdict and could create an opening for outside legal advocacy groups to try to shape the legal interpretations of presidential pardon powers.

The hearing comes five weeks ago after President Donald Trump pardoned Arpaio’s conviction for disobeying a 2011 court order in a racial profiling case to stop his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants. U.S. Judge Susan Bolton, who found Arpaio guilty of the misdemeanor, has said case law suggests a pardon doesn’t erase a recipient’s underlying record of conviction and instead is aimed at lessening or canceling punishment.

Margaret Love, who served as U.S. Pardon Attorney between 1990 and 1997, said she doesn’t expect the pardon to be overturned. “The idea that a court could set aside a pardon is wrongheaded,” Love said.

Three outside legal advocacy groups are requesting that the pardon be declared invalid or unconstitutional, arguing that letting it stand would encourage government officials to flout future court orders on matters involving people’s constitutional rights.

Lawyers who defeated Arpaio in the profiling case say the decision explaining the guilty verdict should remain intact to serve as a rebuke of the sheriff’s actions and as a deterrent to other politicians who might want to disobey a judge’s orders.

And more than 30 Democrats in Congress have asked Bolton to declare the pardon invalid and move forward with sentencing, saying the clemency is an encroachment by Trump on the power and independence of the courts.

Arpaio’s attorneys want the judge to formally dismiss Arpaio’s case and throw out the ruling that explains the guilty verdict. They say their requests are aimed at clearing Arpaio’s name and barring the ruling’s use in future court cases as an example of a prior bad act.

Arpaio attorney Jack Wilenchik said efforts by outside advocacy groups were a politically motivated waste of time. “I think the judge appreciates that she has to honor a pardon,” Wilenchik said.

Daniel Kobil, a professor at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, called the requests to declare the pardon invalid to be “the longest of long shots” and said the courts are reluctant to limit a president’s power to pardon.

Kobil believes the litigation over Arpaio’s pardon centers largely on an effort to push back against the presidential pardon. “This is really about trying to put a marker in for a particularly egregious use of pardon power,” Kobil said. “It’s divisive and questionable as a matter of public policy.”

P.S. Ruckman Jr., who edits a blog about presidential pardons, also believes the litigation is about shaping the courts’ interpretation of the pardon. “Arpaio is just the means to an end,” Ruckman said.

Ruckman said the arguments to overturn Arpaio’s pardon are weak but added that the courts haven’t had a highly relevant pardon case since the early 1970s.

Brad Miller, a Washington lawyer who represents the congressional Democrats who oppose the pardon, said the key question for Bolton to consider is whether the pardon intrudes on the constitutional rights of Latinos in the racial profiling case when he violated the 2011 court order.

“It’s about separation of powers — to make sure there isn’t too much of concentration of powers in the executive branch,” Miller said.

Since the pardon, Arpaio has said he did nothing wrong, criticized Bolton as biased and called the offense behind his conviction a “petty crime.” Arpaio, defeated last year in the same election that sent Trump to the White House, is now talking about getting back into politics.

Former Congressman Renzi pardoned

Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., right, facing a 35 count indictment arrives at U.S. District Court with his lead attorney Reid Weingarten, left, Tuesday, March 5, 2008, in Tucson for his arraignment.  Renzi, who was convicted and served two years in prison was among the 11th flurry of pardons and commutations President Trump issued Jan. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., right, facing a 35 count indictment arrives at U.S. District Court with his lead attorney Reid Weingarten, left, Tuesday, March 5, 2008, in Tucson for his arraignment. Renzi, who was convicted and served two years in prison was among the 11th flurry of pardons and commutations President Trump issued Jan. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

President Trump issued pardons or commutations to 143 people on his last full day in office January 19, including a former Arizona congressman who served two years in prison after a 2013 conviction related to a land swap deal.

Rick Renzi, 62, a Republican who represented Arizona’s 1st Congressional District from 2003 to 2009, was convicted on 17 of 32 counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy, extortion, racketeering, money laundering and making false statements to insurance regulators, the Associated Press reported at the time. Prosecutors said Renzi used his office for personal financial gain and looted a family insurance business to help pay for his 2002 campaign. Renzi was accused of holding hostage possible parcel swaps involving public land proposed as the site for an Arizona copper mine unless it included purchasing private land owned by a former business associate.

Renzi put out a statement January 19 maintaining his innocence, accusing the FBI and Department of Justice of misconduct in investigating him and thanking Trump.

“After almost 14 years of fighting for my innocence, it took a real man of action and courage in President Trump to finally relieve me of the horrific deceit of being wrongly convicted by a Department of Justice that engaged in witness tampering, illegal wiretapping, and gross prosecutorial misconduct,” Renzi said. “Because I refused to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit, a prosecutor even resorted to suborning perjury in order to secure a fraudulent conviction. I went to prison and was wrongfully incarcerated rather than cower and plead to the DOJ fabricated narrative that I was guilty.”

Trump’s office said in a news release that Renzi’s pardon was supported by Reps. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. and Tom Cole, R-Okla., and former Reps. Jack Kingston, Tom DeLay, Todd Tiahrt, John Doolittle, Duncan Hunter Sr., Richard Pombo, Charles Taylor, Dan Burton and Larry Weitzner, plus the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates and “numerous other members of his community.” Trump granted him a full pardon.

“His constituents considered him a strong advocate for better housing, quality education, and improved healthcare — especially for the underprivileged and Native Americans,” the president’s office said in a news release announcing his and the 142 other pardons and commutations. “He is the father of 12 children and a loving and devoted husband.”

Trump has issued pardons to numerous politicians convicted on corruption charges in his last days in office. The final batch of pardons also included former California Rep. Randall Cunningham, who was convicted of bribery; former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice; and former North Carolina Rep. Robert Cannon “Robin” Hayes, who was sentenced to probation for making a false statement in the course of a federal investigation.

In 2017, Trump pardoned former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was found guilty by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton of criminal contempt. That stemmed from her finding that he had willfully violated an injunction issued by another judge prohibiting him from enforcing federal civil immigration laws. Before he could be sentenced, though, Trump granted the former sheriff a full and unconditional pardon.

A federal appeals court rebuffed Arpaio’s bid to have his criminal conviction formally erased.

 

 

 

 

In their words: Russell Pearce

In this Feb. 10, 2011 file photo, protesters gather around former state senator Russell Pearce, author of SB 1070. The ACLU acquired thousands of Pearce e-mails through a public records request and says they prove the controversial anti-immigration law was racially motivated. (Matt York/Associated Press)
In this Feb. 10, 2011 file photo, protesters gather around former state senator Russell Pearce, author of SB1070. (Matt York/Associated Press)

There are the historians and there are the history makers. Who you gonna’ believe? The Arizona Memory Project, supported by the Arizona State Library has a collection of oral histories of former legislators who were there when history was made, whether it was the bribery scandal known as AZSCAM, the creation of a new agency, or in former Senate President Russell Pearce’s case, the passage of SB1070. Pearce was the architect of the bill that was meant to allow local governments to deal with immigration issues. The 2010 bill became a national flash point for immigration policy and drew the ire of President Obama and led to the rise of Gov. Jan Brewer’s star. Pearce, for his part, was recalled and his political career ended in 2011. In his 2015 oral history interview, Pearce talks about the bill and other topics.

On his legacy:

I don’t know how you repair all that, I don’t buy my ink by the barrel. But again, even the Tea Party, everybody that knows me – the Tea Party, they still invite me to speak to them all the time. Next to Sheriff Joe (Arpaio) I get the largest applause at our state convention for Republicans, statewide. I was elected after that as the first vice chair of the state party. I get the loudest applause at our Maricopa County Republican mandatory meeting every January. I’m grateful. They know me and they treat me respectfully, and I’m grateful for that and they don’t owe me anything, they don’t have to do that. I get standing ovations when I go to speak to certain groups because I talk about things that need to be talked about – the truth. I think I have other than those that want to believe bad and those that continue to lie about my character, they aren’t going to change, they have an agenda. They don’t like me, I don’t care, I don’t care what I do, but those who know me know better. I’m grateful for the reputation I have among the good guys and the patriots.

On being a Republican:

My dad was a Democrat. We prayed for him often. My mom was a Republican. All of us children are Republicans. The Republican Party had the values that I embraced. There’s a lot of Republicans that disappoint me. They don’t conduct their lives, I think, in a manner that represents the conservative values the Republican Party stands for, but it was the best party for the principles I believed in and the party I felt offered the most hope to save this republic and to bring it back into the proper role.

On political philosophy:

As a very young man I remember strong feelings about patriotism and this Constitution. I can tell you the very first fight I had I think I was six years old and it was with a neighbor and the fight was over Eisenhower and Stevenson. I’m sure I was too young to understand what Eisenhower was about but my mom supported Eisenhower, so he was the right guy so we got into a little – six year olds don’t hurt each pretty bad – but we got into a fistfight over that. I had strong political views at a very young age and they haven’t changed over time, I’ve been pretty consistent. I’ve studied with Cleon Skousen about the Constitution, the Founders, I’ve read the books, I read the Constitution regularly, I carry a Constitution with me wherever I go. I always have one on me and I read it, it’s not just for show.

On campaigning:

When you are the candidate, everything changes. It’s easier to talk about somebody else than it is yourself. It became a challenge going door to door, which I had already done as a JP, too, but I loved that, I really enjoyed that. The chance to visit with people at their doorstep, hear their concerns, their frustration, their lack of trust, sometimes in government and those who are in positions of trust.  It was very touching and at the same time kind of, it allowed you to recognize the importance of what you are doing in terms of keeping those promises. After that election, every campaign I ran, one of the first things I put out were promises made, promises kept. I’ve never not done what I promised to do.

So many of those folks, hundreds of doors that I would go to, they would tell me I’m the first guy running for office that ever been to their door, and you can’t get to every single door, but I covered hundreds of them, and so I liked that. Those that had questions, I even enjoyed more. Those that would engage in actual dialogue was very good. I’m kind of a visitor, I enjoy visiting so my wife would tease me. She would drop me off on a corner and I’d say, “Okay, meet me back here in about an hour.” She said, “Russell, I’ll meet you back here in three hours.” We would laugh because I take a long time.

On the trespassing section in SB1070:

My purpose was not to change the law, but to enforce the law. I didn’t write anything into 1070 that wasn’t already in law. What was really frustrating, even the part the judge struck down in part of sections three and five and six it was already the law. Section five simply said under law it’s a misdemeanor if you don’t have your paperwork on you. If you’re in the country legally, it’s a misdemeanor, it’s illegal. So we made that a state crime. Out of fairness, it needs to be said how that section came into play. I wrote it expecting a Supreme Court decision, a battle, I wrote it to win. I wrote everything based on codified federal law. The section on the trespass came to mind when I first ran it – I can’t remember if it was ‘06, ‘07 when I first ran the trespass provision. In talking to (Cochise County) Sheriff (Larry) Dever, he said, “Russell, I don’t have an illegal alien problem.” I said, “What do you mean you don’t have an illegal alien problem?” He says, “Border Patrol is so effective down here they’re just passing through. You have a problem.” He said, “They may steal a car on their way through or on their way back steal a car,” but he said, “I don’t have the problems you have in Phoenix and Tucson.” He said, “What I need is the ability to hang onto them.” He said, “If Border Patrol takes – they’re very effective down here – I don’t get them back. And if they’re a suspect in a crime or an investigative lead, I’d like to hold them long enough to complete my investigation.” He said, “I’m not looking to keep them, that’s costly. I just want to keep those I need to keep.” I said, “Good idea, I’ll add a trespass provision on the bill that allows you to keep them on a state crime. You can charge them or not charge them, but if you need to charge them for trespass, then charge them if you need to hang onto them for a few days so you don’t have to turn them over to border patrol. That’s how that came about on the trespass idea. But anyway, I mean yeah, 1070 got a life of its own.

 

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for space.  Arizona Memory Project interviews will appear on this page each month.

Jason Rose: In pursuit of politics, polo and the best publicity

Jason Rose (Photo by Ellen O'Brien/Arizona Capitol Times)
Jason Rose (Photo by Ellen O’Brien/Arizona Capitol Times)

In the world of politics, Jason Rose is known as a no-holds-barred spinmeister, the PR guru you want to bring into a political brawl.

His brand of political marketing may seem like another version of creative chaos – throw in some diesel into a cauldron of burning lava, pop some corn and watch to see who gets burned. For an example of his work, look no further than the rancor that has engulfed the state’s energy regulatory agency in the last several years. You may credit Rose for exponentially upping the ante, until that rumpus becomes so untenable that the only possible recourse is to accept détente; thus, achieving what he sought out to do for his client, create a platform that becomes so boisterous it cannot be ignored.

Fewer people at the state Capitol know that Rose is also the PR genius behind the Seventh Annual Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships: Horses & Horsepower in Scottsdale. In promoting the event, Rose says he has deployed all his cards as a political consultant, minus making enemies, of course.  

Cap Times Q&AI’m going to ask you a couple of questions. Give me the first thing that comes to mind. Best client?

First client. It would be Red Feather Properties at the Grand Canyon. They took a chance on me, and I think we’ve helped them a lot in 21-plus years, and I will always be grateful to them for taking a chance on a 26 year old.

Worst client?

I don’t know that I would put it in the worst category, but some people may think that would be Amy’s Baking Company. It was featured on Fox’s Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay. It was a local restaurant that became infamous virally across the United States. I would refer to that as six crazy days with Amy and Sammy. I wouldn’t say worst because it was an exhilarating experience. But the vitriol, the roller coaster nature of it, the complexity of it, was otherworldly.

Do you believe in all publicity is good publicity?

No.

Best campaign?

The most thorough campaign I would say was last year for Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane. We had a tough competitor. It was probably the best result combined with the best experience. Going way back, I would probably (count) the first hockey arena campaign in Scottsdale for the Coyotes, which we won on the same day that the Arizona Cardinals stadium lost in Mesa.

Worst campaign?

Worst loss would be Michael Monti’s loss in Tempe in 2012. I say that even though I consider it among the best work we’ve ever done for one of the coolest cats we ever will do work for. We were up on election night. We ended up losing by 200 votes, and that was the first sign of the incredible get out the vote machine that the Democrats were about to deploy in Arizona, and have successfully used in other races. Unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of a new model for getting out the vote. We won the mass messaging. We won in every way, except get out the vote at the end.   

Canada or Mexico?

Mexico.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio or Donald Trump?

Sherriff Joe.

Why polo? How did it start?

So, two local polo guys walked into this office, into this room, seven years ago, and said, “We have $6,000 from the United States Polo Association to hire you to help us promote our events.” And I said I don’t know if you’re familiar with our business model but we don’t do a lot of things for $6,000. But I love sports and polo is interesting. We said rather than do a standard PR execution for very little money, we have this concept called horses and horsepower. It’s essentially beautiful things on site. Polo is a beautiful sport. I’ve never played polo. I don’t much like being on horses, but I’ve always wanted to be a sports owner, so this might be as close to it as I’m going to get. And so, we’ve tried to create the Phoenix Open of Polo. In November of this year, it will be the most attended polo event in the United States. It’s part Phoenix Open. It’s part Spring Training. It’s part Cirque du Soleil. There’s classiness and craziness all at the same time, and my political background really helped the evolution of the event.

In what way?

So, in a campaign, you have a candidate. In this case, we have a concept – polo. In a campaign, you have polling and tracking polling. In the polo world, you have ticket sales and sponsorships. In a campaign, you have a win or a loss. In the polo world, you make money or you don’t, and along the way, you experiment with what’s the best way to get the message out. How do you get people on site? What’s your get-out-the-vote plan, get-out-the-customer plan? And, aside from our political background, we’re pretty creative marketers and have utilized that for something that is now a very successful endeavor.

If you had the chance to install a state government in Arizona, what kind of government would that look like?

A benevolent dictatorship led by me.

Do the Democrats have a prayer’s chance to win a statewide race this (next) year?

Absolutely, and I believe in it so much that, for the first time in my career, I may be assisting Democrats.

Is that right?

It’s correct – one because there is absolutely no point in electing a Republican to the Arizona Corporation Commission even if you’re the most die-hard Republican. They’d raise your rates. They’re not transparent, and they stifle innovation. What is the possible explanation for supporting a Republican? There’s none.

Judge dismisses Arpaio’s criminal case, allows pardon to stand

A federal judge has upheld the validity of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s presidential pardon despite claims from critics that letting his clemency stand would encourage officials to disobey future court orders.

Judge Susan Bolton cited U.S. Supreme Court precedent Wednesday when she dismissed the criminal case against the former six-term sheriff of metro Phoenix.

Two months ago, Bolton found Arpaio guilty of disobeying a court order to stop his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.

Prosecutor John Keller says the pardon ends the case and that Arpaio will never be held accountable for defying the order.

Bolton is still mulling a request from Arpaio’s attorneys to throw out all rulings in the case.

Arpaio wasn’t in court for Wednesday’s hearing.

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Judge in prison health care lawsuit scolds corrections director in court

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Arizona Department of Corrections Director Charles Ryan was compared to former Maricopa Sheriff Joe Arpaio and admonished in federal court Tuesday for an email sent to his staff challenging a judge’s order.

Before Ryan even took the stand to testify after being ordered to do so, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Duncan directly addressed him and his comments to DOC staff.

“You and I are in the same business,” Duncan told Ryan in court. “Thus, I would think this would be something that you of all people would understand as you supervise tens of thousands of people who have not followed the law.”

Ryan was specifically called to testify about an email he sent to DOC staff in which he questioned Duncan’s order to end alleged retaliation of prisoners who testified about abysmal health care in the state’s prisons. DOC is in court over non-compliance with a lawsuit settlement meant to improve its health care to thousands of prisoners.

Duncan said prominent public servants like Ryan are in a position to influence “whether we live in a society where there is respect for the law, even laws with which you disagree.” But, referring to a judge’s order as “preconceived” or acting like “the recently convicted sheriff in our county, who thought that he could do as he wished notwithstanding contrary orders of the court,” is disrespectful to the rule of law, Duncan said.

“I worry that it sends a message that we only follow the laws we think are right or that we can choose whether we wish to do what is necessary to follow the law,” Duncan said. “This case is fundamentally about the failure of the Department of Corrections to follow the law of this case. For years, your promise to provide the health care required by the stipulations has failed. This promise has not been met.”

And because the department has not met its obligations as agreed to when the Parsons v. Ryan case was settled in 2014, Duncan has had to intervene.

“With all due respect,” Ryan told the judge, “I want you out of this case as bad as anybody else.”

It’s not an ideal situation, Duncan conceded, but one he believes is necessary at this point as prisoners continue to raise concerns with the level of health care provided as well as retaliation for raising such issues.

Duncan noted he visited a DOC facility to see the health care troubles for himself, a trip that “destroyed” his hearing aide when he sweated so profusely while sitting in the prisoners’ health clinic.

As for the claims of retaliation, Duncan has issued an order to DOC to cease any retaliatory actions against prisoners who provide written or oral testimony. That order sparked Ryan’s frustrated email to staff and ultimately led the director to testimony defending his own words.

Daniel Struck, an attorney for DOC, told Duncan the order was “an affront to the director to be told that his 9,500 employees are retaliating against the inmates in their charge.”

But Duncan cast that argument for Ryan’s email aside, calling it “hyperbolic” and “not helpful,” an explanation that he did not believe would make sense to anyone considering he did not suggest all DOC employees had engaged in retaliation against the prisoners participating in the Parsons case.

Speaking for himself, Ryan said the email – which he did not consider disrespectful to the court – was crafted with the assistance of his counsel and was not intended to suggest his staff should do anything but comply with Duncan’s order fully.

Additionally, Ryan said the video conference referenced in his email took place on Aug. 1. The first ten minutes of that 90-minute meeting consisted of Ryan, by his own account, reading his email aloud to the attendees and asking for questions, of which there were none.

That video conference was not documented, however. Ryan said the department did not have the technology to record the meeting that included about 100 people nor was he aware of any notes taken during or to prepare for his remarks.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Corene Kendrick of the Prison Law Office told the Arizona Capitol Times that Ryan’s statements did not inspire great confidence that Duncan’s order was truly conveyed to DOC staff. To her, it sounded as if Ryan did nothing more than reiterate disrespectful comments.

And without any documentation, she cannot be sure the message got through.

“I find it a little shocking that the state’s largest agency with a $1 billion budget can have a teleconference with over 100 people yet nobody takes notes and nobody asks questions,” she said. “That just doesn’t seem logical.”

Kendrick’s co-counsel Donald Specter also questioned why Ryan took issue with the judge’s order if it was consistent with DOC’s own policies warning against retaliation or actions taken against prisoners without cause.

Ryan testified that prisoners are not sent to his facilities to be subjected to harassment or face further punishment, and he said DOC has written policies against retaliation.

Specter said those policies could not be found in DOC’s public documents.  

In a lengthy email to the Arizona Capitol Times following Ryan’s testimony, DOC spokesman Andrew WIlder included several passages from the department’s employee handbook, non-discrimination policy and code of ethics with language on retaliation among other abuses of power.

According to Wilder’s email, the employee handbook states, “The Department prohibits retaliation against anyone for raising a concern about, assisting in an investigation of, or filing a complaint concerning unlawful discrimination or unlawful harassment.”

Ryan said if prisoners raise concerns over retaliation, those claims are investigated, and officers involved are disciplined if the claims prove to be true.

However, he also testified that he did not seek out further information regarding the claims of abuse raised after prisoners testified in Duncan’s court on July 14.

Judge to hear Arpaio’s plea for dropping criminal conviction

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Photo by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting)
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Photo by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting)

A federal judge will hear arguments in October over whether she should set aside the criminal contempt of court conviction of Joe Arpaio.

In a brief order late Tuesday, Judge Susan Bolton vacated the scheduled Oct. 5 sentencing of the former Maricopa County sheriff. That followed Friday’s pardon issued by President Trump.

But Bolton, who found the sheriff guilty of ignoring an order by fellow Judge Murray Snow, put off a separate bid filed by Arpaio’s lawyers on Monday to overturn her finding of guilt, a move that would legally wipe out any legal record he had ever been convicted in the first place. Bolton said she wants to hear from federal prosecutors at a hearing on Oct. 4.

The president’s pardon eliminated any possibility that Arpaio, facing a possible six months in jail, will actually do any time.

That, however, is not enough to satisfy the former sheriff who continues to insist he did not ignore orders by Snow, hearing a separate civil case, to stop trying to enforce federal immigration laws against people his deputies suspect were in this country illegally. Bolton, who heard the criminal contempt charge, disagreed, saying Arpaio’s nearly two dozen public statements saying he would continue to do things his way, showed a “flagrant disregard” for Snow’s order.

In seeking to have the conviction voided, Arpaio’s attorneys said the former sheriff never actually asked for the presidential pardon.

More to the point, they said the conviction remains on Arpaio’s record, pardon or not. And while Arpaio cannot be punished for what Bolton found him guilty of in this case, they said that conviction could have repercussions down the road.

For example, they cited court rulings that said this conviction could be used against him at the time of sentencing if he is ever found guilty of any other crime. That could result in a stiffer sentence.

And they said that the conviction, even for a misdemeanor, could be used to argue to a judge or jury in a future case that the sheriff’s testimony was not credible.

Arpaio’s attorneys also suggested that if Bolton refuses to budge they may appeal his conviction anyway to clear his name, something they said would be “a waste of everyone’s time and money.”

Tuesday’s court development came as Gov. Doug Ducey defended his support for the pardon and bristled at the idea that his position could be seen as offensive to the state’s Latino community, many of whom were victimized by the sheriff’s immigration raids.

On the heels of the pardon, the governor said Arpaio “deserves credit for helping to reduce crime in Maricopa County over his long career.” And Ducey said the pardon “brought finality to this chapter in Arizona’s history” and allowed the sheriff and his wife to “move on and enjoy their retirement together.”

Ducey said supporting the pardon did not mean he does not support Latino rights.

“Everything we’ve done in our administration is standing up for all of the citizens of Arizona,” the governor said, saying his administration “has been about opportunity for all” in things like creating jobs or supporting the ability of parents to use tax dollars to send their children to whatever school they want, including private and parochial schools.”

Judge won’t give more time to find victims of Arpaio detentions

In this May 22, 2018, file photo, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks during a campaign event in Phoenix. A judge who ordered taxpayer-funded compensation for Latinos who were illegally detained when Arpaio defied a 2011 court order has declined to give the victims six more months to apply for the money. The ruling means the one-year period for filing claims ends Dec. 3. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
In this May 22, 2018, file photo, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks during a campaign event in Phoenix. A judge who ordered taxpayer-funded compensation for Latinos who were illegally detained when Arpaio defied a 2011 court order has declined to give the victims six more months to apply for the money. The ruling means the one-year period for filing claims ends Dec. 3. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

A federal judge who ordered taxpayer-funded compensation for Latinos who were illegally detained when then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio defied a court order has declined to give the victims more time to apply for the money.

The two-sentence ruling issued November 13 by U.S. District Judge Murray Snow in the racial-profiling case means the one-year period for filing claims will end on December 3.

Two years ago, Snow ordered the creation of a $500,000 compensation fund as a remedy for Arpaio’s acknowledged disobedience of the 2011 order to stop his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.

Advocates for immigrant rights had argued that more time was needed to locate the victims.

Attorneys for Maricopa County countered by urging the judge to reject the proposed extension and accused opposing lawyers of trying to rewrite the terms of the compensation plan.

Under the plan, Maricopa County will pay $500 for the first hour of a person’s illegal detention and $35 for each additional 20-minute increment.

A $10,000 cap was imposed on such compensation, but victims can also seek money for damages such as lost wages and emotional distress.

The compensation costs are a small piece of the overall cost of the case, which so far have totaled $90 million.

Lawyers who filed the profiling lawsuit have said at least 190 people were detained in violation of the 2011 order, but they are unable to find their phone numbers and addresses.

Far fewer people than expected have filed claims because of the difficulty of locating victims.

Only one claim totaling $1,095 has been paid among the 93 filed. Twelve others are considered payable but await a rebuttal from the sheriff’s office, according to county records.

Arpaio called The Associated Press unsolicited November 14 to point out that, after all the litigation over the illegal detentions, only one person has been paid.

“Why isn’t anybody coming forward? I would like to know the answer to that question. It’s not gloating. I’m not gloating,” said Arpaio, who insisted he wasn’t responsible for causing the fund to be created.

Kathy Brody, one of the American Civil Liberties Union attorneys leading the profiling case against the Sheriff’s Office, said the claims from the 12 people whose claims are considered payable would total about $150,000 if approved.

Brody said she and others involved in the case suspect victims aren’t coming forward because they fear that doing so will lead to their deportation.

“He (Arpaio) has never shown any respect for the rights of these people and any concerns they have, so I am not surprised that this is his view,” Brody said.

Arpaio was accused of prolonging the patrols to boost his 2012 re-election campaign. He was later convicted of criminal contempt of court for violating the court order, though a pardon by President Donald Trump spared Arpaio a possible jail sentence. He lost the 2016 sheriff’s race.

Taxpayers in metro Phoenix remain on the hook for compensation for the illegal detentions made during the patrols between late December 2011 and May 2013.

Lawyers involved in the profiling case and a firm running the claims process have worked with community organizations and foreign consulates offices in hopes of finding victims. A group in Mexico has reached out to news organizations to publicize the compensation efforts.

The attorneys also watched traffic-stop videos and pored over arrest and other police records. They also did interviews

New judge to oversee attorney discipline

gavel

Margaret Downie will be Arizona’s second ever presiding disciplinary judge, the state Supreme Court announced Thursday.

Downie, who starts her new role on May 17, will replace Judge William J. O’Neil who is retiring after holding the seat since its inception in 2010. The disciplinary judge presides over attorney discipline, reinstatement and disability cases.

“I have been involved in the fields of legal and judicial ethics for more than 35 years and am honored that the Supreme Court has chosen me to serve as Arizona’s next Presiding Disciplinary Judge,” Downie said in a written statement.

Margaret Downie
Margaret Downie

Chief Justice Robert Brutinel said in a written statement that Downie was an ideal choice as the incoming judge because of her experience as a trial and appellate judge, and as Executive Director of the Commission on Judicial Conduct. He also credited her reputation for integrity and handling of previous bar discipline cases.

“The judicial branch, the public and the bar will be well served by the new Presiding Disciplinary Judge,”  Brutinel said. 

The Commission on Judicial Conduct independently investigates complaints against judges and justices in the state. Downie has held the executive director position since 2017. Before that, she was a Court of Appeals, Division One judge from 2008 to 2017. She also served with the Maricopa County Superior Court for 11 years as a court commissioner and then a trial judge. 

Retired appellate court judge Patricia Norris was among those who wrote in support of Downie’s appointment. Norris served with Downie on the bench before retiring. Norris, who has worked as a volunteer attorney on hearing panels for O’Neil, said Downie also has administrative and organizational skills, as well as the legal skills needed for the job. 

“She was an outstanding jurist — always prepared, familiar with all the pertinent parts of the record on appeal, and diplomatically direct and to the point,” Norris wrote.

The other candidates for the position included Stephen Little, Jeffrey Messing and Patricia A. Sallen.

During his time as the first disciplinary judge, O’Neil presided over the disbarment proceedings of former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and his former top deputy, Lisa Aubuchon.

The disciplinary panel found that Thomas worked with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to go after their political enemies, and that Aubuchon and Thomas committed numerous ethical violations during a four-year window when private attorneys, judges and other officials were pursued for prosecution and lawsuits.

Prosecutors: Reasons for Arpaio conviction should be voided

Prosecutors said Monday that a ruling explaining the reasoning behind former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s criminal conviction should be thrown out now that President Donald Trump has pardoned him for disobeying a judge’s order in an immigration case.

The U.S. Justice Department said in a court filing it agreed with Arpaio’s attorneys who argued the lawman’s conviction and the 14-page ruling should be voided, arguing the case and any punitive consequence from it are mooted by the pardon.

The filing brings Arpaio’s criminal case one step closer to a conclusion after the former lawman’s attorneys argued the ruling should be tossed in a bid to clear their client’s name.

Arpaio’s lawyers also want to prevent its possible use in future court cases as an example of a prior bad act. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton, who found Arpaio guilty, has not yet carried out the formality of dismissing the case.

Trump two weeks ago pardoned Arpaio’s misdemeanor contempt of court conviction for intentionally disobeying another federal judge’s 2011 order to stop his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.

Arpaio was accused of continuing the patrols for 17 months so that he could promote his immigration enforcement efforts in a bid to boost his successful 2012 re-election campaign.

Arpaio, who endorsed Trump and appeared alongside him at rallies during the 2016 campaign, has acknowledged prolonging the patrols.

But he insisted his disobedience was not intentional and blamed one of his former attorneys for not adequately explaining the importance of the order.

In the ruling that Arpaio wants thrown out, Bolton cited TV interviews and news releases in which the sheriff made comments about keeping up the patrols, even though he knew they were no longer allowed.

“Not only did defendant abdicate responsibility, he announced to the world and to his subordinates that he was going to continue business as usual no matter who said otherwise,” Bolton wrote in the July 31 verdict.

Since the pardon, Arpaio has said he did nothing wrong, criticized Bolton as biased and called the offense behind his conviction a “petty crime.”

Arpaio, defeated last year in the same election that sent Trump to the White House, is now talking about getting back into politics.

In an unusual move for a criminal case, the Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center petitioned Bolton to let Arpaio’s conviction stand.

The group, which is a public-interest law firm that advocates for human rights and social justice, said Arpaio’s pardon would have “the effect of eviscerating the judicial enforcement of constitutional rights.”

Sanders stumps for Garcia to rally young voters

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a Get Out The Vote rally at the University of Arizona Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, in Tucson, Ariz. Sanders is in Arizona to speak at rallies in Tucson and Tempe for Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Garcia. Garcia is an education professor at ASU who is facing Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in the Nov. 6 general election. (Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star via AP)
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a Get Out The Vote rally at the University of Arizona Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, in Tucson, Ariz. Sanders is in Arizona to speak at rallies in Tucson and Tempe for Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Garcia. Garcia is an education professor at ASU who is facing Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in the Nov. 6 general election. (Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

As he lags in the polls, Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Garcia brought in progressive powerhouse Sen. Bernie Sanders to fire up young voters at rallies in Tucson and Tempe on Tuesday.

Sanders blasted President Donald Trump at a rally on Arizona State University’s campus and reminded Arizona voters of a series of progressive victories they brought about in recent years as he stumped for Garcia, who opposes Gov. Doug Ducey.

The former presidential candidate who may run again in 2020, praised Arizona voters for ousting Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio from office in 2016, calling him a “racist of the worst kind.”

Sanders also touted passage of a ballot measure to boost Arizona’s minimum wage.

With his distinctive, East Coast accent Sanders even hearkened back to his last visit in Phoenix, during which a woman told him she waited eight hours in line to vote for him during the presidential preference election.

He then praised rally goers for ousting Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell after voters waited in line for hours and many simply did not vote because of the long lines during the presidential preference election.

“You stood up and you said that you will not allow people to suppress democracy and you got rid of that county recorder,” he said.

“That’s what democracy is all about.”

Sanders’ speech had echoes of a presidential stump speech, but he added reminders to young voters that their voices could be heard if they turned out to the polls on Election Day.

The politician with a nearly cult-like following insisted that the best way to send a message to Trump is if voters turn out in droves and elect progressive candidates like Garcia.

“In 2014, we had the lowest turnout in modern history,” Sanders said. “In 2018, we’ve got to have the highest.”

Sanders called Trump a pathological liar who duped voters in Arizona and across the country, he said while acknowledging Arizona went for Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

Many of those Trump voters didn’t know then what they know now, he said.

Trump said he would provide healthcare for everyone, but then led the charge to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Sanders said. He said he was going to take on the establishment, but then he appointed more billionaires to his administration than any other previous president.

“Trump told the people of Arizona one thing and ended up doing something very different,” he said.

Sanders never explicitly mentioned Ducey in his 30-minute remarks, but he excoriated wealthy politicians and a corrupt political system that allows them to ascend to power.

Garcia was not so subtle. He contrasted his background in the U.S. Army with Ducey’s background as CEO of Coldstone Creamery.

“I have served our country. Doug Ducey has served ice cream,” Garcia said. … “We’ve got a CEO governor right now. We need a working class governor right now.”

He talked about growing up in a working class household and focused much of his speech on education, one of his top issues throughout the campaign.

But Garcia also played to his audience by promising to stand by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals students and pledged to make state colleges and universities nearly as free as possible, as is stipulated in the state constitution.

“Our universities should be as nearly free as possible,” Garcia said. “That’s not some crazy, progressive idea. That’s Bernie Sanders before Bernie was Bernie.”

Hundreds of students and progressives turned out to the campus rally. Garcia molded himself into a Sanders-type this election by shunning corporate PAC money, promising free college and calling for a single-payer health system.

The rallies at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona underscore Garcia’s path to victory in the governor’s race. Throughout the race, he has worked to motivate new voters and those who don’t typically vote, such as Hispanics and young voters.

But his strategy may be lacking. Polls show Garcia trailing Gov. Doug Ducey by double digits. Ducey and his supporters have overwhelmingly outspent Garcia, making it hard for the Democrat to keep his head above water in the general election.

Ducey had harsh words for Garcia and Sanders last week while the governor and other Republicans rallied with Trump in Mesa.

“Can you believe it? These guys are actually proud to stand with Bernie Sanders,” Ducey said. “Would you be proud to stand with Bernie Sanders?”

Sanders lost to Hillary Clinton by double digits in Arizona.

SB1070 dramatized, fictionalized in Phoenix stage production

In a June 20, 2017, rehearsal, Actress Sandra Williams portrays Gov. Stewart, a character based on former Gov. Jan Brewer, in the production of "1070 (We Were Strangers Once, Too). (Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times)
In a June 20, 2017, rehearsal, actress Sandra Williams portrays Gov. Stewart, a character based on former Gov. Jan Brewer, in the production of “1070 (We Were Strangers Once, Too). (Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times)

Jeffrey Middleton is a self-described dyed-in-the-wool Democrat – a liberal with an offbeat sense of humor who has been “openly gay since birth.”

He also happens to be a middle-aged white man, making him perfect for the roles “1070 (We Were Strangers Once Too)” playwright and director James Garcia cast him in – perfect if you set aside his entire worldview. He plays characters based on former Senate President Russell Pearce, the anti-immigration bill’s sponsor, and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose unmatched popularity and election loss were both driven by his immigration enforcement tactics.

As the title suggests, Garcia’s production, housed at the Herberger Theater Center, revolves around the passage of Arizona’s SB1070, the immigration legislation that sparked international controversy after it was passed in April 2010. In a stroke of irony, Garcia said his show, which opened June 23 and runs through July 9, was produced in part by a grant funded by money from a settlement against Arpaio.

Middleton was tasked with portraying men he reviles even as he tries to get into their heads.

Jeffrey Middleton plays Senator King, a "1070" politico based on former Senate President Russell Pearce, the sponsor of SB1070. He also plays Sheriff Joseph Romano, based on former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In this scene, Middleton as King is unmoved by statistical arguments against the legislation. (Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times)
Jeffrey Middleton (Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times)

“I wanted to find the human side of them,” Middleton said, adding he doesn’t mind playing the “bad guys,” dubbed Senator King and Sheriff Romano. “I didn’t want to make them sympathetic, but I didn’t want to make them evil.

“There’s moments in the show where, especially Senator Pearce during the big monologue I have – he goes through a moment where he’s talking about his faith and what he believes and what he thinks is true… That’s what I want to portray.”

Middleton tried to meet Pearce to no avail. He thought even a phone call with the men he becomes on stage would help him understand how someone like Arpaio “gets up every morning and can look at himself in the mirror and not feel horrid for how he treats people.”

“I allow myself the opportunity to tell the story to the best of my ability…and then, I let it go,” Middleton said. “When I leave here, I go home and have a big ole glass of Scotch. I get rid of everything I had to say over the last hour and a half.”

In one scene between his Senator King and a staged reporter from the “lamestream liberal media,” Middleton talks about rounding up and shipping out “illegals” by the truckload.

As he leaves the stage, he hisses, “If you misquote me, I’ll sue the s**t out of you.”

He spits the line with venom at a young woman he genuinely adores in real life.

“We’re telling this story because it matters, and it will continue to matter until we kick those in the face who say it doesn’t matter,” he said before the first dress rehearsal, during which he stumbled ever so slightly over the threat. “As an activist, we all want to move the conversation forward.”

Anna Flores, in red pants, plays "1070" heroine Dulce Avila, who protests the passage of the legislation. Flores' character is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico protected under her Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. (Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times)
Anna Flores, in red pants, plays “1070” heroine Dulce Avila, who protests the passage of the legislation. Flores’ character is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico protected under her Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. (Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times)

The law was billed as a tool for the state to battle illegal immigration, though elements like one derisively dubbed by opponents as the “papers please” provision led to accusations of racial bias. A lengthy court battle followed, and several of the bill’s key provisions were struck down while others remain in effect, including the provision requiring police to question someone’s immigration status during routine stops if there is suspicion to believe the person is in the country illegally.

Although the protests at the Capitol were loud and visual for the media, polls conducted immediately after the law’s passage showed it had majority support, with one poll showing that about 70 percent of voters backed the new law.

The story opens on the day the Arizona Legislature passed SB1070. A mixed-status family of five sits around the dinner table, debating whether to stay.

Miguel Avila, played by Juan Gomez, rises to unleash an anguished wail before declaring, “We have to go.”

The heroine Dulce Avila, played by Anna Flores, convinces her mostly undocumented family to stick it out. What follows is a rapid depiction of the real consequences families faced over years.

Dulce’s sister Viri, played by Valerie German, is deported and later trapped in a box under the watch of the violent and repugnant Deputy Garcia, played by Alex Sanchez Vega.

Dulce herself finds security in her Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status and joins the protest movement, eventually facing off against Sheriff Romano.

Like Middleton, Flores aesthetically made sense to play Dulce – she’s Latina, she’s the right age and she comes from a mixed-status family. But she has been challenged to “honor the crisis” at the heart of “1070.”

Former Senate President Russell Pearce. (Photo by Ryan Cook/RJ Cook Photography)
Former Senate President Russell Pearce. (Photo by Ryan Cook/RJ Cook Photography)

Flores is a citizen, separated by “a physical giant” from several brothers in Mexico. When SB1070 passed, she walked out of her high school and joined her first protest alongside thousands of others.

“Ever since then,” she said, “there’s no way not to be involved.”

Still, her activism has never forced her to muster the kind of bravery Dulce does.

“Being a character who is both undocumented and willing to come face to face with an officer, that’s a very hard reality to accept,” she said. “I have to sell that. I have to make the audience understand that Dulce Avila’s courage is so strong and her fear is so strong and her willingness to protect her family is so overwhelming that she’s willing to do that.”

In the midst of the Avila family’s woes, the production offers fleeting political scenes.

Former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, whose career was catapulted by SB1070, appears as Governor Stewart, played by Sandra Williams. Williams presents the governor with a dose of absurdity, relaxing at Senator King’s desk as she defends her signing of the bill.

And a meeting of the “Arizona Business Association” plays out, focusing on the economic impact of boycotts leveled on the state, including one by the National Council of La Raza, the country’s largest Latino nonprofit advocacy organization.

Playwright Garcia said “1070” has been in his head for a long time, but its release now coincides with the NCLR returning to Phoenix for a convention. The show will run just across the street from where thousands of politically active Latinos will be gathered.

Beyond his “opportunistic” reasoning, though, Garcia said there was a need for his message now.

“The state went through 1070. Immigrants lived through that. Things had started to calm down,” he said. “Trump’s election has terrified the immigrant community to a whole new level because they understand that he is the most powerful man in America and the world.”

Senate appointment McSally’s chance for fresh start

U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, who is the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, speaks to supporters of President Trump at a rally in Mesa on Oct. 19, 2018.
U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, who is the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Arizona, speaks to supporters of President Trump at a rally in Mesa on Oct. 19, 2018.

Martha McSally scored the political redo of a lifetime when she was appointed to the U.S. Senate on December 18.

In a way, by appointing McSally to fill the seat that will soon be vacated by Sen. Jon Kyl, Gov. Doug Ducey wiped the slate clean for the two-term Arizona congresswoman who lost her bitter U.S. Senate bid earlier this year.

While her campaign loss and the political miscalculations that may have led to her downfall won’t quickly be forgotten, the appointment allows McSally to showcase another side of herself and gives her the chance to start fresh. A do-over could prove essential if McSally hopes to have a fighting chance of winning the Senate race in 2020 and again in 2022.

From when she is sworn in next year until 2020, McSally will have to walk a fine line if she wants to be re-elected in what may be an even tougher election year for Republicans. President Donald Trump will presumably be at the top of the ballot, and is sure to have an effect on down ballot GOP candidates.

Although McSally has not said if she will run in two years to keep her seat, it’s practically a given that she will mount another Senate campaign.

McSally’s already hinted that she wants to conduct herself differently than she did during this campaign cycle. At a press conference December 18 where she accepted the appointment, McSally vowed to serve by the guiding principles of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain. She also praised McCain as a giant and an American hero.

“I’m going to commit to holding myself to the standard of service that Senator McCain indemnified, putting country before self and always striving to do the right thing for Arizonans,” she said.

McSally mentioned McCain more in her brief remarks than she did throughout her entire Senate campaign.

During the Senate race, McSally worked to distance herself from McCain for fear that she might alienate Trump voters. Her strategy was painfully obvious when she took credit for a new defense spending bill named after McCain and stood with Trump when he signed it.

But neither Trump nor McSally mentioned McCain’s name during the event.

The incident hurt McSally’s standing with the McCain family. McSally met with Cindy McCain just days before the appointment in an attempt to mend the rift.

If McSally is truly turning over a new leaf, she may also want to reconsider how closely she embraces Trump in the future, said Zachary Smith, a regents professor of politics and international affairs at Northern Arizona University.

“Things have changed. Her path is going to have to be, be with Trump but not be with Trump,” Smith said. “She’s still going to have to talk about how great Trump is, but I think she can now nuance that.”

In other words, McSally is going to have to take a page out of Ducey’s playbook.

The governor successfully distanced himself from the president throughout his contentious re-election campaign by intentionally keeping Trump and his administration out of his talking points.

Democrats made gains in Arizona in 2018 and early signs indicate Democrats could have a fighting chance again in 2020 because of the sheer emotional reaction many have to Trump.

If McSally thought her 2018 Senate bid was tough, she may have to wade through an even more complicated political environment in two years.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics has classified Arizona’s 2020 Senate race a “toss-up” and predicts the state’s Senate race will be one of the most competitive in the country as Democrats look to take back the upper chamber of Congress.

The McSally appointment doesn’t change the rating.

Though she’ll technically be an incumbent, McSally won’t have the traditional benefits of incumbency, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Instead, she’ll have to reinvent herself and move to the political middle, which could help her in 2020, he said.

“She’s now in John McCain’s seat,” Kondik said. “I think it would behoove her to try to find a few places where she could move to the middle on issues to try to get back some of those swing voters who maybe voted for Donald Trump grudgingly and then maybe switched to Sinema in 2018 and are probably up for grabs in the next Senate race.”

But McSally’s ability to move to the middle depends on if she can fend off a primary challenge. She’ll likely have to move further to the right if she does face a primary against familiar foes like Kelli Ward and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Kondik said.

This year’s GOP primary challenge between McSally and Ward devolved into a contest of who was closer to Trump, which made it hard for McSally to court moderate Republicans in the general election.

Sinema, who did not face a serious primary contest, was able to focus on defining herself for a general election electorate and did not have to spend campaign cash fending off primary challengers.

“I think what Republicans would hope for is that the shoe would be on the other foot this time,” Kondik said. “McSally could maybe use her appointed incumbency to fend off a credible primary challenger and for the Democrats to have a primary of their own.”

Some Republicans are also eager for a McSally transformation to include a complete overhaul of her campaign staff and consultants.

In a campaign postmortem, McSally’s campaign consultants, Axiom Strategies — a national GOP campaign firm — chalked up her loss to outside factors. Their four-page memo made the case why, for numerous reasons, McSally’s loss was not her fault.

The memo has irked some Republicans because it publicly gave the appearance that McSally was not owning up to her campaign mistakes.

Instead, consultants chalked up her loss in the Senate race to Sinema’s money advantage, lack of primary election and having the home court advantage in the state’s largest media market.

Ben Domenech, whose wife is Meghan McCain, a TV personality and the late senator’s daughter, called the memo “disappointing” in a recent post on “The Federalist,” a conservative online magazine he runs.

The memo doesn’t address any of McSally’s failures as a campaigner and seems to indicate the candidate and her team did not take a hard look at where they went wrong in the race, he wrote December 18.

“Whether she holds the seat in 2020 comes down to whether McSally has the capacity and the humility to learn from her mistakes as a campaigner, and chooses a new political team with a proven record of winning in purple states,” Domenech said.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio will be keynote speaker at GOP dinner

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Photo by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting)
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Photo by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting)

Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio will be a guest speaker at a Republican dinner in Nevada.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports the 85-year-old Arpaio, who recently announced he is running for the U.S. Senate, will speak at the Lincoln Reagan Dinner and Fund Raiser February 18 at the Carson Valley Inn in Minden.

The dinner will be hosted by the Douglas County Republican Central Committee, which is the official Republican Party-affiliated organization in Douglas County, The committee says Arpaio will be the guest speaker at the annual event’s VIP Reception.

President Donald Trump pardoned Arpaio late last August after he was convicted of criminal contempt for defying a federal judge’s order that he stop detaining immigrants simply for lacking legal status.

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Stacy Pearson: A PR pro with no BS

Stacy Pearson
Stacy Pearson

Stacy Pearson used to ask the questions and now she prepares how to answer them.

The senior vice president at Strategies 360 was a reporter before eventually jumping to “the dark side,” where she now works to get initiatives on the ballot. She used to cover education and said it’s depressing how little has changed since then.

She is currently running the campaigns for Smart and Safe Arizona, Invest in Education and Second Chances, Rehabilitation and Public Safety, but she still manages to find time to watch her daughter play beach volleyball and participate in a “mom’s who write class,” which she says is therapeutic.

Originally from Chicago, she has a White Sox hat hanging up in the corner of her downtown Phoenix office and loves to talk about Chicago food, just as long as that food is not deep dish pizza.

Pearson sat down with Arizona Capitol Times to discuss reporting and being married to a police officer while trying to get recreational marijuana legalized.

Are you from Chicago?

Originally yeah, but I’ve been here since I was three.

Are you a deep dish fan?

Thin crust. Definitely thin crust … we are a thin crust family. It’s like a religion.

Outside of the White Sox, are there aspects of Chicago you miss?

The ethnic food. … Any possible type of cuisine you can find in Chicago, and it’s really good.

You used to be a reporter.

I was, yes. A journalism grad. I went to ASU. Then I worked at the West Valley View, which was a really good experience. You’d be amazed at how angry people get when their free newspaper wasn’t dropped off at the time. It was really, really interesting

What made you want to jump to the dark side? 

Hilariously, this totally dates me, but I was doing a story on kids that had gotten tangled up with Napster and I was sitting across from this crusty central casting curmudgeon journalist who had retired from the Philadelphia Inquirer named Bruce, and he’s staring … and, of course, I’m late past deadline, but he’s glaring at me. I’m finally like, “Bruce, what?” And he was like “the definition of irony. You’re about to give away a story for free about the music industry no longer giving away music for free.” And there’s this minute where I’m like “Oh, no, I’m wasting my life. What am I doing?” So then shortly thereafter, I got a job at the State Tourism Office, which was really fun.

Did you report on a specific beat?

Education and military affairs, which ironically, I have no military experience. And it was a time when F16s were falling out of the sky. There were like nine crashes in a year or two years, something like that. So I think the Air Force Base got very lucky in how little I knew, or the questions I thought to ask about what was happening out there.

So as someone who once covered education and now deals with it in your current job via initiatives or what have you, what have you noticed has improved since you were reporting on it? Or has nothing improved since then?

So I think that’s probably the most depressing part is it is really the same issues that I was covering which at that time were failing infrastructure at schools, it was the Students FIRST time when they were looking at ways to make funding more equitable. It’s all still the same and we still have infrastructure needs. We still have class sizes that are too large. We have recruitment and retention issues in the profession. A lot of this is exactly what was being discussed then. I think the difference though, the charter schools were just in their infancy. So we’ve certainly cycled through good ones and great ones and ones that didn’t make it. So it’s been interesting to watch that unfold.

Since you jumped into the PR world, what are some of the biggest differences you can appreciate more now being on that side of the aisle?

I think one of the most interesting things is you always knew as a reporter, people were organizing a way not to call you back. I didn’t realize it was that coordinated. … I mean, there are meetings about calls, about questions, and trying to get clients and campaigns as prepared as possible for questions reporters have. There’s a lot of work going on in the back end.

What is it like going from asking those questions to preparing how to answer them? 

It totally depends on which journalist, but there are a handful of journalists in the market that when they call you know you’re in trouble Like Robert Anglen, for example at The Arizona Republic. If Robert’s calling and asking questions about anything, he already has the answers. … It really depends on the reporter and what the story is, but I think we’ve got a pretty incredible amount of talent in the market, in journalism, across the board.

Are there certain reporters who you feel like constantly get things wrong or they’re just out to get you?

We’ve been really lucky. I haven’t had any adversarial relationships with reporters. I mean, I understand the job that they’re trying to do and I think I have the reputation that I don’t BS reporters. If there’s something that I don’t want to talk about, I can say that “Hey, we’re not going to discuss that.” … There’s no point in misleading if we’re all stuck here on this planet together.

You used to work for Jason Rose, who is a bit of a crisis management specialist. What are some of the worst things you’ve heard people say to the media that you would have advised against? 

I think anytime a legislator claims legislative immunity, things are going off the rails. Something very bad has just happened. Legislative immunity is probably the worst one.

Have you ever considered running for office?

No, I never considered running for office. I lost for the freshman class president in 1991 and I really never recovered. I’ll never do that again.

You’re married to a cop. What’s it like working on the push to legalize adult-use marijuana, how does that dynamic work? Do you ever take work home with you?

My husband’s the president of the Mesa Police Association. We’ve got a couple of lines that we have crossed this cycle. Marijuana being one and criminal justice being another. I do take that work home and our daughter is going to be 18 in October so this is going to be the first election she can vote in, which is gonna be really interesting. But yeah, my husband’s been a street crimes sergeant for about 17 years now, so it’s been interesting. He doesn’t spend a whole lot of time dealing with marijuana arrests anymore. I mean, he spends a ton of time with fentanyl and some of the more lethal drugs that everybody sees today.

If there was a movie made about Arizona politics, what would the story be?

I think [former Sheriff Joe] Arpaio’s Weekend at Bernie’s run would be really, really interesting to watch. I’m pretty sure he’s reverse aging so I don’t know what’s happening there, but I think that would be really interesting.

Supreme Court refuses to hear claims Arpaio conspired with counterfeiter

Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at the Capitol in Phoenix prior to turning in petition signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State in his bid to appear on the ballot in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake. The Republican lawman's campaign says it turned in 10,000 signatures on Tuesday so he can compete in the GOP primary on Aug. 28. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio (AP Photo/Matt York)

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio may still be going through court battles over racial profiling, but he is off the hook in another case in which a photographer accused him of making a deal with a counterfeiter.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a case alleging Arpaio of not charging a felon in exchange for 3,000 counterfeit posters of a moment captured just before game one of the 2001 World Series.

The photographer, David Kelly, took a picture at the 2001 World Series that shows members of the Phoenix Fire Department on the playing field of Chase Field – then known as Bank One Ballpark – raising a flag from the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks, an image Kelly said was later stolen by Raymond Young.

Young, who claimed to be “as an upstanding, former Major League Baseball player who knew a lot of people and had many connections in professional baseball and among sports memorabilia dealers,” convinced Kelly, who worked under the name Big League Photos, to let him be a distributor of the photo.

According to Kelly’s complaint, Young “commenced to orchestrate a colossal scheme of distributing, for financial gain and at the Plaintiff’s expense, massive amounts of the counterfeit Copyrighted Posters to over 100 vendors throughout the country.”

Kelly said in the court documents that the vendors made “millions of dollars” using his property. Kelly sued Young in 2006, and was granted  $1.125 million for Young’s breach of contract, according to the documents.

But Kelly claims that three years before the lawsuit he contacted Arpaio’s office and they refused to investigate Kelly’s claims.

Kelly argues in the documents that “Mr. Young and Defendant Arpaio agreed that Mr. Young would donate 3,000 copies of the counterfeit Copyrighted Posters to the MCSO in exchange for Defendant Arpaio’s continuing to refrain from arresting Mr. Young for his state and federal criminal conduct.”

He defends this claim with a picture of Arpaio and Young holding up a poster of the photo from the World Series game. Kelly also said he had a “chance encounter” with Arpaio in 2013, and Arpaio admitted to selling the 3,000 copies and said he would “make it up to you somehow.”

The courts have ruled against Kelly. In December 2017, District Court Judge G. Murray Snow, the same judge who ordered Arpaio to stop racially profiling, said Kelly’s arguments raised “no genuine issues for trial concerning any of the alleged infringement occurring after December 2012.”

Snow said in the ruling that because Kelly filed in 2015, and the statute of limitations for copyright infringement is three years, all of his claims before December 2012 could not be tried in court.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Snow’s ruling that Kelly’s claims prior to 2012 were past the statute of limitations for copyright infringement, and his claims after 2012 did not raise substantial issues.

Tainted GOP candidates dot campaign trail to Legislature

A handful of would-be Republican lawmakers stand out from a crowded field of legislative candidates this election cycle for their tarnished reputations, but some may still land in office.

These Republicans are seeking redemption by election, but their baggage has some in the GOP shying away. Meanwhile, Democrats are salivating at the chance to flip the legislative seats those candidates seek.

The Arizona Democratic Party is putting up a statewide fight by running candidates in every legislative race. Democrats fronting longshot challenges in reliably red districts could have easier election bids if flawed GOP candidates advance to the general election.

Ousted Yuma Rep. Don Shooter is running for the state Senate months after he was expelled from the Legislature when an investigation concluded he sexually harassed multiple women while in office.

Rep. Paul Mosley is running for re-election after he invoked “legislative immunity” to dodge a citation when he was caught speeding 40 miles per hour over the limit.

Rep. David Stringer, R-Prescott, answers questions Wednesday about his comments which were interpreted by some as racist. Stringer said he was not a racist but simply was detailing his views on the effects of rapid immigration on the country. With him is the Rev. Jarrett Maupin who agreed to let Stringer explain his comments to leaders of the African-American community in Phoenix. PHOTO BY HOWARD FISCHER/CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
Rep. David Stringer, R-Prescott, answers questions Wednesday about his comments which were interpreted by some as racist. Stringer said he was not a racist but simply was detailing his views on the effects of rapid immigration on the country. With him is the Rev. Jarrett Maupin who agreed to let Stringer explain his comments to leaders of the African-American community in Phoenix. PHOTO BY HOWARD FISCHER/CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES

Rep. David Stringer is running for re-election after he told a GOP gathering in June that there are “not enough white kids to go around” in Arizona’s public schools, a comment widely condemned as racist, but one Stringer insists was misconstrued.

Former House Speaker David Gowan is running for the state Senate after a hiatus from the Capitol, which he left in 2016 under the cloud of an investigation of his misuse of state vehicles and mileage reimbursement while campaigning for Congress.

And the former head of the state’s welfare agency, Tim Jeffries, is running for the state Senate after he was forced out by the governor amid reports that he illegitimately fired hundreds of state workers.

With the exception of Mosley, who quickly apologized for his lead foot, the majority of these candidates are unapologetic for their actions, while some have peppered their apologies with deflection and denial.

And the list goes on.

There’s also Charles Loftus, one of the top deputies under Jeffries, who was also fired and is now suing the state and running for a state Senate seat. Former Sheriff and current U.S. Senate candidate Joe Arpaio was found guilty of criminal contempt for disobeying a court order to stop his immigration patrols. President Trump has since pardoned him. And there is Bobby Wilson, a Republican candidate in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District, who shot his mother in what is a very complicated story.

Democrats aren’t without their own issues: Yahya Yuksel, who’s running for the U.S. House in 2nd Congressional District, has denied an allegation that he raped an intoxicated teenage girl when he was in high school.

Candidates with baggage 

Arizona is no stranger to legislative candidates with baggage, but this election cycle stands out for the number of legislative candidates that have recently been thrust into the public eye for negative reasons.

Despite their flaws, some of these legislative candidates still have good chances of winning this election cycle.

It’s entirely possible that Shooter, Stringer and Mosley all get re-elected because their opposition may not be strong enough to cancel out their name recognition, lobbyist Barry Dill said.

Meanwhile, some Republicans are disassociating themselves from damaged candidates within the party.

Divorced

Rep. Paul Mosley, R-Lake Havasu City, during a traffic stop in La Paz County March 27, in which he allegedly was clocked driving at 97 MPH in a 55 mph zone. The text is a transcription of the audio from the body cam video of the deputy.
Rep. Paul Mosley, R-Lake Havasu City, during a traffic stop in La Paz County March 27, in which he allegedly was clocked driving at 97 MPH in a 55 mph zone. The text is a transcription of the audio from the body cam video of the deputy.
IMAGE COURTESY OF PARKERLIVEONLINE.COM

The Mohave County Republican Committee voted to censure Mosley for unbecoming conduct after his chronic speeding became public knowledge. Beyond that, the local party committee is not supporting Mosley in the primary and likely would not support him in the general election should he win in the primary, said Committee Chairman Laurence Schiff.

Schiff said local Republicans were concerned that Mosley’s behavior could give the party a bad reputation.

“That’s why the GOP did a motion to divorce themselves from him,” he said. Elected officials are held to a higher standard than everyone else, and Mosley’s actions were inexcusable, Schiff said.

Mosley did not respond to a request for comment, but he previously apologized for his behavior during the March 27 traffic stop, saying his rush to see his family “does not justify how fast I was speeding nor my reference to legislative immunity when being pulled over.” Mosley has been pulled over for speeding on several occasions since February 2017, but he has never received a citation.

But LD5, Mosley’s district, is extremely rural and a Republican stronghold. Schiff doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.

“The chances of him losing to a Democrat, I don’t think that’s really great,” he said. “The beneficiaries are the people running against him in the primary.”

The Lake Havasu Republican is facing off against seatmate Rep. Regina Cobb, R-Kingman, political newcomer Leo Biasiucci and Jennifer Jones-Esposito, who previously sought the seat. Mosley’s opponents are talking about the incumbent’s highly publicized faux pas on the campaign trail.

Mosley is also a freshman lawmaker, making him more vulnerable in his re-election bid.

Gov. Doug Ducey essentially publicly shamed Mosley by vowing to repeal legislative immunity next legislative session. Ducey also chided Mosley for driving so quickly, but he did not go so far as to call for Mosley’s resignation.

But Ducey and Arizona GOP Chairman Jonathan Lines took stronger action when it came to Stringer and Shooter. They called for Stringer to resign, which did not occur.

The Prescott Republican did not apologize and maintained that his comments were misconstrued or misunderstood. Stringer said his comment that “there aren’t enough white kids to go around” in Arizona’s minority-laden public schools was an attempt at an honest discussion on race, and just a small snippet of a 17-minute speech that added context.

Now, just months later and out on the campaign trail, Stringer said his constituents are either unaware of what he said, have forgotten about the comments or don’t think that anything he said was outlandish or over-the-top. Stringer said his campaign has knocked on doors at more than 2,500 homes in the district and he hasn’t received any negative feedback.

“Pointing out that 60 percent of Arizona school kids are children of color or minorities and only 40 percent are white, a lot of people did not know that, but that’s not a statement that my constituents perceive as being racist,” he said.

Lobbyist and longtime political observer Chuck Coughlin said if anything, Stringer’s comments may help him in the LD1 House Republican primary because of the rural and heavily conservative nature of Yavapai County.

In February, Lines and Ducey praised lawmakers in the House who voted to expel Shooter from the Legislature. Ducey also spoke out against Shooter’s actions in his “State of the State” speech earlier this year.

Nine women publicly accused Shooter of misconduct, ranging from unwanted touching to inappropriate, sexually charged comments.

Shooter apologized for his actions in early January, but deflection and self-defense were included in his apology that started out with a joke about the mandatory harassment training House members were undergoing because of Shooter. Shooter did not respond this week to a request for comment.

Looking back, Shooter’s speech could have foreshadowed his electoral run for redemption.

“I’ve said stupid things, I’ve done stupid things. I stood on the carpet and took it like a man. I apologized. I can’t go back in the past. I can’t change it, but I can change the future, given the opportunity,” Shooter said in February just before his expulsion from the House.

‘Three paragraphs’

Don Shooter awaits a vote by the state House on whether to expel him on Feb. 1, 2018. He was later removed from office by a vote of 56-3. (Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times)
Don Shooter awaits a vote by the state House on whether to expel him on Feb. 1, 2018. He was later removed from office by a vote of 56-3. (Photo by Katie Campbell/Arizona Capitol Times)

Local political observers agree that Mosley faces a tough re-election battle because of his newfound notoriety and his relative newness to the Legislature, but Shooter and Stringer might win their primaries because of their continued base of supporters.

As for Shooter, he is flipping the narrative, Coughlin said. Because he was kicked out of the Legislature, he’s billing himself as an outsider, he said. It’s all about message discipline – that’s what Coughlin said he told Shooter when the ex-lawmaker was deciding whether to run for office again.

“I told him it was going to be hard to stay disciplined on his message,” Coughlin said. “Every time you get one paragraph on your message, there’s going to be three paragraphs on the past, on being removed from office.”

Shooter’s past is no easy thing to brush off. Even Coughlin called him an exceptional case because being expelled from the state Legislature is rare and not quickly forgotten.

House Speaker J.D. Mesnard hinted at this when in February, he called for a vote to expel Shooter from the House.

“Mr. Shooter, in his time down here, has done good things for the state and his constituents and probably will only be remembered for this,” he said.

In a broader sense, these candidates are seeing campaign contributors and major endorsers steering clear of their campaigns because business groups and certain constituencies want to avoid controversy, Coughlin said.

The Fraternal Order of Police withdrew its endorsement of Mosley after his speeding incident. He was also snubbed by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

In LD13, Republicans are flocking to endorse and raise money for Sine Kerr, one of Shooter’s opponents. The Arizona chamber endorsed Kerr over Shooter.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed Kerr to fill the LD13 Senate seat vacated by Steve Montenegro, when he stepped down to seek the Republican nomination in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. Kerr was selected in January and served through the 2018 legislative session.

“The net effect of it all is to dry up fundraising,” Coughlin said.

As for Gowan and Jeffries, their transgressions lie further in the past.

Gowan, the former Arizona House speaker, repaid the state $12,000 that he had wrongfully received as reimbursement for trips he had taken in state vehicles (but reported as taking in his own vehicle) and per diem for days he claimed he worked, but didn’t.

An investigation by Attorney General Mark Brnovich called the Sierra Vista Republican’s spending “troublesome,” but Brnovich did not pursue criminal charges because the violations were not intentional, but rather attributed to negligence.

Now in campaign mode, Gowan has dismissed reports that he misused state resources and disingenuously uses Brnovich’s report to say he was exonerated. Gowan did not respond to a request for comment.

The Public Integrity Alliance — a Republican committee that often targets politicians accused of misconduct — has already attacked Gowan this election cycle. The group put together an ad earlier this year that highlights Gowan’s mileage reimbursement controversy.

Jeffries’ dispute with his old boss — the governor — could bleed into Jeffries’ election bid, Coughlin said.

“The governor’s on the ballot too, so people are going to, particularly in a Republican primary, are going to be voting for Doug Ducey. Are they then going to go down the list and vote for Tim Jeffries? I don’t think so,” Coughlin said.

Suing the state 

In this Oct. 22, 2015, photo, former Department of Economic Security director Tim Jeffries stands outside his former office, adorned with a "Director J :)" sign. (Photo by Rachel Leingang, Arizona Capitol Times)
In this Oct. 22, 2015, photo, former Department of Economic Security director Tim Jeffries stands outside his former office, adorned with a “Director J :)” sign. (Photo by Rachel Leingang, Arizona Capitol Times)

Jeffries argues his 21 months leading the Arizona Department of Economic Security were the best months in the agency’s history. He says the experience and knowledge he gained from leading a state agency would be an asset in the state Senate.

He’s also suing the state to clear his name after he was forced to resign from DES.

In talking to voters, Jeffries gets questions about his time at DES and his departure from the agency. He’s always open to telling voters about how “extraordinary and transformative” his leadership was.

“I am an interesting Google so people are always curious about this, that and the other thing, but I never hesitate to discuss my record of achievement at DES,” he said.

But Dill said having candidates with baggage seeking elected office isn’t unusual.

Voters and the media are simply paying more attention this election year, he said. President Trump has created this environment where the media and voters are watching everything he does. That same behavior trickles down to Arizona’s legislative races, Dill said.

“I think this is part of the Trump effect,” he said. “I think we’re all so on edge and observant of all the shenanigans that are going on.”

The 24/7 news cycle plays a role too, because it perpetuates this kind of news, he said.

Furthermore, candidates like Stringer, Mosley and Gowan have the benefit of living in more rural areas where locals may not keep such close tabs on their legislators or what’s going on at the Capitol, Dill said.

“We err sometimes in thinking that just because something is written in The Arizona Republic that the whole state sees and knows about it and understands it, and that’s not the case,” he said.

Trump considers Arpaio pardon, critics call out president

In this April 17, 2008, file photo, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio stands next to some of his memorabilia in his office in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, file)
In this April 17, 2008, file photo, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio stands next to some of his memorabilia in his office in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, file)

President Donald Trump says he may grant a pardon to former Sheriff Joe Arpaio following his recent conviction in federal court, prompting outrage among critics who say the move would amount to an endorsement of racism.

The report was welcome news for the former Phoenix-area sheriff, who lost a re-election bid in November and who was convicted of misdemeanor contempt of court on July 31. But it angered immigrant rights activists and others who say it amounts to support for racism on the same day that Trump disavowed white nationalists whose rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent this weekend, leaving one woman dead.

A federal judge ruled in 2013 that Arpaio’s officers racially profiled Latinos. But the sheriff refused to stop his immigration patrols, eventually leading to the criminal contempt of court case that he’s embroiled in. It also contributed to his failed re-election bid last year.

Arpaio said Monday that he learned of the president’s comments in the morning and was glad he stood by him.

“I didn’t ask for it, but if he’s going to offer, I will accept, because I’m not guilty. So appreciate his interest in my matter here in Phoenix,” Arpaio said.

Mark Goldman, his attorney, said he was filing two motions on Monday afternoon for a judgment of acquittal and to vacate the verdict for a new trial. The motions are not appeals.

“We’re filing these motions because there was absolutely no evidence in support of the judge’s verdict, the verdict was contrary to the evidence provided in court, and the verdict is a gross miscarriage of justice,” Goldman said.

Trump on Sunday called Arpaio “a great American patriot” and said he hates to see what has happened to him, according to the Fox News report.

On Monday, the president condemned hate groups and said racism is evil in a statement that was much more forceful than he’d made earlier after the weekend clashes in Virginia that left one woman dead after a car plowed into a group of counter-protesters who opposed a rally by white nationalists. The white nationalists were protesting a plan to remove a statute of Confederate Gen Robert E. Lee from a Charlottesville park.

“Those who spread violence in the name of bigotry strike at the very core of America,” he said.

Cecillia Wang, deputy legal director for the ACLU, criticized the idea that Trump could pardon Arpaio, saying the former sheriff had violated court orders that prohibited illegal detention of Latinos.

“Make no mistake: This would be an official presidential endorsement of racism,” Wang said.

Trump lashes out at long, predictable list of foes in Phoenix rally

Anti-Trump protesters chant behind a barricade across the Phoenix Convention Center, where President Donald Trump is holding a rally, on August 22, 2017. (Ellen O'Brien, Arizona Capitol Times)
Anti-Trump protesters chant behind a barricade across the Phoenix Convention Center, where President Donald Trump is holding a rally, on August 22, 2017. (Ellen O’Brien, Arizona Capitol Times)

President Donald Trump disparaged the media, Democrats, Americans who want Confederate monuments taken down, “weak leaders,” his White House predecessor and a long list of other opponents at a rally in Phoenix tonight.

Trump always found large, energetic audiences when he campaigned in Arizona, and his supporters inside the Phoenix Convention Center tonight were no different.

Outside, protesters spoke out against Trump’s policies and a potential pardon of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, which the president hinted is coming. Phoenix Police used tear gas to disperse protesters after the rally ended.

In a wide-ranging speech, Trump keyed in on several issues affecting Arizona. Here’s what you need to know about how his visit intersected with state politics:

**Arpaio pardon coming?**

Much of the speculation about today’s rally centered on a pardon for Arpaio, who was convicted of contempt of court for defying a court order related to his anti-immigrant policies.

Trump didn’t pardon Arpaio tonight, but hinted a pardon is coming soon.

In this Jan. 26, 2016, photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
In this Jan. 26, 2016, photo, then Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by then Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio at a campaign event in Marshalltown, Iowa. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

“Do the people in this room like Sheriff Joe?” Trump asked the crowd, who responded with sustained cheering.

Trump said Arpaio was convicted for doing his job, and he should have been tried by a jury, something Arpaio’s lawyers also argued for.

“I’ll make a prediction,” Trump said. “I think he’s going to be just fine.”

But Trump said he didn’t want to pardon Arpaio tonight because he didn’t want to cause any controversy.

**McCain and Flake**

Though the president never mentioned either of Arizona’s U.S. senators by name, he went after them. He said aides had asked him not to name any names in his speech tonight, so he decided not to, which he called “very presidential.”

Trump repeatedly said the country was “just one vote away” from repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, a clear swipe at Sen. John McCain, who was the deciding vote against a “skinny repeal” plan a few weeks ago and whose opposition halted the repeal-and-replace effort for now.

Trump urged Arizonans to “speak to your senator,” meaning McCain, about health care. Trump also said he would repeal Obamacare even if he has to shut down the federal government.

He didn’t say Sen. Jeff Flake’s name either, but noted that Arizona’s other senator was “weak on borders,” eliciting boos from the crowd.

Plus, Trump added about Flake, “nobody knows who the hell he is.”

**No endorsement**

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., left and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Tom Tingle)
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., left and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Tom Tingle)

Despite his digs at Flake, Trump didn’t endorse or even mention anyone who is or could run against the incumbent in a Republican primary.

Some had speculated that a Trump tweet from last week praising Kelli Ward, the former state senator who is running against Flake, could mean a presidential endorsement today.

People entering the Phoenix Convention Center said they weren’t allowed to bring in Ward signs or wear Ward shirts, though some people standing in line had Ward campaign paraphernalia.

One man recounted how he had to borrow a shirt from a random person in line after he wasn’t allowed in because he wore a Ward t-shirt.

Former Arizona GOP chairman Robert Graham and Arizona Treasurer Jeff DeWit have been floated as potential Flake opponents who Trump could back, but they, too, remained unmentioned tonight.

**Where was Ducey?**

Gov. Doug Ducey (Photo by Katie Campbell, Arizona Capitol Times)
Gov. Doug Ducey (Photo by Katie Campbell, Arizona Capitol Times)

Gov. Doug Ducey met Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport this afternoon, but he did not attend the rally.

Instead, Ducey spent the evening at the Emergency Operations Center, where state law enforcers worked to keep the downtown area safe for the large, tense event.

During the rally, Trump said he thought it was a good idea that Ducey decided to spend his time on security, though, the president joked, not that many protesters had shown up anyway. (Many protesters showed up and later clashed with the police.)

Trump said Ducey was a “hell of a governor.”

**NAFTA**

Arizona’s business and political leaders have for months emphasized how the North American Free Trade Agreement positively affects the state’s economy. But their efforts may not have worked, at least with the president.

Trump said the United States has been “badly taken advantage of,” largely by Mexico, through NAFTA, and he would “probably end up terminating” the trade deal. (Actually, negotiators from Canada, U.S. and Mexico this month began sifting through the decades-old trade deal.)

Trump told the crowd he had promised them from the beginning that NAFTA would be renegotiated or terminated.

“I personally don’t think you can make a deal without terminating it, but we’ll see. You’re in good hands,” he said.

**Arizona regulars**

As was the case during Trump’s campaign rallies, DeWit, who was also the chief operating officer of Trump’s campaign, kicked off tonight’s rally.

DeWit
Arizona Treasurer Jeff DeWit

DeWit highlighted the stock market’s rise and new jobs added, and said Obamacare will hopefully be done for soon if Congress gets its act together.

“We elected our president to go and drain the swamp, and drain the swamp he’s doing,” DeWit said.

Trump also acknowledged and thanked Republican Reps. Andy Biggs, Trent Franks and Paul Gosar, who attended the rally tonight.

Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva, meanwhile, led a peaceful anti-Trump protest in Phoenix before the rally began.

Once Trump took the stage, he praised Arizonans, saying they were “hardworking, American patriots,” and said the state has been on his side since he held his first rally here.

“You were there from the start, you’ve been there ever since, and I will never forget. Believe me, Arizona, I will never forget,” Trump said.

Trump pardons Arpaio

President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned former sheriff Joe Arpaio, the retired Arizona lawman who was convicted for intentionally disobeying a judge’s order in an immigration case.

The White House said the 85-year-old ex-sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County was a “worthy candidate” for a presidential pardon.

The action came several days after Trump, at a rally in downtown Phoenix, strongly hinted that he intended to issue a pardon.

“So was Sheriff Joe was convicted for doing his job?” Trump asked supporters. “I’ll make a prediction. I think he’s going to be just fine, OK.”

Arpaio, who became linked to Trump during the campaign for their hardline immigration views, was convicted of a misdemeanor for intentionally defying a judge’s order to stop his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.

Both politicians questioned the authenticity of then-President Barack Obama’s birth certificate and have a similar history in sparring with judges.

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Trump’s first pardon spares political ally Arpaio

In this Jan. 26, 2016, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, is joined by Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio during a new conference at the Roundhouse Gymnasium in Marshalltown, Iowa. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, file)
In this Jan. 26, 2016, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, left, is joined by former Maricopa CountynSheriff Joe Arpaio during a new conference at the Roundhouse Gymnasium in Marshalltown, Iowa. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, file)

President Donald Trump spared former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio the prospect of serving jail time in granting the first pardon of his turbulent tenure, wiping away the lawman’s recent federal conviction stemming from his immigration patrols that focused on Latinos.

The White House said 85-year-old Arpaio was a “worthy candidate” for the pardon, citing his “life’s work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration.” Trump granted the pardon less than a month after a judge found Arpaio guilty of a misdemeanor contempt-of-court charge in a trial that was prosecuted by the president’s own Justice Department.

“I appreciate what the president did,” Arpaio told The Associated Press as he celebrated the news over an Italian restaurant meal and someone in his party ordered champagne. “I have to put it out there: Pardon, no pardon ai??i?? I’ll be with him as long as he’s president.”

The pardon drew a swift and harsh denunciation from an array of Latinos and political leaders, who said it amounted to presidential approval of racism by eliminating the conviction of a law officer who the courts said had used immigration patrols to racially profile Latinos. And it overturned what critics saw as a long-awaited comeuppance for a lawman who long escaped accountability for his use of headline-grabbing tactics as sheriff in Phoenix.

“Pardoning Joe Arpaio is a slap in the face to the people of Maricopa County, especially the Latino community and those he victimized as he systematically and illegally violated their civil rights,” Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said.

The White House announced the pardon late Friday as a powerful Category 4 hurricane threatened Texas with severe flooding and on the same day Trump fleshed out the details of his ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, another move that will cheer his conservative base. The decision followed the uproar that ensued after Trump assigned blame to “both sides” participating in race-fueled clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, this month.

Trump has been plagued by poor job approval ratings, currently at 34 percent, the lowest mark ever for a president in his first year.

His decision on the former sheriff may also serve to energize supporters dispirited by the president’s dismissal a week ago of chief strategist Steve Bannon, a favorite on the far right wing of the Republican Party.

GOP leaders were mixed in reacting to the pardon. Sen. John McCain criticized the move and said it undermines Trump’s “claim for the respect of rule of law as Mr. Arpaio has shown no remorse for his actions.” Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said Arpaio should be given credit for his crime-fighting efforts and allowed to “move on” and enjoy his retirement.

Arpaio earned a national reputation by taking aggressive action to arrest immigrants in the country illegally. But years of legal issues and related costs took a toll on his political power at home, and he was handily defeated by a Democrat in the 2016 election.

The loss coincided with Trump’s election, based in large part on his anti-immigrant rhetoric. Arpaio campaigned for him around the country and spoke at the Republican National Convention.

Arpaio defied court orders that he stop the patrols and has been pardoned by a president who has shown lack of respect for judges with whom he disagrees. Trump has had harsh words about judges overseeing the case against his now-defunct Trump University and his travel ban.

“So Sheriff Joe was convicted for doing his job?” Trump asked supporters at Tuesday’s rally. “I’ll make a prediction. I think he’s going to be just fine, OK.”

Trump issued the pardon seven months after taking office, though it is not unprecedented for a president to issue a pardon in their first year in office.

George H. W. Bush granted clemency after seven months in office, said Jeffrey Crouch, a professor of politics at American University who wrote a book on presidential pardons.

Asked whether Trump sought a recommendation from the Justice Department’s pardon attorney or the deputy attorney general, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday: “I would imagine they go through the thorough and standard process.”

It is not unheard of for a president to exercise his broad power to grant pardons without formal input from the Justice Department, particularly when it involves an associate or a friend. President Bill Clinton ignited a major controversy on his final day in office with a last-minute pardon for fugitive financier Marc Rich, the ex-husband of a major Democratic fundraiser.

Former President George W. Bush set off a political backlash over his decision to commute the prison sentence of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby on a perjury and obstruction of justice case that stemmed from a CIA leak. And Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for his involvement in the Watergate scandal just days after taking over for his predecessor.

Critics say the Arpaio pardon removed the last opportunity to hold the lawman accountable for what they say is a long history of misconduct, including a 2013 civil verdict in which the sheriff’s officers were found to have racially profiled Latinos in his immigration patrols.

Arpaio was accused of prolonging the patrols for 17 months after a judge had ordered them stopped so that he could promote his immigration enforcement efforts in a bid to boost his successful 2012 re-election campaign.

Arpaio acknowledged extending the patrols, but insisted it wasn’t intentional. He blamed a former attorney for not properly explaining the importance of the court order and brushing off the conviction as a “petty crime.”

He accused then-President Barack Obama of trying to influence the 2016 sheriff’s race by announcing in court weeks before Election Day that it was willing to prosecute Arpaio. Prosecutors never filed criminal charges. They were instead recommended by the judge who presided over the profiling case, which began in the Bush administration. The judge in the profiling case was a Bush appointee as well.

Lawyers in Trump’s Justice Department prosecuted the case during a five-day trial this summer, and the judge handed down the conviction last month. Arpaio said he’ll discuss the case in more detail next week. He said he’ll remain involved in the political scene now that he’s no longer facing jail time.

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