Once again, things got uneasy at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday morning.
After the leader of Citizens for a Better Arizona started addressing the five-member board, there was uproar when his supporters stood up.
The other side, Sheriff Joe Arpaio supporters, argued their view was being obstructed.
Randy “Open Borders” Parraz, who leads Citizens for a Better Arizona, said they stood to show solidarity.
When things got chaotic, Parraz and his people walked out of the chambers.
Several people wrote letters to the BoS about how inappropriate the entire episode was. Below is one that seems to have captured the event:
Dear Chairman Kunasek,
We must express our disappointment with the permitted conduct of the Democrat related attendees during the December 14, 2011 Maricopa County Supervisors meeting. The regulations require maintaining order at all such meetings, and prohibit signs and disruptions. Nonetheless, respectful conservative attendees were the victims of negative signage and planned disruptions of coughing and laughter, demeaning their presence and impeding their speech. Indeed, independent citizens and the Supervisors themselves had their ability and right to hear both sides of the issue diminished. The irony should not be lost that those not obeying regulations that [morning] were doing so in support of an allegation that some county officials they oppose had not obeyed regulations.
These Department of Justice allegations against the Sheriff seem politically motivated and some might label them a “political witch hunt”; time will tell. Like ALL accusations, they require vetting fairly, honestly and according to the law. Meeting that objective seems to be partly your job and in the review, please consider the following about the source of the complaint, the Department of Justice.
If you are looking for a lobbyist here in Arizona, you can check the yellow pages or the Arizona Capital Times directories. Or you can check out whose backing Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, in his efforts to fight off a recall election next month.
Top business lobbyists are prevalent on the campaign finance report of the group backing Pearce against his recall challenge from Jerry Lewis.
The list of Pearce backers includes top business lobbyists:
Chuck Coughlin (HighGround Inc), Stan Barnes and Ian Calkins (Copper State Consulting), Robert Dalager (Gallagher & Kennedy PA), Jake Logan (United HealthCare), John Kaites (Public Policy Partners and a Phoenix Coyotes bidder), Tom Dorn (Dorn Policy), Barry Aarons (Aarons Co.), Wendy Briggs, Gibson McKay and Jay Kaprosy (Veridus LLC), Jim Norton and Marcus Osborn (R&R Partners), Gretchen Kitchell (APS, Pinnacle West Capital Corp. Pinnacle West Capital Corp. Latest from The Business Journals Pinnacle West recognized for sustainable leadershipNew joint downtown venture proposedBrownstein Hyatt moves to permanent Phoenix office Follow this company ), Gretchen Jacobs (Arizona Governmental Affairs), Tim Lawless (NAIOP), Farrell Quinlan (NFIB) and Paul Senseman (Policy Development Group).
Even harshest critics call bar association case ‘gross overcharging’
n 2009, left to right, are Supervisors Don Stapley, Fulton Brock and Max Wilson, Cardinals officials Steve Ryan and Luis Zendejas, and Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox
It is in this atmosphere that a case has developed in Arizona that is blasting a former prosecutor and two associates for their attempts to follow the book and apply the law to actions by the systems power brokers as well as others.
It is so egregious that it has even the former prosecutor’s harshest critics are saying that the overreaching “gives credence to [Andrew] Thomas’ claim that he is the victim of a witch hunt.”
That was from columnist Robert Robb, who has made made no display of supporting Thomas.
“I have written scathingly about the gross abuse of power by former County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio,” he said. “Thomas and Arpaio proclaimed that there was a giant conspiracy involving the county board of supervisors, senior county management and several judges in which the judges agreed to protect county officials against criminal probes in exchange for the county constructing a new office building for the judges.”
By: Selwyn Duke
When we think of political persecution, places such as Tiananmen Square may come to mind. Increasingly, however, this tool of tyranny is coming to our shores – and it is not made in China. It is, in the case I’ll discuss today, made in Maricopa County.
Every avid news reader knows about the battles between Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the federal government; Leviathan has targeted him because of his principled stand against illegal immigration. What is not quite as well known, however, is that the sheriff and his supporters – most notably, former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas – have long been battling a corrupt local political machine bent on thwarting the rule of law and benefitting itself. Not surprisingly, as in the film Walking Tall, Arpaio’s and Thomas’ attempt to end local corruption has come at a price: the State Bar of Arizona (SBA) has begun prosecuting Thomas and two of his deputies in a move that reeks of political retaliation.
One of these underlings is ex-deputy county attorney Lisa Aubuchon. The other is ex-deputy county attorney Rachel Alexander, whom some readers may recognize as the proprietor of the website Intellectual Conservative. Alexander, despite having played only the smallest of roles in a racketeering case against the Maricopa County Supervisors, now faces suspension of her law license and significant career damage. And outrageously, Alexander’s supervisor, Pete Spaw, has not been charged despite having played a far larger role in the RICO case. This has led many to conclude that Alexander is the victim of selective prosecution.
The problems for Thomas and his deputies started when the County Supervisors filed wrongful prosecution charges against them with the SBA, which their leftist allies in the bar association ran with. What were these local politicians so upset about? John Hawkins at RightWingNews.com provides some background, writing:
Thomas came up with a unique way to prosecute illegal immigrants with a felony, instead of just letting them go with a slap on the wrist. He used a felony smuggling statute to prosecute them, describing them as “smuggling themselves.” With a felony conviction, they would be required to serve time and would not be able to return to the U.S. He even distributed money – which was seized from racketeering funds – to programs for youth run by the Boy Scouts and churches. By law, that money is to be distributed to organizations that keep youth away from crime and drugs. Thomas ensured that it was no longer only distributed to left wing politically correct organizations. Due to the proactive efforts of Thomas, along with Joe Arpaio and Senator Russell Pearce, illegal immigration has greatly decreased in Arizona. The population of illegal immigrants dropped by one-third over two years.
Stephen Chucri, longtime president and chief executive of the Arizona Restaurant Association, has announced his candidacy for the East Valley’s District 2 seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
That seat has long been held by Supervisor Don Stapley, whose political career was battered in recent years by failed prosecutions pursued by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
Following Chucri’s announcement, Stapley definitively told The Arizona Republic that he is running for re-election in 2012.
Chucri notified Stapley on Thursday morning of his intention to run for the seat. Both men are Republicans.
Chucri, a 41-year-old Mesa father of two sons, filed his statement of organization with the county’s Elections Department shortly before telling Stapley.
A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Arizona Republic editorializes against corrupt Supervisors Stapley and Wilcox
Supervisors put on so much fake weeping during Bar prosecution of Andrew Thomas wanting their million dollar lawsuits against county taxpayers that even liberal Republic wasn’t fooled
Reprinted from SeeingRedAZ.com
“Must even sober, somber hearings convened by the Arizona Supreme Court dissolve into weepy productions from the Oprah Winfrey Network?….Stapley and Wilcox are using these proceedings to maximize their cases for winning damages from the county. Their testimony is a distraction from the specific accusation that Thomas abused his license to practice law.”
High drama in the high court
September 22, 2011
It’s a rare day when we agree – even in part – with an editorial in the Morning Endeavor.
A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
Thursday, July 7, 2011
More improper behavior exposed in a case involving AG Tom Horne Maricopa County Crime Examiner
by Linda Bentley
PHOENIX – Thursday, June 30 was Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe’s last day on the bench.
In his May 5, 2011 letter of resignation to Gov. Jan Brewer, he quoted Seneca: “You must know for which harbor you are headed if you are to catch the right wind to take you there.”
He then wrote, “For over 21 years, my harbor has been the Arizona Superior Court in Maricopa County. I have felt a fresh wind at my back pushing me in a new direction …”
Some say he’s leaving due to too many forces breathing down the back of his neck, including Dr. James Houston, a former Northern Arizona University instructor, whose case against Attorney General Tom Horne, in his former capacities as Arizona State Superintendent of Schools and member of the Arizona Board of Education, was pending in Donahoe’s court.
A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
Friday, May 27, 2011
Republic: [Dropping the charges] was not vindication [of Stapley]
Columnist E.J. Montini: Prosecutor ought to pursue charges vs. Stapley
When the Arizona Republic and its most liberal columnist, E.J. Montini, who usually writes columns attacking Sheriff Arpaio, agree with us that someone is corrupt, then there is no doubt something is really, really wrong. Even the liberals at the Republic cannot sit back and ignore all the evidence piled up against Stapley. The Republic and Montini both wrote columns yesterday expressing disappointment that the criminal charges against County Supervisor Don Stapley were dismissed by Gila County Attorney Daisy Flores. Flores alleges that she had to drop the charges because the prosecution was botched, but Montini is having nothing of it. Why doesn’t Flores fix the problems and prosecute him herself? It’s pretty obvious to everyone observing that Stapley’s powerful connections are helping him skate.
Here are some excerpts from the articles:
Montini: “Prosecutor ought to pursue charges vs. Stapley”
This is not how the justice system is supposed to work, unless you live in Arizona.
Here, it’s normal.
It must be, because no one seems to be complaining.
The prosecutor looking into accusations against Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley says that he is probably a criminal but that she’s not going to prosecute him.
Stapley then declared his “long nightmare is over,” said he is “relieved and grateful” and, oh yeah, wants the county (that’s us) to give him $10 million.
Why not? It’s Arizona.
For more than two years, Gila County Attorney Daisy Flores has been reviewing an investigation of Stapley by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (under former head Andrew Thomas).
