Joe Arpaio Loses Third Comeback Bid In Town Mayoral Race

Joe Arpaio, the previous sheriff of Maricopa County, Ariz., attends a rally with Angel Households on the East Entrance of the Capitol, to spotlight crimes dedicated by unlawful immigrants within the U.S., on September 7, 2018.

Tom Williams through Getty Photographs

PHOENIX (AP) — Joe Arpaio, the 90-year-old former Arizona sheriff who was a as soon as highly effective determine in Republican politics however was ousted almost six years in the past amid frustration over his headline-grabbing techniques and authorized troubles, was defeated Wednesday in a race for mayor of the prosperous suburb the place he has lived for greater than twenty years.

His defeat within the mayor’s race in Fountain Hills in opposition to two-term incumbent Ginny Dickey marks Arpaio’s third failed comeback bid since his 2016 loss after serving 24 years because the sheriff of Maricopa County.

The political stakes of working in Fountain Hills, a Republican-heavy city of 24,000, have been a lot decrease for Arpaio than when he served as the highest legislation enforcer of a county of over 4 million individuals.

Arpaio was crushed by a Democratic challenger in 2016 and was convicted the following yr of felony contempt of court docket for disobeying a decide’s order to cease site visitors patrols that focused immigrants, although he was later pardoned by then-President Donald Trump.

Arpaio then completed third in a Republican major for a U.S. Senate seat in 2018 and second within the GOP major in a 2020 bid to win again the sheriff’s submit.

In his first two comeback makes an attempt, Arpaio misplaced the vote in Fountain Hills.

Arpaio, a talented political fundraiser who spent greater than $12 million in his 2016 sheriff’s marketing campaign, has shelled out $161,000 within the mayor’s race — six instances the quantity spent by Dickey.

Earlier than the federal authorities and the courts stripped away his immigration powers, Arpaio led 20 large-scale site visitors patrols that focused immigrants and greater than 80 enterprise raids to bust individuals working in the US with out permission.

Whereas his defiant streak performed nicely with voters for a few years, Arpaio confronted heavy criticism for taking up insurance policies that he knew have been controversial and racking up $147 million in taxpayer-funded authorized payments.

Although he billed himself because the hardest sheriff in America, his company botched the investigations of greater than 400 sex-crimes complaints made to his workplace.