Sat 9 Jan 2010
A Contrast In Leadership – Phil Gordon v. Maricopa Supervisors
Posted by Guest Opinion under City Government , County Government , Crime and Punishment , Ethics , Guest Opinion[28] Comments
Reposted from Lighthouseblog.com
The Arizona Republic today ran a story about Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon putting one of his top aides on administrative leave until he can resolve charges of domestic violence. The charge would be a misdemeanor, but Gordon, with whom I rarely agree, did the right thing by moving the issue away from the work of the people until it is resolved.
Contrast that with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, who unanimously voted to elect beleaguered politician Don Stapley as Chairman of the Board. Stapley, in case you’ve been under a rock, “was indicted in December on 22 felony counts of fraud, perjury, theft and forgery in the misuse of campaign funds,” according to the Arizona Republic. Stapley had at one time faced over 100 felony and misdemeanor counts. Yet, the Board of Supervisors felt he was fit to run their Board and do the people’s work.
This is the same group of Supervisors, mind you, that decided to fire the elected County Attorney, and replace him with a crony, rather than have Mr. Stapley answer to the charges. It begs the question of why, if someone is innocent, do they need to take such drastic steps to avoid answering to criminal charges? I hope if I ever get indicted, I can just fire the County Attorney in order to avoid defending myself.
Mayor Gordon showed leadership in his placing his misdemeanor-facing aide on administrative leave. How shameful of the Maricopa County Supervisors that they promoted their felony-facing peer to the highest position on the Board. It’s nothing short of a slap in the face to the people who elected them. A contrast in leadership indeed.
January 9th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
It sure would be nice to be able to cash checks from Andy Thomas, Joe Arpaio, AND Phil Gordon. It makes “anonymous” blog posts like this so much easier to write.
January 9th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
This was actually written by someone at Lighthouseblog.com
January 9th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Especially since the info that the bloggest transmits is true!
That really nettles the B.O.S. “Blowhard Battalion”
January 9th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
First off, the BOS chairman is a rotating position that is pretty meaningless. Second, you can’t really take leave from an elected position like you suggest. You’d have to step down and be replaced, the office is either vacant or it’s not, unlike a civil servant position which can be exist unfilled for a period of time.
The elected official financial disclosure forms are due at the end of this month, I think. I believe Stapley’s legal position is that it didn’t matter if his had mistakes or not, it was not actually required to be filed. Is he going to file one, and are the others on the board?
January 9th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Hugh Nuze has just revealed his identity. Follow the money.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Again, this was actually written by someone at Lighthouseblog.com
January 9th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Even the AZ republic readers said, by over 68% last I looked, that in was inappropriate for them to elect Stapley under these conditions. It is proof the BOS has no respect for law enforcement or public opinion.
I’m told these guys are republicans. Is this the best you guys can bring? And for democrats, Mary Rose Wilcox??? Really? That’s all you got?
I’m a conservative and used to be a republican. Give me a reason to come back. Mr. Thomas, give em hell! Stop their kind of politics and you might get some of us back.
January 9th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Hey Blue Meanie:
Consider this — most GOOD Conservatives have canceled their subscription to the Repugnant, and do not post on their blogs……so that 68% is a very LOW # if you look at all voters……..wonder what the # would be if the non-Repugnant readers were counted…..
January 9th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Will you guys be calling for Sheriff Joe or Hendershot to go on administrative leave if a federal grand jury indicts them? Somehow I doubt it…..
January 9th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Yes, fair is fair.
January 9th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Publius – the federal grand jury story is a scam for the weak minded and you certainly qualify. It is NOT a criminal grand jury. It IS a civil grand jury. It was done in response to pressure put on the feds by Stapley, Wilcox, David Smith and Sandi Wilson. They couldn’t get the feds to do a criminal investigation because the Sheriff has NOT done anything illegal. Wait until the rest of the story comes out.
None of that has anything to do with the BOS electing someone under CRIMINAL Indictment as their chairman. Even if Stapley hasn’t done anything, even the liberals say that is inappropriate as blue meanie points out.
January 9th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
The story is no scam. It’s a criminal grand jury allegedly investigating whether or not the sheriff’s office unlawfully deprived people of their civil rights. Depriving someone of their civil rights is a federal criminal offense.
There is no such thing as a federal civil grand jury. Arizona doesn’t have civil grand juries either. Only a small handfull of states like California do.
January 9th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Hey Non-Repugnant – exactly my point. When you add in the people that don’t even look at the rag, the number goes way. Contrast that with the 18% that thought it was acceptable. That number would go way down.
There is a reason they are struggling. I wish we could just put them out of our misery.
January 9th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Love it, pubus thinks the repugnant is a reliable source. They are in the Boards pocket. Lets see how this all roles out. When the courts are done or the voters speak, someone will be eating a lot of crow.
Never much liked crow, but I am willing to accept whatever the process spits out in the end. The fact the BOS wants absolute power and refuses to let anyone know what is going on with the court tower tells me there is definately something going on.
January 9th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
oops it should have said special civil rights grand jury. Either way the worst they will do is say he needs to change a process. Funny when the Federal government is now looking into allowing profiling for TSA.
Once Stapley’s little cartel is broken up the birds will begin to sing and the truth will be more shocking the we now know. The board is using the small but loud group of Joe haters to distract from their activities.
With Obama in the white house, even is Joe is indicted, it will increase his popularity and he will be easily reelected. Stapley and Wilcox have already been indicted and enjoy the continued support of the azrepugnant and the chronically unemployed Joe haters.
January 9th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
It is a complete disgrace to name Stapely as Board Chairman. If he had any integrity, he would have resigned long ago.
January 9th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
James – I am assuming that was a rhetorical statement. Anyone with an IQ above 10 knows the BOS has no integrity.
and for the “Joe haters” remember when you said you could indict a ham sandwich? I’m not a fan of the Joe Show, but love his work. If they find nothing will you all say it because Joe threatened them?
January 9th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
I don’t care to defend Stapley and am no supporter of him, but isn’t the mugshot posted above from his arrest last September that occurred without an indictment, a grand jury or even having a prosecutor sign off on beforehand. Worse, they couldn’t even get a prosecutor to take the case? Perhaps this and the fact that most of the 100 counts mentioned above were thrown out by a judge, gives some indication why the BOS might not be asking Stapley to step down. Oh, and the little fact that Thomas and Arpaio seem to be attempting to prosecute all their foes in county government.
January 9th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Stapley and the rest work hard as public servants and should be allowed to do whatever they want. I support all the rules the mad to protect themselves from investigation. No one want to be investigated and if you can make rules to protect yourself wouldn’t you do it. So what if they made millions off the elected office. People still elected them. And the Arizona Republic would not support them if they had done anything wrong. That wouldn’t be ethical.
Get off the $340 million building the are constructing. It like the county version the Obama stimulus. Sure some of their friend are making millions. But they will spend the money and help the economy. I know a lot of people lost their jobs so the building could be paid for in cash, but they are people the board didn’t like anyway.
And with all this illegal immigration enforcement where are we going to get the workers to build this thing? How will Mexico survive without all the money sent back for these people.
Think of the big picture!
January 9th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Mole,
There is only one type of federal grand jury. Federal grand juries either issue indictments for felonies or vote not to issue them. They don’t suggest “process changes”.
The Sheriff’s office is allegedly under investigation by FBI and federal prosecutors for possible criminal violations of 18 USC 241 and 18 USC 242. These are criminal offenses having to do with abuse of power and denial of civil rights. The investigation reportedly started during the Bush administration. If a grand jury issues indictments as a result of this, they will be federal criminal felony indictments.
As for whether Arpaio would be more likely to be re-elected or not than Stapley were he under indictment is irrelevant. A court of law would decide all of their fates in the end not the court of public opinion.
I am just asking if Arpaio, Hendershot, or someone else in the Sheriff’s office is criminally indicted with felony counts by a federal grand jury, will those of you calling for Stapley to step aside call for Arpaio, Hendershot, etc. to do likewise? Or will you be changing your tunes?
January 9th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
If Joe is indicted, most of the conservatives will continue to support him. Me included.
This isn’t even close to the situation with Stapley. Stapley IS indicted and I am willing to see if he is convicted. However it is unethical and a clear conflict of interest for Stapley to be involved in any board activity involving the people prosecuting him. He votes on the Sheriffs budget and new ordinances to prevent anyone from even looking to see if he is up to anything. By continuing to do so further disrupts the process and makes him look guilty. Electing him chairman is completely outrages and makes a mockery of the entire process including the Grand Jury.
January 9th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
Don Stapley WILL have a challenger in 2012 if he is not already removed from office.
January 10th, 2010 at 11:48 am
Ye gawds, folks sure are narrow minded.
After all, what about the SCA?
Joel Fox sure looks mighty lonely hanging out there, with his pension on the line for some election shady dealings, and that money came interstate.
Hmmmmm, the dirt on Stapely just doesn’t reek to the same level as that dirty campaign money.
Remember, coverups are crimes too.
I await the indictments, and read newtimes, because they tend to pdf the filings and put them online, something the repulsive doesn’t do much.
BTW- saw the shurf’s deputies going to disneyland on the taxpayers dime- and no big writeup here?
Just blowing smoke for the criminals, until the fresh breeze takes away the spin.
January 10th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
The grand jury has been asked to investigate more than just Arpaio, they will also be investigating the Board of Supervisors and their hired gun, David Smith. I don’t think some of you will be so gleeful when the tables are turned and the jury ends up indicting the Supervisors and Smith for theft of county funds and a multitude of other felonies for stonewalling any investigation into their Taj Majal court tower and attempts to prosecute Stapley and Wilcox. It’s a pretty clear-cut case against Stapley, there is no way he is going to get around it, and if I were him, the last thing I would want is the feds investigating my feud with Arpaio. It is completely indefensible to raise campaign funds and then spend them on the personal luxury items he spent them on:
Stapley allegedly spent $6000 of these funds at Bang and Olufson electronics, along with $1300 for hair implants, $400 for candle holders and $10,000 for furniture for his home. He also spent these funds, solicited as campaign money, to buy tickets to Broadway plays and movie theatres, flowers, grocery store bills, massages, department stores and trips for his family to Sundance, Utah to ski, a trip for his son and friends to Florida and a three-week vacation in Hawaii for his entire family at a beach house costing approximately $11,000.
January 10th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Legal Eagle, we’ve all spent money on things that we weren’t supposed to before, everyone does it. I can’t count the number of jobs I’ve had where I’m sure some of the money I spent was not supposed to have been spent that way. For example, when the office pays for lunch, and it’s not supposed to include alcoholic drinks, but we put a few on the tab anyways. It’s unfair to hold Supervisor Stapley to a higher standard that the rest of us in private industry flaunt all the time and get away with. Show some compassion. I hear he has money problems, he probably wouldn’t have been able to afford those things without the money. Do you want the guy to live like a pauper when he’s working as a public servant for us? I think not.
January 10th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Answer me – how many of you voted for the election of these supervisors? Oh, there was not choice, no one else was running. Well, next time run for the office.
January 11th, 2010 at 8:17 am
Chad, You’re wrong. We don’t all do that. Many of us if not most of us mind the rules having to do with other people’s money. What’s worse, he is a public official with a fiduciary duty to the rest of us. No one asked him to run for office. If he can’t hold himself to the proper standard of conduct, he should get out — pronto. Somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen — voluntarily.
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Mr Stapley somehow manages to convince NaCO to give Maricopa County A+ ratings for F- results and behavior.