Thread: Arpaio's proposal on the wrong track? GRRR

I just emailed this jerk for calling this an "article". Please feel free to give him a piece of your mind!!




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Arpaio's proposal on the wrong track
by E.J. Montini - Jan. 29, 2009 12:00 AM\

The Arizona Republic

Almost from the beginning of his long tenure, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has steered his agency in a way that summons forth locomotive metaphors.

"Runaway train" comes to mind.

And, of course, "train wreck."

But this may be the first time that the sheriff has metaphorically jumped the tracks while simultaneously boarding a train.

He has decided to have armed deputies transport prisoners on the new Metro system between the airport rail station, at 44th and Washington streets, and the Fourth Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix.

Arpaio always has been the little engine that could not resist a publicity stunt, and this works for him on several levels.

For years, the sheriff had been riding the issue of illegal immigration like one of those seemingly unending freight trains that roll by a railroad crossing.

Lately, however, the caboose to that particular train has passed by and the tracks went silent. Then, just as we were about to pull ahead, the sheriff comes along, pushing this little handcar of an idea and blocks traffic again.

Not only that, but he gets the additional bonus of causing trouble for some of the very politicians who have boosted Metro light rail and criticized him, including the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, a big supporter of the trains.

At first, Arpaio said that he needed to use light rail because he was being charged too much money at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport for deputy parking.

An airport spokesperson said that wasn't true, but the sheriff told me that he has the receipts. He also said that he wasn't causing trouble, but instead was being a "good partner."

The sheriff said that since prisoners are transported on commercial airplanes, there should be no problem with transporting them on trains.

"This board (of supervisors), they want to cut our budget up to 20 percent," Arpaio told me. "So it was my decision to utilize the light rail as a continuation of (transporting) the person on the airplane. Our two deputies on board also will take action on any crime perpetrated on those trains. So we're killing two birds with one stone. That's the way I look at it."

The thing that derails this particular train of thought is that commercial airlines require every passenger be identified, to go through metal detectors and to be subject to a search. While anyone can carry anything onto a train.

The sheriff dismisses that argument. He says that since no one has problems with the chain gangs he deploys around the city, we shouldn't have trouble with this.

He could have chosen to use buses or taxis or even those three-wheeled bicycles used to carry tourists downtown. But Joe the Engineer chose light rail, and as far as we in the media are concerned, the Arpaio Express is a gravy train. We hop on for a ride whenever it leaves the station.

Metro light rail spokeswoman Hillary Foose told me, "Anything that might cause riders discomfort has our attention. We are not a controlled environment, like an airport, and based on what we've heard from some of our colleagues nationally, transporting prisoners is not the norm. The charm of a transportation system is that it doesn't discriminate, but that also means that we don't yet see any way to prevent the sheriff from doing this."

An optimist might express hope that Arpaio will see the light at the end of the tunnel and drop the prisoner-transport idea.

A realist would point out that if the past is any indication, that "light" is simply another train headed our way.


Reach Montini at 602-444-8978 or ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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Related Topics

Places - Maricopa County, AZ, Phoenix, AZ
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I don't care what you think about what sheriff Joe Arpaio is doing with a silly little train..anything to get ILLEGAL ALIENS out of this country will be all the better for American citizens who are starving for work. ILLEGAL ALIENS steal social security numbers along with the rest of a citizen's identity. That coupled with crossing into this country without permission and immunization requirements makes them criminals and the sooner we can get them out, the better. You should be praising what Joe is doing..A lot of people I know consider him a hero. He's the only one with THE GUTS to stand up to the corruption that is taking place. When our economy trumps our laws, particularlly the immigrations laws that are being ignored, we will no longer be a nation of laws. If you have read this up to now, I thank you. If you haven't, you are no better than the traitorous jerks we have as leaders who consider importing cheap labor and cuddling them more important than the citizens of this country.

Just because one wants our laws enforced doesn't make them racist. That labeling is just a result of not having a leg to stand on and it's very childish. I'll be right here if you want to respond. Thank you for your time.

Great Letter Rockfish....

Yes I will agree to that. That was a great article.