Move to recall Arpaio, Thomas ends
Michael Kiefer
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 28, 2008 12:00 AM

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas held a joint press conference Wednesday to celebrate the failure of a recall campaign against both of them.

A group named Arizonans for the U.S. Constitution and Recall of Joe Arpaio announced in November that they were gathering petition signatures to try to get recall elections on the November ballot. Thomas and Arpaio claimed that the deadline to file those petitions had come and gone with no petitions filed.

William Crum, who started the campaign, could not be reached for comment.

Thomas called the recall campaign "a lot of fireworks, but at the end of the day, not much sizzle." Picking up on the metaphor, Arpaio added that it was "a very explosive campaign that turned out to be a dud."

Thomas claimed the recall came out of his and Arpaio's stance on illegal immigration. "But we're going to stay the course because this is something we believe in strongly," he said.

Arpaio noted that instead of talking to the media, "I could be out locking up illegals." Thomas chimed in, "I could be out prosecuting them."

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