Thread: Pandering "whistle stop" in Phoenix for Maricopa C

Attorney candidates rap Thomas
by Michael Kiefer and Yvonne Wingett - Jul. 25, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Tim Nelson and Gerald Richard are running against each other in the Sept. 2 primary for the Democratic nomination for Maricopa County attorney, one of the Valley's top jobs in law enforcement.

But at a Thursday lunchtime whistle-stop in downtown Phoenix, they practically spoke with one voice and said Republican incumbent Andrew Thomas should be voted out of office in November. They said he is focusing too much on illegal immigration at the expense of overall prosecution of crimes.

Illegal immigration dominated the discussion in front of Los Abogados Hispanic Bar Association, a group of about 200 active attorneys statewide; about 75 attended the debate.
Thomas did not respond to the group's invitation to take part in the discussion, said Lizzette Alameda Zubey, president of the group and a lawyer at Lewis and Roca LLP.

Nelson, 44, a longtime legal adviser to Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano, led off remarks and accused Thomas of "making us all less safe with politics and rhetoric that falsely scapegoat immigrants." He criticized Thomas' policy of prosecuting immigrants being smuggled into the nation as conspirators and said he would focus on smugglers, kidnappers, murderers and drug dealers.

Richard, 53, who worked for more than two decades as legal counsel for the Phoenix Police Department, went one step further, saying he would get rid of that policy, which Thomas has used to successfully prosecute 750 immigrants for illegally entering the U.S.

Both emphasized the racial overtones of the prosecutions.

"I know what it's like to be stopped by the police," said Richard, a Black man who recalled being stopped and questioned by police because of the color of his skin. "I understand racial profiling at the most basic level."

Nelson, who is White, said racial profiling spills beyond the illegal immigrant community to Hispanics as a whole. "This is something no other ethnic group in our country has to endure, and it has to stop."

The candidates only contrasted with each other in arguing who had enough money to mount the kind of campaign it will take to go head-to-head with Thomas. He has raised $240,349, and has $213,599 cash on hand, according to the most recent campaign documents filed with the county elections department. Thomas started to raise his money three years ago, and has been raising ever since, finance reports show.

Nelson has been a money-raising machine since he started stumping. In about four months, he amassed $206,842 and has about $177,463 cash on hand. Richard has raised $67,079 and has $40,651 on hand - probably not enough for what is shaping up to be a competitive race, political observers and pollsters say.

Nelson and Richard also spent a lot of time on other issues, most notably the office's management of public money, the morale of attorneys who work there and the "abuse of power" in the office's role in the arrest of two Phoenix New Times publishers last year. The case made national headlines.

The Democrats blasted Thomas for spending $11 million of taxpayer money last fiscal year to hire private attorneys to handle cases his office could not.

Under Thomas, county taxpayers in fiscal 2006-07 spent more than three times as much on outside attorneys as they did before he took office. Both candidates said they would cut costs on private attorneys by hiring talented lawyers, training them in specialized areas, and retaining them by improving morale.

Thomas has defended the hiring practice, which is used by other governments, saying it is most efficient to hire outside lawyers who specialize in certain legal areas.

The Democrats also criticized Thomas for his decision to spend millions of dollars seized in racketeering cases, known as RICO funds, on public service announcements and brochures that promote Thomas as much as the message.

When asked how they would interact with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, both candidates took shots.

"The sheriff needs better legal advice," said Nelson, referring to the legal opinion Thomas recently issued, saying Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration sweeps did not involve racial profiling.

"His raids?" asked Richard. "They may be legal, but they're not right."

The debate swayed Christina Ortecho, a Phoenix attorney, although she declined to say for whom she will vote in the primary: "They're really looking for real reform," she said.

Salvador Ongaro, the incoming president of Los Abogados, said, "I think this environment allowed them to speak from the heart about this issue."

Cynthia Aragon, of an immigrant-rights group, agreed, adding that the policies of the County Attorney's Office are "affecting the overall community, not just the Hispanic community. This is the audience that can hold them accountable."


Republic data reporter Grayson Steinberg contributed to this article.

http://tinyurl.com/6cl3gg

The Hispanic Community groups has the primary responsibility to keep out Hispanic illegals and if they do not it reflects badly upon them. They can not really legitimately complain if their leaders are not actively proseletyzing against illegal immigration.