Outspoken sheriff won't run for governor in Arizona
(CNN) – Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a fixture in Arizona politics, announced Monday that he will not seek the Republican nomination for governor in his home state.
"I just don't want to leave my 4,000 dedicated employees," Arpaio said. "I am going to contribute my service and fight as the Sheriff of Maricopa County."
"I don't want to be egotistical, but I could be the governor if I ran," he boasted. "My polls are very high. I got the money. I got the polls. I got the support."
Arpaio made the announcement in an interview set to air on CNN’s "John King USA" on Monday night.
Had he decided to jump the race, Arpaio would have faced a crowded GOP primary featuring incumbent Gov. Jan Brewer, state Treasurer Dean Martin, Tucson attorney John Munger and and Yavapai County businessman Buz Mills.
Arpaio’s tough approach to law enforcement has earned him a following among anti-illegal immigration activists both in Arizona and around the country. He welcomed the recently-passed Arizona law that grants state police officers greater power in questioning suspected illegal immigrants.
Pride goeth before a fall .... if he thought he could win, if he thought he was smart enough – he'd run for office. He's a one-note – one dimensional cardboard figure. Used to be said that SC was too small to be a country – too large to be an insane asylum: now AZ is in the running!
Save America has it right except – in about 75 days everyone here in AZ will be able to carry a gun – when the newly signed law takes effect – no background, no waiting, no permit – not even for concealed. i used to laugh at other states...now its us : (
The best scenerio would have been Arpaio resigning from being sheriff to run and then losing so he would be out of power forever...people who do not live here do not realize how dangerous he truly is...there are so many incidents and scandals because of him and he is a laughingstock amongst the the juducial and legal people down here...it is like living in some good ol boy network...so many innocent people have been harmed by him physically, economically and reputation wise...he remains in power because most citizens have not had contact with him or his policies and he panders and lies..so I guess we may still be stuck with him for a few more years until everyone wakes up and votes him out of office but thank the lord that he will not have even an outside chance to grab anymore power..
I was sort of hoping he'd run so he'd have to give up his office as Sheriff. At least that way we'd be rid of him for good. No way the idiot would win a race for Governor....we aren't THAT stupid.
I know this may seem off topic, but why do so many posters feel the need to compare every subject of an article to President Obama. Do you always live in this ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality? And to suggest that Arpaio is qualified to be president just proves what happens when people let their bitterness impact their judgment.
some of these peoples comments are so extreme! I dont agree with everything thing that Sheriff Joe has done but overall he has done a great job.Just because you arrest people in your state that are breaking the law doesn't make you a bad person or a racist. The news articles that were referenced are mostly from a paper that has been trying to get rid of him for ever. If the fed gov grew some balls and took care of some immigration laws things would be a little different
You Americans in this string.... seem to always need/addicted to ... a 'john wayne' to make you safe...and impose your corrupt hatred to non whites.
Shame on you!!
Grow up and be a multi-diverse society that your founders declared and speak of in their declarations!!!! and stop being hypocrites!!
illegal alliens are the racists, being that they believe they have the right to ignore the laws of the United States.
Keep the racists south of the border.
If he really wanted to impact change he would run for governor, but he knows he does not have a chance of winning and even if he did, the spotlight would be way to intense. From what I have read this man is a more of an expense than he is worth.
Gest-Arpaio is a fascist thug pure and simple. He will not leave law enforcment because he will not get to play Concentration Camp with American citizens who are supposed to be innocent before proven guilty. Arpaio will never leave his role of KGB Grand Gestapo Inquisitor, and even when he dies, Satan will have to find work elsewhere because Satan is a choir boy compared to Gest-Arpaio. Only Arpaio gets away with threatening judges and prosecutors. Not even governors can do that.
This is utterly ridiculous!!!
The guy is a liar (before believing in anything that he says about his accomplishments better check with other sources than himself).
The guy is a liar (says that he will cooperate with an ongoing investigation about him and does the opposite, after his lies are exposed in public).
And the guys is a liar (his rates in fighting crime are very low, probably the lowest in the State of Arizona, and he poses as a succesful sherif)!!!
And yet, because he's rabidly anti-illegal imigrants, there's people seriously considering him for governor!!!
Politics aside, how does Maricopa crime statistics compare to the rest of AZ or to the rest of the USA? I'm seriously asking. If the statistics for Maricopa is far less, than than should be used as an objective measure. It is in my opinion much better than the race card that that is thrown around to please people opposed to Joe or even the new AZ law
Why should I (who by the way is hispanic and learned english without being forced to) have to press #1 to hear/speak to someone in English when I am in America!!!???
How many more services should we give away to people who don't belong here and who don't even want to learn the language, much less, sponge off of a horribly bankrupt economy thanks to them!! How many social services would we get for free to go to Mexico and expect a free load of stuff like they do?
What has happened to our great country, besides the stupid liberals bankrupting our economy, our morals and our convictions???