Arpaio 'army' gearing up for recall war

(PNI) Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has 700 deputies under his command, along with roughly 2,000 detention officers and a volunteer posse said to number 3,000.

Apparently, that's not enough to combat his latest enemy: voters.

The sheriff's friends in the county Republican Party are mustering volunteers for yet another Arpaio army. They are hoping to attract recruits to a gathering over the weekend where, according to an e-mail sent to Arpaio supporters:

"The purpose of the meeting is to muster and organize a 'shadow army' of 'shadow warriors' that are willing to volunteer their time to stand toe-to-toe at the majority of the locations here in Maricopa County where the paid progressive socialists are collecting petition signatures to recall Sheriff Joe."

Not long ago, some of the same people who successfully recalled former Senate President Russell Pearce announced they would launch a recall effort against Arpaio, who was elected to a sixth term in November.

Arpaio immediately cranked up his political-campaign machine, sending out a fundraising letter to his many donors that read, in part:

"These sore losers just never stop. They figure if they can force an election in an off-year they'll be able to turn out every pro-illegal-immigrant voter and steal this election. We saw them do the very same thing to an Arizona state senator just over a year ago."

The sheriff's friends want to bolster his campaign war chest by putting boots on the ground.

The e-mail seeking "shadow warriors" calls local activist Randy Parraz and the rest of those behind the Arpaio recall "domestic terrorists" and "thugs."

"What are they so afraid of?" Parraz told me. "If Joe is such a great guy, why would they even give the recall a second thought? It sounds like what they have planned will just give us an opportunity to catch people doing illegal things on videotape. At the Pearce recall, it got ugly. You can't try to intimidate people. If they do that, we'll get it on tape."

One of those helping to organize Arpaio's army, John DeCarlo, said volunteers will be respectful when trying to persuade folks not to sign a recall petition.

"The idea is to have a presence and be informative but not get in anyone's way," DeCarlo told me.

He works in the same office as Arpaio's campaign manager, Chad Willems, although Willems said his people are not in command of the "shadow army" but only offering advice and assistance.

"What happened is that there is a group of very active supporters of the sheriff who have been wanting to do something to stop the recall," he told me. "The chairman of the county (Republican) party said that he would like to send people out and stand next to circulators and voice their opinions. Our phones have been ringing off the hook with people wanting to know what they can do."

What will these "shadow warriors" tell voters trying to decide whether to sign a recall petition?

"One thing will be the cost," DeCarlo said.

The price of a recall election has been estimated at over $5million.

Parraz calls that a small amount compared with what Arpaio has cost the county in lawsuits over the years, not to mention the department's other problems, like the 400-plus uninvestigated child sexual-abuse cases about which the sheriff just released a 10,000-page report.

"The election in November doesn't wipe away what Arpaio has done," Parraz told me. "People know why they should sign a recall petition. We don't have to persuade them. These Arpaio people are just drawing attention to why Arpaio should be recalled. They're helping us."

No petitions are being circulated yet. The recall group, like the Arpaio group, is meeting this weekend.

Recall supporters have 120 days to collect roughly 350,000 signatures. It won't be easy.

"We don't have the resources they have, but we have a lot of support," Parraz said.

The odds of success are heavily against a ragtag guerrilla force taking on a well-equipped, well-funded army. At least that's what military and political strategists have been saying since way back in -- when was that? -- 1776.

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

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