The same night that President Barack Obama won re-election for his second term, America’s self-proclaimed “Toughest Sheriff,” Joe Arpaio of Arizona, was reelected for his sixth term as Sheriff of Maricopa County.
Arpaio defeated his Democratic challenger Paul Penzone with 53% of the votes. An unofficial tally reports that Arpaio was 11 points ahead of his challenger with a total of 596 out of 724 precincts reporting.
According to Los Angeles Times, Arpaio’s reign has been a very controversial one. He is an avid supporter of SB1070, which, as previously reported on La Plaza requires that anyone suspected of being an undocumented immigrant must show their papers proving legal residence.
“I would like to get together with the Latino community, but they scream at you and I just can’t sit down with them. We’ll let them get their senses, we’ll talk and I’ll let them know what I do… I have to get back to the Latino community without them screaming and yelling and we can talk about it,” says Sheriff Arpaio.
Los Angeles Times also reports that Arpaio’s department has been accused of misusing over $99 million in jail funds. Despite all of these accusations, Arpaio claims that throughout his campaign he was cautiously optimistic.
“Our sheriff needs to be transparent, he needs to treat everyone with dignity and respect,” said challenger Paul Penzone in his concession speech. “People in this community are going to be watching. They’re going to be holding him accountable.”
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