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Municipal elections in Maricopa County, Arizona (2016)
2018 →
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| 2016 Maricopa County elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: June 1, 2016 & August 10, 2016 |
| Primary election: August 30, 2016 General election: November 8, 2016 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: County board of supervisors, county assessor, county attorney, county recorder, sheriff, county treasurer, and special districts |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2016 |
The county race that attracted attention and a lot of money was the election for sheriff. Incumbent Joe Arpaio (R) was defeated by challenger Paul Penzone (D). Many media outlets predicted it would be Arpaio's most difficult election so far. He made national headlines for his tough stance on immigration and the lawsuits filed against him and his office over the years. Read more about this race and all of these issues below.
The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in the general election was August 10, 2016. The county government races, as well as the constable and justice of the peace races, were on the August 30 primary ballot with a filing deadline of June 1, 2016. The candidates running for a special district did not run in the primary.[2]
This election was one of Ballotpedia's top 10 local-level races in 2016. Click here to read the full list.
Elections
County positions
Board of supervisors
District 1☑ Denny Barney District 2☑ Steve Chucri |
District 3District 4☑ Clint Hickman |
District 5☑ Steve Gallardo |
Other elected officials
County assessor☑ Paul Petersen County attorney☑ Bill Montgomery |
County recorder☐ Helen Purcell Defeated in primaryCounty superintendent of schools |
County treasurer☑ Royce Flora County sheriff☐ Joe Arpaio Defeated in primary |
Justices of the peace & constables
To see a map of the justice of the peace/constable precincts, click here.
Arcadia BiltmoreJustice of the peaceConstable☑ Carolyn Lane Country MeadowJustice of the peace☑ Anna Huberman
Constable☑ Kenneth Sumner Dreamy DrawJustice of the peace☑ Frank Conti Jr. Constable☑ Doug Middleton |
MaryvaleJustice of the peace☑ Andrew Gastelum Constable☑ Frank Canez McDowell MountainConstable☑ David Lester Moon ValleyJustice of the peace
Constable☑ J. Richard Coplan |
North ValleyConstable☑ Brent McCleve San TanJustice of the peace☑ Samuel Goodman Constable☑ Stephen Allen
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Special districts
Maricopa Integrated Health SystemDistrict 1☐ Saman Golestan District 2☑ Mark Dewane District 5☐ Terence McMahon |
Central Arizona Water Conservation District5 open seats☑ Alexandra Arboleda |
Maricopa County Community College DistrictDistrict 1☑ Laurin Hendrix District 2☑ Dana Saar District 5☑ Alfredo Gutierrez At-large (1 open seat)☑ Linda Thor |
Issues
Controversy and money in sheriff's race
Maricopa County's incumbent sheriff, Joe Arpaio (R), was up for re-election in 2016. He was first elected to the office in 1992 and re-elected in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012. Arpaio faced Paul Penzone (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. He was also challenged by Penzone in 2012, along with Mike Stauffer, an independent. Arpaio defeated Penzone by about six points in that election.[3]
Sheriff Arpaio received national attention for what some call his hard stance on illegal immigration. He and his office faced multiple class-action lawsuits, with plaintiffs claiming that the office practiced racial profiling, among other things.[4] A supporter of presidential nominee Donald Trump, Arpaio stumped for him at the Republican National Convention.[5] The race was also in the spotlight because Penzone filed a defamation suit against Arpaio in response to a television ad paid for by the sheriff's campaign. Arpaio raised over $12 million for his re-election campaign, which NPR referred to as "stunning."[6][7]
Campaign finance
Facing what the Los Angeles Times called "his toughest general election in decades," Arpaio raised over $12 million, according to his campaign finance report submitted on September 27, 2016.[8][9] To put this into perspective, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) raised about $8 million for his race in 2014. Penzone had only raised about half a million, but outside groups campaigned against the incumbent sheriff, including Maricopa Strong, an independent expenditure committee to which liberal donor George Soros had given over $2 million as of October 27, 2016, according to the campaign finance report.[10][11] On his campaign website, Arpaio asked for support in order to combat the "attack by special interest groups and left-wing politicians who would rather turn a blind eye towards the crisis of illegal immigration."[12]
The table below shows the total contributions, expenditures, and cash on hand for each candidate as of September 19, 2016.
Polling
| 2016 Maricopa County Sheriff Election | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Joe Arpaio | Paul Penzone | Undecided/Someone else/Refused | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| The Arizona Republic, Morrison Institute for Public Policy, and Cronkite News (October 10-15, 2016) | 31.1% | 45.9% | 23% | +/-5.6 | 466 | ||||||||||||||
| Sherpa Public Affairs (October 2-5, 2016) | 40.5% | 50.9% | 8.6% | +/-5.2 | 348 | ||||||||||||||
| Strategies 360 (Commissioned by Penzone campaign) (June 6-12, 2016) | 44% | 48% | 8% | +/-4.4 | 503 | ||||||||||||||
| AVERAGES | 38.53% | 48.27% | 13.2% | +/-5.07 | 439 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Defamation suit
In September 2016, Penzone filed a defamation suit against Arpaio for a television ad that accused Penzone of assaulting his then-wife in the midst of their divorce. Arpaio's campaign ran a similar ad in 2012. In preparation for his second attempt to unseat the sheriff, Penzone got an affidavit from his ex-wife that said, in part, that the ad portraying Penzone "as physically aggressive during our marriage was inaccurate and misleading." His lawyer also sent a letter to Arpaio warning him not to do it again.[13]
The incident referenced in Arpaio's ad occurred in 2003, when Penzone called the police following an argument with his wife in which they both sustained minor injuries. As a result, a judge granted protective orders. Arpaio’s ad said "a judge found Penzone to be a threat to her safety and even her life." Penzone said that granting protective orders is customary before hearing a matter and that the judge later dismissed them.[13]
Penzone's lawsuit did not request to block the ad but sought damages from Arpaio for each airing. A lawyer for the Arpaio campaign called the suit a "political stunt." He said that the campaign was considering filing counterclaims for defamation, malicious prosecution, and abuse of process. "The Arpaio campaign went to great lengths to ensure that its advertisement was going to be accurate," he said.[13]
History of legal trouble for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has brought several class-action lawsuits against the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO). One claimed that the conditions in the Maricopa County jails violated detainees' constitutional rights because they were overcrowded, failed to provide sufficient nutrition, and failed to provide healthcare. U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake ruled against the sheriff's office in this case in 2008 and ordered that the office must comply with certain regulations.[14] In 2010, Judge Wake ruled that the sheriff's office had failed to bring the jails up to the proper standards. Later that year, the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ordered that Arpaio and his office follow Judge Wake's 2008 ruling.[15]
Another class-action lawsuit, filed in part by the ACLU, claimed that the sheriff's office had a pattern of racial profiling, unlawful traffic stops, and unlawful detention. The sheriff's office was using "crime suppression sweeps," or saturation patrols, and according to the ACLU, "MCSO officers were significantly more likely to stop Latino persons on saturation patrol days in comparison to days when such operations were not taking place."[16] In 2013, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow ruled that the policies of the sheriff's office violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[17]
In May 2016, Judge Snow found Arpaio and three others to be in civil contempt for failing to follow court orders in regards to racial profiling. Then, in August 2016, he asked the U.S. Attorney's Office to file criminal contempt charges against the four men for continued failure to follow orders and giving false statements.[18] On October 11, 2016, federal prosecutors announced that they intended to file criminal contempt of court charges against Arpaio. A misdemeanor contempt charge carries a maximum prison sentence of six months.[19]
Arpaio released the following statement on October 11, 2016:
| “ | It is clear that the corrupt Obama Justice Department is trying to influence my re-election as sheriff of Maricopa County. It is no coincidence that this annoucement [sic] comes 28 days before the election and the day before early voting starts. It is a blatant abuse of power and the people of Maricopa County should be as outraged as I am.[20] | ” |
| —Joe Arpaio[21] | ||
Arpaio pleaded not guilty on October 25, 2016.[22] The trial was initially scheduled for December 6, 2016, but U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton granted his lawyer's request to postpone the trial so that they could have more time to prepare.[23]
Campaign advertisements
Joe Arpaio
Paul Penzone
About the county
- See also: Maricopa County, Arizona
The county government of Maricopa County is located in Phoenix, Arizona. The county was first established in 1871.[24]
County government
- See also: Government of Maricopa County, Arizona
Maricopa County is overseen by a five-member board of supervisors. Each supervisor is elected by district to a four-year term. Residents also elect a county assessor, county attorney, county recorder, clerk of the superior court, county sheriff, county treasurer, constables, and justices of the peace.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Maricopa County, Arizona | ||
|---|---|---|
| Maricopa County | Arizona | |
| Population | 3,817,117 | 6,392,017 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 9,201 | 113,652 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 77.6% | 77.2% |
| Black/African American | 5.6% | 4.5% |
| Asian | 4.2% | 3.3% |
| Native American | 2% | 4.5% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Other (single race) | 6.7% | 6.5% |
| Multiple | 3.7% | 3.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 31% | 31.3% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 87.7% | 87.1% |
| College graduation rate | 32.7% | 29.5% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $64,468 | $58,945 |
| Persons below poverty level | 13.8% | 15.1% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Maricopa County Arizona election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Maricopa County, Arizona | Arizona | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
- Maricopa County website
- Maricopa County Recorder
- Primary election candidate list
- General election candidate list
Footnotes
- ↑ Maricopa County Recorder, "2016 General Election Candidate Listing," August 24, 2016
- ↑ Maricopa County Recorder, "Election Calendar," accessed September 8, 2016
- ↑ Maricopa County Recorder, "2012 General Election Results," November 20, 2012
- ↑ Washington Post, "Joe Arpaio, ‘America’s toughest sheriff,’ wins primary race despite facing criminal prosecution," August 31, 2016
- ↑ ACB News, "Sheriff Joe Arpaio Stumps for Trump at the Republican National Convention," July 21, 2016
- ↑ NPR, "A Local Sheriff's Race Is Drawing National Attention And A Hefty Price Tag," October 1, 2016
- ↑ ABC 15 Arizona, "Paul Penzone, challenger to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, sues for defamation," September 29, 2016
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio easily wins primary — but now faces his toughest general election in decades," August 30, 2016
- ↑ Maricopa County Recorder, "Post Primary Election Report - Joe Arpaio," accessed October 11, 2016
- ↑ Maricopa County Recorder, "Post Primary Election Report - Paul Penzone," accessed October 11, 2016
- ↑ Maricopa County Recorder, "Pre General Election Report - Maricopa Strong," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ Joe Arpaio campaign website, accessed October 11, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 AZcentral.com, "Democratic challenger Paul Penzone sues Sheriff Joe Arpaio for defamation in race for sheriff," September 30, 2016
- ↑ AZcentral.com, "Judge backs county inmates in jail case," October 23, 2008
- ↑ American Civil Liberties Union, "Ruling In ACLU Lawsuit Affirms District Court Decision," October 13, 2010
- ↑ American Civil Liberties Union, "Oretega Melendres, et al. v. Arpaio, et al.," accessed October 11, 2016
- ↑ American Civil Liberties Union, "Arpaio and His Deputies Have Engaged in Racial Profiling Against Latinos in Maricopa County," May 24, 2013
- ↑ CNN, "Judge seeks criminal contempt charges against Sheriff Joe Arpaio," August 20, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Feds to launch contempt case against Sheriff Arpaio," October 11, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ AZcentral.com, "Roberts: Joe Arpaio just lost the election," October 11, 2016
- ↑ SFGate, "Sheriff Joe Arpaio pleads not guilty to criminal charge," October 28, 2016
- ↑ Tucson.com, "Judge postpones Sheriff Joe Arpaio's criminal contempt trial," November 2, 2016
- ↑ Maricopa County, Arizona, "About Maricopa County," accessed September 2, 2016
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