Joe Arpaio Opponent Mike Stauffer to Run For Sheriff as an Independent

Mike Stauffer

Stauffer, a life-long Republican, has said from the first days of his candidacy that the office of the sheriff shouldn't be politicized -- that it's about law enforcement, not political ideologies.

In a recent New Times online town hall, Stauffer was asked whether he thought he'd have a better shot at beating Arpaio if he ran as an Independent. At the time, he dismissed the idea, saying "unfortunately, the sheriff's race is a partisan race. I have been a registered Republican since I was 18 years old and changing parties now would inject an undesirable political aspect to my campaign and distract from the real and pressing issues facing the MCSO."

He's since changed his tune, now saying "I believe that the extremist positions and the attempt to insinuate those positions into law enforcement taken by the Maricopa County Republican Committee and various Republican leaders in Maricopa County are incompatible with the principles of American law enforcement." It's a smart move for a number of reasons, mostly because Stauffer will now leave the decision up to Maricopa County's entire electorate, as opposed to only Independents and the far-right-wing-nuts who would undoubtedly support Arpaio in a Republican primary.

However, America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff" is still a pretty popular guy in the Valley (despite the millions (and millions) of dollars in taxpayer money that have been pissed away defending the MCSO from seemingly endless lawsuits, the humiliating publicity stunts, and the overall culture of corruption at the MCSO that he's been allowed to develop for nearly 20 years). Not to mention the $6 million he's got to fuel his (county-level) campaign.

The odds still seem stacked against Stauffer, but we want to know what you think: can Mike Stauffer be the one to finally convince Maricopa County voters that "it's time for a new sheriff?"

After we get rid of Arpaio, We'd still need to get rid of Russel Pierce and Jan Brewer. The problems for the Indigenous peoples of Aztlan are far from resolved. Its true that if you get rid of one "bad seed" that someone will just plant another to replace him. With the growing number of racist organizations making Arizona their new home, it will be an increasingly difficult job to have power over Arizona.