Paul Babeu Turns Distortion of Truth Into an Art Form

Fiscal responsibility and immigration enforcement aren't the only issues that Babeu has flip-flopped on.

The latest incarnation of the failed Massachusetts politician who reinvented himself in Arizona includes an anti-abortion position aimed at fitting a mold that rabid conservatives want to hear.

Babeu with U.S. Senator John McCain.

Babeu as an altar boy in Massachusetts.

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• Paul Babeu
• Barack Obama
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In his first congressional campaign video after he was outed as gay by his ex-boyfriend's abuse-of-power accusations, Babeu told viewers that he is "still the conservative fighter who stood up to Obama over border security. And I'm still the pro-life candidate who will fight for new jobs and against increasing the national debt."

In a second video, released on April 24, he claimed that he's "always been pro-life."

Ever the chameleon, he spouted another line in October 1996. Publiceye.org, a human-rights think tank, noted then that while Babeu was running for a seat in the Massachusetts Senate that year, he claimed he had gone from "more conservative to more moderate" on the abortion issue.

The think tank reported that Babeu, in 1988, "was an anti-abortion, crusading North Adams city councilman." But during his state Senate race, Babeu adopted a "pro-choice" stance, Publicye.org reported, because he needed to appear moderate to liberal on the issue to district voters.

Pro-choice – and pro-gay-rights — stances by Babeu also were noted in a January 2000 Boston Phoenix article:

"Babeu, a county official, had challenged Democratic incumbent John Barrett to run for mayor of North Adams. [Babeu lost in the general election.] Some familiar with the race say that . . . Babeu was too right-wing. Yet Babeu . . . says he is pro-choice and pro-gay-rights, though he concedes that he was pro-life at age 18."

Claiming that his record is solidly conservative — even when political inconsistencies clearly are documented by media coverage over the years — demonstrates that he must consider the electorate in his adopted state naïve.

And why shouldn't he? Pinal County voters elected him their first Republican sheriff in history in 2008, without his Massachusetts political record becoming an issue, much less his tenure as head of the troubled DeSisto School.

Babeu ran the boarding school, which eventually was closed by the state for fostering an environment that was "excessively punitive," from April 1999 to August 2001.

The most politically damaging detail to come out of Babeu's time as executive director of the school was his close relationship with a 17-year-old student there.

Former students told New Times that they often saw Babeu showering attention on fellow student Joshua Geyer. Babeu's sister, Lucy, also has confirmed a relationship between Babeu and the student.

"I'd see [Babeu] around campus all the time," said Melissa Burech, who attended DeSisto during Babeu's tenure. "And I saw [Babeu and Josh] together more than they should've been. I saw [Babeu] take him off campus."

Lucy Babeu recalled a time when she saw Geyer at her brother's home in Massachusetts, adding that when she confronted him about the boy, he confessed that he was in love with Geyer.

Babeu has been silent about his alleged relationship with the student, but his lawyers have denied wrongdoing.

Over the past few months, he has told media that he was responsible only for the school's operations, including maintenance of its grounds, meaning he had no responsibility for any alleged cruelty to students there.

But he told another story on a campaign website, where he described his time at DeSisto as a period when he was "frequently recognized for his effectiveness in personnel management and fiscal abilities."

In 2002, when he applied for his job as a Chandler cop, Babeu noted on his application that, while at DeSisto, he supervised directors of the school and 80 full-time employees.

As with other aspects of his life, Babeu's relentless efforts to fine-tune his reality have been thwarted by a paper trail of facts.

During his first bid for sheriff, he ran on a platform of cleaning up the PCSO, and he made a show of fulfilling that promise by firing members of the office's command staff who had served under his predecessor.

"The PCSO's reputation within the law enforcement community has been damaged," Babeu said in January 2009, shortly after taking office. "The perishable trust we hold with the public also has been harmed. Accountability needs to be restored."

A few months later, in May 2009, he once again made a public declaration of his intolerance for anyone who damages the public's confidence and trust in the law enforcement agency.

"I will not allow the actions of a few to damage the perishable trust we hold with the public," Babeu said, announcing several more terminations.

He said he fired the individuals for lying and for disgracing the department.

"Officers uphold the law and are held to a higher standard of personal and professional conduct," he proclaimed.

That was in 2009. These days, with his personal and professional life under intense scrutiny, Babeu has adopted a different standard for himself, declaring that what he does privately is none of the public's concern.

This has been his defense when confronted with questions about his judgment in taking and electronically sharing racy photos of himself, "sexting" an unknown individual, and keeping a profile on a gay website to solicit sex.