Call it the revenge of Randy Parraz. The man who organized the end of former state Senate President Russell Pearce's Career is returning -- MacArthur-like -- to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors' auditorium, the place where he was falsely arrested in 2008 by Joe's boys in beige while seeking to hold the MCSO's jefe accountable.
On Wednesday, he'll be back, with members of his new organization, Citizens for a Better Arizona, demanding Arpaio's resignation and asking the Supervisors a significant question regarding Arpaio's bungling of more than 400 sex crimes cases in El Mirage, while the MCSO was responsible for law enforcement there.
"If over 400 uninvestigated sex crimes are not enough for supervisors to join other elected leaders in calling for Sheriff Arpaio's resignation, then citizens want to know WHAT IS THEIR NUMBER?" wonders Parraz in a recent announcement to the CBA faithful. "Is it 500 uninvestigated sex crimes? 750? Over 1,000? Citizens want to know what it will take for members of the Board of Supervisors to break their silence."
And to this end, CBA-ers and other concerned citizens will be attending the next formal BOS meeting on Wednesday, December 14, to push the Supes to act and seeking the placement of an item regarding the matter on the January 25 BOS agenda.
Granted, the Supes can't hand an elected official like Arpaio a pink slip. You'll remember that as recently as 2010, Supervisors Mary Rose Wilcox and Don Stapley called on the feds to consider putting the MCSO into a receivership -- a call that fell on the forever deaf ears of the U.S. Department of Justice.
But at least CBA has altered its sights, directing its firepower at county administrators instead of the the tiny town of Guadalupe and its city council, which CBA was pressuring to pass a resolution supporting Joe's harakiri over the sex crimes scandal.
I commend Parraz and CBA for moving the battle to the Supes. Though I think Arpaio's resignation is about as likely as Newt Gingrich donning a thong and joining the Chippendales' crew, it's worthwhile to apply the screws. At least till the 2012 election begins in earnest.
Below is a letter to current BOS Chairman Andrew Kunasek from Parraz on Joe's scandal du jour, which Parraz circulated this afternoon:
Andrew Kunasek
Maricopa County District 3 Supervisor
301 W. Jefferson, 10th Floor
Phoenix, Arizona 85003
Dear Chairman Kunasek:
On behalf of Citizens for a Better Arizona, we wish to express our sympathy to the hundreds of victims of sex crimes whose calls for help went uninvestigated by Sheriff Arpaio and his deputies. Over the past two weeks, more information has surfaced that clearly demonstrates that Sheriff Arpaio failed to exercise the type of leadership and judgment we all expect from Maricopa County's top law enforcement official when confronted with these types of heinous acts on children.
State legislators have already called for Sheriff Arpaio's resignation. Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl issued a joint statement that read in part, "Victims of abuse not only deserve the respect of law enforcement, but their rights must also be protected throughout the criminal justice process." Such protections were not granted to the hundreds of victims of sexual assault, rape and molestation.
As Maricopa County's highest governing authority, we want to know where our elected leaders stand on this issue. We believe this issue warrants further discussion and action and we ask that you place this issue - over 400 uninvestigated sex crimes - on the agenda for the January 25, 2012, meeting of the Board of Supervisors. We, Citizens for a Better Arizona, would like an opportunity to discuss this issue in more detail as well as present a resolution calling for Sheriff Arpaio's resignation.
Members of our organization will attend this week's Board of Supervisors' meeting on Wednesday, December 14th, to formally deliver this request in person and to explain in greater detail why we feel it is important for each of you to take a position on this issue. Safety and accountability are two fundamental functions of government and we are counting on you to provide the proper forum where citizens can, in keeping with the Constitution, petition their government and be heard.
Thank you for considering our request for this issue to be placed on the January 25, 2012, agenda. We look forward to working with you and the rest of the Board of Supervisors to insure that nothing like this ever happens in the future.
In Pursuit of a Better Arizona,
Randy Parraz, President