Chad Willems

Joe Arpaio Recall: 14 Days Left, a New Dennis Gilman Video

Citizens for a Better Arizona president Randy Parraz makes two very important points in this new video from Dennis Gilman. The first has to do with what is possible. See also: -Joe Arpaio Shill Chad Willems' Bogus Pro-Joe "Petition" (w/Update) -Joe Arpaio's Chad Willems Talks to the Shadow Army a ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Shill Chad Willems' Bogus Pro-Joe "Petition"

Shenanigans. Republicans wouldn't be Republicans without them. And the effort under way to recall Sheriff Joe Arpaio is the perfect occasion for pro-Joe Rs to roll out their usual dirty tricks and monkeyshines. See also: -Joe Arpaio's Chad Willems Talks to the Shadow Army about the "Blocking Campa ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Pal Ron Ludders Trains Recall Blockers Tonight

Speaking of shenanigans, you may remember Tea Party generalissimo Ron Ludders for his escapades during the 2011 recall of ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce, and during Pearce's ill-fated comeback attempt in the 2012 GOP primary for state Senator from Legislative District 25. See also: -Russe ... More >>

Russell Pearce's Pal Constantin Querard Pimps Medical Marijuana Industry

As Mr. Zimmerman once crooned long ago, the times they are a changin', and though progress has generally leap-frogged our benighted state, there are odd signs that Arizona is slouching toward the 21th Century, like some rough beast come round at last. See also: -Arizona Organix Steps Out as the Sta ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Recall's Naysayers Laurie Roberts and Mario Diaz, and Why We Fight

I like Arizona Republic scribe Laurie Roberts. She's a smart, classy lady. And I believe she means well. See also: -Joe Arpaio Recall Still On, Despite Lack of Support from (Some) Deep-Pocket Democrats As a columnist, she has the luxury of tut-tutting the hard work of others, as she did in her co ... More >>

Can the Joe Arpaio Recall Effort Gather 215,000 Signatures in 85 Days?

The group calling itself Respect Arizona announced yesterday that it's collected and verified 120,000 signatures calling for the recall of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.With a little less than three months left in the four-month window to collect signatures, Respect Arizona has 215,317 signatures left to colle ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Recall Scores 120K Valid Signatures: 85 Days Left, a Little Over 215K More to Go

With Sheriff Joe Arpaio still out of commission from his "broken arm," and with Respect Arizona's announcement today that they have 120,000 valid signatures demanding his recall, Arpaio's best career move at this point would be to resign from office for health reasons. See also: -Why Sheriff Joe Ac ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Chad Willems Talks to the Shadow Army about the "Blocking Campaign" and the End of GOP Rule in Maricopa County

Willems pumps up the alter kockers with his doomsday scenario, talk of spies in the other camp, and a plan to "block" voters from signing the recall petition As promised in this week's column, above is the audio of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's campaign guru Chad Willems speaking to the pro-Joe "shadow army ... More >>

Why Sheriff Joe Actually Is Nervous About the Recall Effort Against Him

Joe Arpaio's Pal Michael Nowakowski on Blast in Dennis Gilman's New Video "Negotiating with the Devil"

Gilman's latest rakes Nowakowski over the coals for his parley with El Diablo Which side are you on? The recall effort is underway, and even Sheriff Joe Arpaio's campaign guru Chad Willems has acknowledged that if the recall committee Respect Arizona scores the needed signatures for the ballot, th ... More >>

What Kind of Douchebag Would Join the Joe Arpaio "Shadow Army"?

In case you missed it earlier this week, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is getting his very own "shadow army."A circulating e-mail from Maricopa County Republican Committee Chairman A. J. LaFaro explains that they're going "to muster and organize a 'shadow army' of 'shadow warriors' that are willing to voluntee ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Teabagger Pals Muster "Shadow Army" Against Recall Effort with Help from Chad Willems

Secret footage obtained by New Times of the last Teabagger meet-up headed by A.J. LaFaro. With friends like these, how could Joe lose? Check out the email below, with a message purportedly from walking PayDay bar and newly-elected chair of the Maricopa County Republican Committee, A.J. "Wild Man" L ... More >>

Should John Kavanagh Give Up on His Quest for a Repeal of Arizona's Medical-Pot Law?

The second public-opinion poll released in recent weeks on Arizona's medical-marijuana law also shows that voters support the act more than in 2010, when it was approved by voters.The newest poll, from Chad Willems' Summit Consulting Group, says 55 percent of "likely voters" support the law, while j ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Incredibly Whiny Response to Recall Effort: "Why Do They Hate Me So Much?"

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has issued what's undoubtedly the world's whiniest response to the recently announced recall effort against him.There's a statement from his campaign manager Chad Willems, as well as an Arpaio fundraising e-mail, in which the Sheriff asks, "Why do they hate me so m ... More >>

New Medical-Marijuana Poll Shows High Support by Arizonans; Poll Done by Same Firm Used by Pot Foe John Kavanagh

A new poll that shows high support by Arizona voters for medical marijuana is unlikely to be challenged by anti-pot lawmaker Representative John Kavanagh: The political consulting firm used by Kavanagh and his wife, Fountain Hills Mayor Linda Kavanagh, conducted the survey. Kavanagh still hopes to ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Defeats Paul Penzone With Ease, and the Sheriff's Reign Continues

Last night at the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix, 80-year-old Sheriff Joe Arpaio recycled the same ol' Joe speech he gives all the time -- a speech that apparently resonates with the voters who opted for Arpaio over his opponent, Paul Penzone, by a healthy margin.All we could really do was stand in front ... More >>

Helen Purcell Corrects KPHO's Error, while Joe Arpaio-Pimp Chad Willems Issues Voter-Suppression Robocall

Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell today issued a clarifying statement regarding an erroneous report on early ballots by CBS 5/KPHO's Donna Rossi last week. That report misquoted Purcell as saying that having an early ballot in one's possession is a Class 5 felony. After I wrote a blog item p ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Paid, Campaign Computer Guy Also a Maricopa County Employee

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's financial disclosure forms for his re-election campaign show an ocean of greenbacks flowing into the coffers of Summit Consulting, the firm owned by local Republican consultant Chad Willems. Willems is one of the political geniuses who ran former state Senate President Russell ... More >>

Penzone Benefits from Arpaio's Latest Attack Ad

Joe Arpaio Used Campaign Cash to Pay Himself Rent Money

A campaign-finance complaint has been filed against Sheriff Joe Arpaio, mostly related to the oodles of cash he's sent over to his campaign manager Chad Willems' company, Summit Consulting.While we were adding up how much Arpaio's forked over to Summit (more than $1.5 million since January), we happ ... More >>

Joe Arpaio "Helps" Childhelp: Nonprofit Takes Blood Money Despite 501c3 Status

What do you do when you're Sheriff Joe Arpaio and your name is practically a byword for the neglect of sex crime cases involving women and children? You use your political fundraising machine to shill for a national nonprofit that benefits abused kids, sort of like a petroleum company donating to l ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Up in Two GOP Polls, and Why His Actions Belie Both

Paul Penzone's secret weapon, one not captured by Republican pollsters: Adios Arpaio Before you review the results of two new GOP polls that have Sheriff Joe Arpaio in the lead against his Democratic challenger Paul Penzone, ask yourself this question: Is Arpaio acting like a front-runner way ahead ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Stooge Mike Stauffer May Be Getting IE Help from an Odd Source

Republican-turned-Independent candidate for sheriff Mike Stauffer may have almost no money, little support and may be regarded as a massive joke by nearly everyone with a lick of sense in Maricopa County. Nevertheless, he soon could be getting some indirect assistance from a new independent expend ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Begs for Votes, and Devin Fleenor's Anti-Arpaio Ad Hits TV

Joe practically begs viewers to let him keep his job in this new ad Sheriff Joe looks like a worried old man in his new TV commercial, the latest in a series of pricey ads that his re-election campaign has been inundating county boob tubes with. "Despite all the criticism," he says, gesticulating ... More >>

Joe Arpaio, Chad Willems, E.J. Montini and the $8 Million Whopper

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's campaign guru Chad Willems is as shameless as you'd expect a guy to be who's funneling suckers' campaign contributions through the bank account of his company, Summit Consulting Group. See also: -Joe Arpaio's Pink Underwear Torn to Shreds in Hilarious New Video from CPLE -Russ ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Latest Insulting Ad: Rape a Dog, Go to Jail; Rape a Kid, Go Free

Joe's latest: he loves dogs, kiddies can go pound sand, though Sorry to ruin your breakfast, your lunch and your day, but this is the most recent commercial from Sheriff Joe Arpaio's re-election campaign that's guaranteed to induce gastrointestinal distress in anyone with more than half a lick of s ... More >>

Joe Arpaio "Kidnapped"? Ex-DEA Honcho Phil Jordan Cries Foul

See also: Sheriff Joe buffaloes readers with bogus yarns in his book Joe's Law See also: Arpaio denies writing, reading or agreeing with his book "JOE'S LAW" See also: Joe Arpaio's Early Christmas Gift from President Obama and the U.S. Attorney's Office See also: The Feds Proved Themselves a Cage of ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Cares About "the Kids" in Ironic New Campaign Ad

Gee, Joe, thanks for the reminder that you left more than 400 sex crime victims in the lurch See also: Joe Arpaio's Replacement, Paul Penzone, Blasts Sheriff's Handling of Sex Crimes in New Ad See also: Victims Wonder Why Arpaio Let Sex-Abuse Cases Languish See also: Ex-Police Chief's Book Details ... More >>

Russell Pearce -- Infamous Already for Assaulting Arizona's Economy -- and His Bigoted Ban Amnesty Now Attack Local Businesses With Boycott

Funny how some conservatives are always against boycotts affecting Arizona businesses, unless they're the ones doing the boycotting. I say this as the nativist hate group Ban Amnesty Now fires up its promised boycott of New Times' advertisers, with shrill messages on BAN's website and Facebook ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Scores Measly $20K with Joe PAC

​Former Valley reporter turned Gotham journo Nick Martin reports today on the TPMMuckraker blog that Sheriff Joe Arpaio's political action committee Joe PAC has scored only a little over $20,000 since its inception.When Arpaio's campaign guru Chad Willems of Summit Consulting announced Joe PAC's f ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Attacks Democratic Opponent Paul Penzone Over Phoenix P.D.'s Bungled Sex-Crime Investigations

James KingWhat are you hassling me for? Phoenix cops suck at investigating sex crimes, too!​As Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio pointed out when a story about his office's bungling of hundreds of sex-crime investigations resurfaced late last year, other Valley law enforcement agencies had "way w ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Raises Millions Less Than Suggested

Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his campaign guru Chad Willems have done their best to suggest Arpaio has $6 million in the bank, ready to go for the sheriff's 2012 re-election campaign.In September, Arizona Republic columnist E.J. Montini reported that, "Arpaio says that he has collected $6 million for his ... More >>

Is Joe Arpaio Beatable?

​Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is 79 years old. He's also running for a sixth term as sheriff, as he announced yesterday."For all those critics that demonstrate in front of my office for three years, calling me every name in the book, I'm going to announce right now on your show, on your sh ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Pleads for More Millions, as Juan Farias Mendoza's Ghost Looks On

Consider this the first anti-Arpaio ad for 2012, ironically produced by Arpaio's goons, and censored heavily by them as well....He's cost taxpayers $100 million in swiped county funds, has the blood of unfortunates such as Juan Farias Mendoza on his hands, was forced to settle to the tune of $1 mill ... More >>

Activist Randy Parraz Led an Army of Non-Partisan Warriors to Take Down Russell Pearce

Prediction: State Senator Russell Pearce Will Be Kissing His Political Career Goodbye on November 8

Russell Pearce Pummeled in Attack Ad by Citizens United for Progress

Brilliant new anti-Pearce ad from CUPCitizens United for Progress, the group responsible for sending out fliers targeting state Senate President Russell Pearce in the Legislative District 18 recall election, will begin running the above anti-Pearce attack ad on local TV either Tuesday or Wednesday o ... More >>

Russell Pearce's Chad Willems Worked for Group Opposing Mormon Temple in North Phoenix

FacebookChad Willems' pet snake Constantin: Just a joke, people. I don't know if that snake is his pet...Props to the ever-entertaining and informative Politoco Mafioso blog for scoring the following intriguing info concerning Summit Consulting's Chad Willems, state Senate President Russell Pea ... More >>

Russell Pearce Recall: Yellow Sheet Admits Senate President Is On the Ropes

Pearce loyalist Dan Grimm: Did he commit perjury, and if so, will the MCAO hold him accountable? The Arizona Capitol Times' Yellow Sheet costs $250 per month? Crikey, that equals my liquor store tab for September. Well, almost.Which is why I won't be subscribing anytime soon to YS, the dai ... More >>

Cortes-gate Unravels, and All Arizona Needs Is a Prosecutor Willing to Do His Job

Russell Pearce's Lobbyist Pal Greg Patterson and the Ties That Bind

espressopundit.comLobbyist Patterson: Licking Pearce's boots clean is just the price of doin' business...The first thing you need to know about Greg Patterson of the right-wing Espresso Pundit blog is that he is a lobbyist. According to the Arizona Secretary of State's website, he has been a re ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Not Ruling Out Running For Senate (So He Says)

This guy has $6 million -- and is pretending to be considering a run for Senate.​Stop us if you've heard this one before, but Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he's not ruling out running for the Senate seat getting vacated by retiring Senator Jon Kyl -- which, if history tells us anything, ... More >>

Joe Arpaio "Announces" Re-Election Bid, the Money-Grubbing Part, Anyway

A "civil rights" investigation?! Who the heck does the president think he is?He just took you for $100 million in protected taxpayer funds.You are one of the following: 1) a senile ol' coot skerred of Messcans2) a tebagging piece of white trash with a do-rag and a Harley3) a rich Republican goober l ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Kicks Ban Amnesty Now To the Curb Over E-Mail Flap

BAN too extreme for Arpaio? Gimme a break In a startling turn of events, Sheriff Joe Arpaio has cut ties with the local nativist organization Ban Amnesty Now over a controversial e-mail that many Latino and liberal groups assumed was a voter suppression effort. As I detailed in a blog pos ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Spent More Than $500K on His Boy Bill Montgomery, According to Invoices

Bill Montgomery: The half-million dollar man, and then some According to records provided to special counsel Jeffrey Messing by Sheriff Joe Arpaio's political guru Chad Willems of Summit Consulting Group, Arpaio's re-election campaign committee spent more than $500,000 in media buys for TV ads ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Dogged by the "New England Dennis Gilman," and the Arizona Gilman's Latest

If you ask me, journalism needs more Chris Kings I think I've discovered the New England version of our own fightin' Irishman and rogue videographer Dennis Gilman. Either that, or Gilman is the Sand Land version of Chris King, a lawyer/activist who apparently stays hot on the heels of New Engl ... More >>

Morning Poll: Why is Joe Arpaio Really Going to New Hampshire?

President Arpaio? Fat chance.​America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff," Joe Arpaio, is heading to New Hampshire this weekend, which has caused the national media to speculate that the aging (and aging) law dog plans to run for president.That theory, as we pointed out yesterday, is definitely p ... More >>

Joe Arpaio for President? Just How Dumb Is the Media?

Hey, I could be da president...Amazing, just amazing how our septuagenarian (soon to be octogenarian) sheriff plays the media -- both national and local -- like a two-bit plastic ocarina.Well, usually, his handlers do it for him. In this case, it was Chad Willems of Summit Consulting Group ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Mistakenly Endorses Two Candidates for Same Race; Tells One he "Never Withdraws an Endorsement" -- Right After He Withdraws His Endorsement

Oops! Joe Arpaio endorsed two candidates for the same race.​Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has endorsed so many candidates in this year's election that he can't keep them all straight (dementia must be setting in) -- which might be the reason he claims he mistakenly endors ... More >>

Money for Nothing

Halloween is still a week away, but are contributors being tricked into paying for J.D.'s treats?