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See Saturday evening’s update from the county after the jump.
So Sheriff Joe Arpaio wants to make nice with Latinos now?
Pardon me while I laugh till I spit.
Though Arpaio’s won re-election for an unprecedented sixth term in office, so far, as of Friday, his two opponents together garnered 47.98 percent of the vote.
See also:
–Joe Arpaio Doc Two Americans Rocks Harkins
Joe scored 52 percent, a number that may shrink after all the votes are tallied.
That’s a mere 4.04 percent difference, much narrower than in 2008, when Arpaio-opponent Dan Saban got 42 percent, a Libertarian candidate scored 2 percent, and Arpaio pulled 55 percent.
Add the Libertarian to what Saban got, and that’s 44 percent, an 11 point win for Joe, more than double the spread this year, if Democrat Paul Penzone and Independent Mike Stauffer’s numbers are added together.
So far, it looks like more than 1.3 million people voted in the sheriff’s election, about the same as in 2008.
An anti-Joe recall movement would need to score 25 percent of that number in signatures of qualified electors, or around 325,000.
More than that voted against the rotter.
This election helped drain Arpaio’s coffers, and various Latino groups remain mobilized by their hatred of Joe.
Can it be done? Si se puede.
Should it be done? For that, I suggest you go see the documentary Two Americans, by filmmakers Valeria Fernandez and Dan DeVivo.
Watch as Arpaio gloats about ginning up false charges on his enemies, makes children cry as he arrests their undocumented moms and dads for daring to work for a living, laughs about watching people be tortured in Central and South America when he worked for the DEA there, and calls Tent City his private concentration camp.
Then consider his victims: U.S. Army vet Marty Atencio, diabetic mom Deborah Braillard, and on and on.
Think of the millions in taxpayers’ dollars he’s wasted and misspent. Consider the victims of sex crimes and murders his deputies did not properly investigate.
Then you tell me if it should be done.
At the very least, it should be seriously considered.
But we just had an election, folks will exclaim. Well, Russell Pearce had just been re-elected in 2010 to the state Senate. Months later, in 2011, the recall against him, began.
And we all know how that ended.
Two Americans continues its run at Harkins Theaters till November 15, this time at Harkins Arizona Mills, and at Harkins Superstition Springs in Mesa.
Below is all the info you need. I’ve heard that local notables such as County Supervisor Don Stapley and even, amazingly, Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, have attended screenings of the documentary.
So go see it while you still can on the big screen, and give that recall idea some thought.
Below is a recent press release from the filmmakers.
DOCUMENTARY PROVIDES IN-DEPTH LOOK AT CLASH OF CULTURES
Phoenix, Arizona – Entering its third week at the movies now in Tempe and Mesa Two
Americans is a riveting documentary that traces the parallel stories of America’s self-
proclaimed “toughest sheriff,” and the 9-year-old American daughter of undocumented
immigrants arrested in a sheriff’s workplace.
The central protagonists of Two Americans symbolize the polarized stance Arizonans
and the nation have on the immigration debate: one – Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who targets
unauthorized immigrants while garnering significant media publicity, and the other, a
young Katherine, who is forced to grow up overnight when faced with the loss of her
parents, who like other immigrants, have been living in the shadows of the American
workplace.
Two Americans directed and produced by Daniel DeVivo and Valeria Fernandez received
the Audience Award for Best Feature documentary on April of this year at the Arizona
International Film Festival and recently the New Times Best of Phoenix award.
This compelling and stunning documentary provides an in-depth look into the workings
of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office. “As a filmmaker I really didn’t expect that
Sheriff Arpaio to allow me into the heart of his operation as closely as he did,” said
DeVivo. “Viewers will gain an amazing insight into the mind of one of America’s most
popular politicians.”
The documentary is the follow up to DeVivo’s earlier work, Crossing Arizona –
which took top honors at the Arizona International Film Festival in 2006 and was an
Official Selection of the Sundance Film Festival. Co-director, Fernández is an award
winning freelance journalist with a decade of experience covering Arizona’s rancorous
immigration debate. Her stories have appeared in countless news outlets nationwide and
internationally, including CNN En Español and New America Media.
“At the end of the day, the film offers something for everyone; whether you are a
supporter of the sheriff or not, you’ll come away feeling closer to these two very different
worlds,” said filmmaker Valeria Fernandez.
Two Americans is not only a powerful, moving film, it dares to expose the complex
web of personal and corporative interest that threatens the future of a promising state,
currently at odds with its own roots. It is also a coming-of-age story about a generation
of Mexican American kids who cannot fathom why their immigrant parents are being
characterized as criminals.
-For more information about Two Americans, visit www.twoamericans.com.
-For tickets sales and show times, visit:
http://www.harkinstheatres.com/movieDetails.aspx?movieId=143438
UPDATE 11/10/12 6:43 PM Here’s the Saturday update from the county:
“Today 44,788 early ballots were tabulated and approximately 200,000 early ballots still remain to be processed for tabulation. The provisional ballot update is approximately at 122,000 for processing and tabulation.”
Latest Penzone vs. Arpaio numbers:
ARPAIO 544,428 51.76
PENZONE 460,403 43.77
STAUFFER 46939 4.46
Arpaio’s lead is now a 7.99 point spread. He currently has 84,025 more votes than Penzone.
UPDATE 11/11/12:
This just in from the county:
“Maricopa County Recorder, Helen Purcell, is reporting another update for the 2012 General Election. Today 60,297 early ballots were tabulated and approximately 140,000 early ballots still remain to be processed for tabulation. The provisional ballot update is approximately at 122,000 for processing and tabulation.”
ARPAIO 571,226 51.51
PENZONE 488,075 44.01
STAUFFER 49,717 4.48
As of Sunday afternoon, Arpaio holds a lead over Penzone of 83,151 votes, or 7.5 points.
That’s less impressive if Stauffer’s numbers are added to Penzone’s. Together, Arpaio’s two opponents garnered 48.49 percent of the vote, leaving Joe with a bare 3.02 point win.
Will be interesting to see if Arpaio dips below 50 percent as the counting continues. That would only lend a stronger argument to the idea of recalling him.
