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There they were.
All in one room.
And there was remarkably no blood spilled.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Attorney General Tom Horne. Gerald Richard, a law enforcement policy advisor for the AG’s Office. Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner. Among others.
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The motley cast of politicos showed up to a changing of the guard ceremony for the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association at the Bentley Gallery in downtown Phoenix.
KFYI’s Mike Broomhead, the master of ceremonies, had the best quips during the Thursday ceremony.
Arpaio left right after speaking at the event.
Back at the podium, Broomhead said that now with Arpaio gone, he could actually say nice things about Babeu.
He joked that it doesn’t sit well with Arpaio that, while he calls himself America’s toughest sheriff, Babeu says that he was named Sheriff of the Year. When he has Babeu on his radio show, he also introduces him as the “youngest sheriff.”
Another sore spot with Sheriff Joe, he said, eliciting more chuckles from the audience.
A few uncomfortable moments when Apraio got up to speak and noticed Gordon sitting in the front row.
“Oh, look, there’s Mayor Gordon,” he told the audience. He complimented City Manager David Cavazos, and noted that Cavazos was the one that was really in charge.
Other than that slight dig, Arpaio managed to keep it civil even with Gordon and his rancorous political history. (Gordon has repeatedly denounced Arpaio’s immigration sweeps and called for the feds to investigate his pattern of racial profiling.)
Babeu, when it was his turn at the podium, said that the fact that a PLEA event, honoring former union president Mark Spencer, could bring together such a mixed crowd was “something to behold.”
