'They want to change the Constitution to save Arpaio'

Dear Joe ... A few weeks ago I noted that a bunch of toadies for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio planned to recruit a "shadow army" to patrol the locations where petitioners are gathering signatures for the Arpaio recall.

The group's instructional handout [PDF] says their "warriors" shouldn't get thuggy with people (they had to mention that). Instead, they should "educate" voters, letting them know that: a) Arpaio just won an election, b) he hasn't done anything that would cause him to be recalled (yeah, they say that), and c) a recall election will be expensive. Also. It's not like Arpaio's unconstitutional police state tactics haven't already cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

If the Arpaiobots can't educate intimidate enough petition signers, their next blocking tactic is the courts. It looks like they flunked Part A, because only 30 or so wingers showed up for the big shadow army recruitment, not enough to dent the petition drive. Their inability to slow signatures was borne out last week when the organization directing the recall, Respect Arizona, announced that they've already collected 120,000 signatures, of the necessary 335,000, with more than two and a half months remaining before the May 30 deadline.

Many think Arpaio is milquetoast if enough signatures are collected and an election is scheduled. Heck, the sheriff's supporters wouldn't be threatening lawsuits and inventing legislation to stop the recall if they thought he could waltz through another campaign. Yes, Arpaio just won an election in November, but Republicans here were energized to turn out, if not for Romney then for a tight Flake-Carmona senate race. Sitting downticket with an R beside his familiar name, Arpaio benefited from coattails that won't be there in a one-on-one contest, forcing the sheriff to defend his indefensible Bull Connor record. Arpaio also blew most of his $8 million war chest last fall defeating Paul Penzone, who spent just $520,000, and the sheriff only received 51 percent of the vote. Oh, yes, he's vulnerable.

That's why, if Respect Arizona gets enough signatures, Arpaio's lackeys promised to sue, citing a provision in the Arizona Constitution that prohibits a recall drive to begin until an official has been in office six months. If applied to the sheriff's election in November 2012, that means Respect Arizona cannot begin soliciting signatures until early May 2013, and thus everything they've done to date would be nullified. However, here's the section of the constitution the wingers are hanging their sorry hopes on:

8.1.5. No recall petition shall be circulated against any officer until he shall have held his office for a period of six months ...

The clause, says ASU law professor David Gartner, is intended for new officials, so they have a sporting chance to prove themselves. The section does not apply to someone like Joe Arpaio, who's been in office more than two decades! We know he's a terrible lawman'no need to wait a few months to verify that! Should Arpaio's lawyers argue that Section 8.1.5 is vague enough to include new and incumbent officeholders, they first might want to check the Secretary of State's 2011 recall handbook [PDF]:

"The commencement of a subsequent term in the same office does not renew the six month period delaying the circulation of petitions." p. 20

Oops.

To sum up: Arpaio's flunkies couldn't recruit a shadow army large enough to pull KP, Respect Arizona's petitioners are collecting thousands of names daily, and the plan to challenge the recall in court is a dead end. What's left?

The diary's title is a clue'over the hump we go.