- From 2004 through November 2007, Arpaio was the target of 2,150 lawsuits in U.S. District Court and hundreds more in Maricopa County courts; 50 times as many prison-conditions lawsuits as the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston jail systems combined.Wendy if that doesn't grab you, you might want to click on this link and read the part where Arpaio's deputies arrested Village Voice Media executives and Phoenix New Times editors and where a reporter for the Phoenix New Times, was surrounded and intimidated by Arpaio's deputies while trying to examine public records at the City of Phoenix public records counter. But then again, you seem really hopped up on the whole chain gang idea. Bob, please have a talk with Wendy.
- Family members of inmates who have died or been injured in jail custody have filed lawsuits against the sheriff’s office. Maricopa County has paid more than $43 million in settlement claims during Arpaio's tenure.
- In 2004, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office SWAT team led a raid on an Ahwatukee home in a gated subdivision, looking for illegal weapons. No illegal weapons were found, but during the raid, the house burned down, SWAT officers forced a dog back into the building where it subsequently died, and an armored vehicle rolled into a neighbor's parked car as a result of brake failure.
7:56 Luke just mentioned O'Connor. God, give me strength.
7:57 Isn't it comforting to know what Luke now admits--that he wasn't ready to be mayor when O'Connor died. So in 3 more years, is he going to admit that he wasn't ready in 2009, either?
UPDATE: Other Burghosphere reactions to the debate:
Pittsburgh Comet
Tunesmith & Anthony
Infinonymous
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12 comments:
I get press releases for shit like potholes all the time. Let's chalk up the lack of post-debate spin to everybody getting drunk after a hard day's work.
So, who do you think won as far as the Maria primaries?
All I can say is that my grandmother knew next to nothing about Dowd or Robinson prior to tonight and she really, really liked Dowd and said she'll vote for him. She was a Give the Kid a Chance person back when, but she has grown increasing skeptical of Lil Mayor Luke.
Luke did great tonight.
Right on cue.
Maria,
I agree with your grandmother. Patrick's criticisms of the mayor are heartfelt and come from a desire to see some leadership in City government. The mayor's absence from the major debates of last year at council (gun control and campaign finance) are telling.
Also, the mayor's claim that labor's voice (through money) would have been hurt by the campaign finance legislation passed by the council last year is just plain hogwash. In reality, about 20 labor organizations donated to Luke in 2008, and only ONE of those exceeded the proposed limit of $5000 for PACs. Further, about 75% of the PACs that DID exceed the proposed limit were corporate entities (Buchanan Ingersoll and Highmark, to name a couple). The mayor just does not have any credibility on the issue.
I am looking forward to the upcoming community events and WPXI debate. Like Carmen, I hope the mayor will be there on time.
I was also glad that Robinson and Dowd kept the focus on what is wrong with Ravenstahl and did not attack each other.
That's a C-minus analysis, Hoagie...typical of a Steelersthal supporter.
Maria -- I live tweeted it! msmon at twitter.com It's fun because Anthony and PittGirl are also tweeting at the same time ...
http://twitter.com/msmon
I thought Dowd did a good job.
Robinson had some good things to offer but her delivery was off. It seemed to me like she was overwhelmed by the setting (talking in public, being on camera, etc). Just my impression, of course, but not a good one for someone looking to be elected to public office.
Luke was exactly the opposite. His message was the usual "Luke-talk" and it showed that he'd done his homework and dutifully studied what his handlers wanted him to say. He delivered his BS all polished and neat.
And he dodged the Mayo's question about letting the public see his schedule in order to ascertain whether he's telling the truth about being "too busy" to debate.
An honest politician (I recognize the oxymoron here, let's just grade "honesty" on a relative scale for the moment and be done with it) would have merely said "Ok" and let the facts speak for themselves.
That he didn't tells us something more about Luke Ravenstahl.
Just a wee bit more on Arapaio because he's that much of a pig and I still can't believe that Wendy "Chain Gang" Bell wants Pittsburgh to emulate him:
Newspaper Series Debunking Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Immigration Policies Wins Pulitzer
I'm tired of cronyism and waste. Viva la Dowd.
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