Joe Arpaio Opponent Mike Stauffer in New Times Inaugural Online Town Hall

Johnwilliambest

I know I'm a Brit, and therefore bothered about spelling and grammar, and all that, but surely you want people to put him through the wringer...

John

wherewasi

I wish I would have been able to get out here yesterday! I would have liked to ask Mr. Stauffer if he would honor the offer the Arpaio has reneged on to take on Mr. King in a hot dog eating contest...

LOL!

Thanks for doing this Mike. It's been very informative!

Mike Stauffer

A big thank you to the Phoenix New Times for hosting an all day, online Town-Hall with me yesterday. It was a great success, with many great questions. Word has it, the self named "toughest sheriff,"Joe Arpaio was invited to join the Town-Hall and quickly declined. It is however becoming quite evident that Arpaio is really not so "tough" but surprisingly shy and reclusive when asked to join me in debate and knowing he will be faced with questions on how to legitimately run the office of the sheriff. It's time to stop patting ourselves on the back with self imposed "titles" and get to work. The talk has been cheap for nearly 20 years. Let's get down to business, the business of keeping you and your family safe, solving 400+ child sex crimes Arpaio has dismissed, 40,000+ felony warrants Arpaio want's nothing to do with, and halting Arpaio's massive government style spending habits. I look forward to serving you as the next sheriff of Maricopa County.

Mike Stauffer

A big thank you to the Phoenix New Times for hosting an all day, online Town-Hall with me yesterday. It was a great success, with many great questions.

Word has it, the self named "toughest sheriff,"Joe Arpaio was invited to join the Town-Hall and quickly declined. It is however becoming quite evident that Arpaio is really not so "tough" but surprisingly shy and reclusive when asked to join me in debate and knowing he will be faced with questions on how to legitimately run the office of the sheriff.

It's time to stop patting ourselves on the back with self imposed "titles" and get to work. The talk has been cheap for nearly 20 years. Let's get down to business, the business of keeping you and your family safe, solving 400+ child sex crimes Arpaio has dismissed, 40,000+ felony warrants Arpaio want's nothing to do with, and halting Arpaio's massive style government spending habits.

Thanks to all of you for participating in this town-hall, and I would like to encourage you to keep asking me questions on my Facebook page, (Mike Stauffer for Maricopa County Sheriff) please also visit my website at www.votestauffer.com. It's time for a new sheriff. Thank you, Mike Stauffer, MCSO candidate-2012

Jason

Lt Stauffer:

How would you go about handling the 40,000 unserved felony warrants currently open in Maricopa County? Also, how would you work with the public to restore trust and faith in the MCSO?

I also have to ask what you would do about the MCSO's atrocious response times. How would you get deputies to respond to crimes faster while still maintaining excellent customer service?

Mike Stauffer

Jason: Thank you for brining this question to the post. I will reinstitute a Warrant Service Unit to focus on serving the outstanding warrants that have been helped by Arpaio in favor of his pet projects. After many years of neglect and malfeasance, it will take time and hard work to restore the faith of some people in the sheriff's office. I am prepared to take on the task of transforming the MCSO into a customer service oriented organization that will be responsive to the needs and concerns of the people of Maricopa County. Part of the transformation will involve a work load study to determine the appropriate staffing levels for the sheriff's areas of responsibility to reduce response times and still provide support to the other law enforcement agencies in Maricopa County.

Not Surprised

Mr. Stauffer,

Under Arpaio, MCSO's cases "cleared by exception" has risen to an unacceptable rate of 75-80%. What plans do you have to address this issue?

Also, do you plan to address the deficiencies/issues at our jails and reapply for NCCCHC accreditation?

Mike Stauffer

Not Surprised: Great question, thank you: I will see to it that the MCSO abides by the standards set for exceptional clearance status. The appalling practice of closing cases by exception without investigating or making an arrest and redirecting detectives to politically motivated cases will be ended. I will insure that the MCSO is fulfilling its responsibilities to the people of Maricopa County.I will prioritize the modernization and securing the MCSO jail facilities to provide constitutional and humane treatment of the inmates incarcerated in the jail facilities. I will seek the reinstatement of the jail facilities medical accreditation.

Mike Stauffer

I am back from my meeting and ready to start answering your questions over the next several hours right here on this "Live" Town-Hall. Any questions I am unable to respond to this evening will be answered in a post tomorrow morning by James King. If there are other questions you have for me please ask them on my Facebook page: Mike Stauffer for Maricopa County Sheriff. You may also wish to visit my website at www.votestauffer.com and as always feel free to call the campaign at 480.414.6868

Not Surprised

Mr. Stauffer,

The sheriff's posse has evolved (some might say devolved) from an addional law enforcement resource into Arpaio's political money machine organization.

What are your plans for the posse's role in your agency?

Not Surprised

Please disregard this question Mr. Stauffer, just read where you addressed this issue by a different post.

Phoenix Justice

Mr. Stauffer,

Would you support the creation of a Citizen Review Board to do away with "conflicts of interest" dealing with possible wrongdoing within the MCSO?

Mike Stauffer

Phoenix Justice: As I stated in an earlier response, I will foster an open, transparent atmosphere for the MCSO. Once this new philosophy is implemented, I would ask for some time for it to take hold before assessing the need for a citizen review board. Thanks for your question.

Gerry_C

Andrew Thomas was a 'friend' to Joe Arpaio and the MCSO during his tenure as County Attorney. I have an impression that the relationship between the two agencies was too close and was conflicted to where neither agency would call out the other for malfeasance. What do you believe is the appropriate professional working relationship between the MCAO and MCSO? Is the maintenance of the that relationship standard the duty of the Sheriff, County Attorney, or both?

Mike Stauffer

Garry_C: The County Attorney and the County Sheriff are officers of the county and it is appropriate to have a good working, professional relationship between the two offices. Both officers are responsible for maintaining this relationship. The County Attorney is authorized to prosecute cases that are investigated by the sheriff's office. I will maintain an open, professional, cooperative partnership with the County Attorney. Thanks again for your question.

Gerry_C

If you are elected Sheriff, how soon will we begin to see changes at MCSO? What changes should we expect to see in 90 days, 180 days, 1 year, 2 yrs and 4 yrs? How will you prioritize your changes/initiatives?

Mike Stauffer

Gary_C: Good question, thank you.Keeping in mind the 18 years of mismanagement that must be overcome, it may take a few months to implement major changes. However, I will implement immediate structural changes to the command staff. I will also be moving the sheriff and command staff offices from their current expensive rented space in the Wells Fargo building to a county facility that will be more accessible for the staff and the public.

Mike Stauffer

Thanks to all of you for the opportunity to address the many important questions in this forum. I must step away for another engagement for a bit but I will be back later to continue responding to your questions. Keep them coming.Mike Stauffer

Gerry_C

Attn: New Times,

Thank you for doing this. It is turning out to be a pretty good forum and could be repeated with Lt. Stauffer or replicated with others such as Mr. Lewis, etc.

James King

Gerry, glad we could do it. Thanks to Lt. Stauffer for his willingness to keep his head in a computer all day and make something like this work.

Not Surprised

Agreed.

I appreciate the access the NT and especially Mr. Stauffer offered to everyday citizens today. It's kind of like the old days when you could actually meet and shake hands with someone you're considering voting for.

It takes real character to respond to questions in a written format, instead of just spewing rhetoric at some fund raising/campaign event.

Not Surprised

I'd also like to see Arpaio participate in an identical event like today's, questions, answers, all of it.

Barbaraattwood

Hi Mike, if (hopefully) you are elected, will you stop the appalling abuses taking place in the County Jails?Barbara Attwood

Mike Stauffer

Barbaraattwood: Thank you for your question and encouragement. Yes, I will make it a priority to secure and modernize the MCSO jail facilities. I will insure that there are appropriate staffing levels in the facilities for the safety of both the detention officers and the inmates.

Deniseaz

Lt. Mike Stauffer ,

i have 2 questions , first , there is the issue of the Bus , and that tank thing, and other "toys", that Joe has spent countless money of the county on , the bus sits gathering dust , and that "tank" has been improperly used to destroy a man's home, then there are other things that are of great questionable nature, what will be your plans of these ?

next, i have been told that in Arizona , there is no such thing as a citizens review board . could be one reason Joe has been able to get away with alot of things ,and building his "empire" . i have no idea if what i was told is true or not, but if so, how would you feel about allowing a citizen's review board ?

Mike Stauffer

Denisaz:Thank you for bringing up the bus issue. This was an example of Arpaio violating state procurement laws. The Board of Supervisors refused to title the bus and be accomplices in this crime, so it sits in a county lot. I will assess the usefulness of this and other equipment that has been purchased. Items that are of no practical use to the MCSO's mission will be replaced with modern equipment appropriate for domestic law enforcement purposes.I will foster an open and transparent organization that is honest with the citizens and employees. Once the new philosophy of the MCSO is implemented and has some time to take hold, we will assess the need for a citizen oversight committee. My command staff and I will always be accessible to the people of Maricopa County.

Barbaraattwood

Dear Mr Stauffer,

My son, Shaun Attwood, spent 26 months in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s jail on drugs charges. He fully acknowledges that he committed a crime and deserved to be punished. So do I, his mother, but I was appalled by the inhumane conditions prevalent in Arpaio’s jails, and the lack of rehabilitation facilities.

Shaun once asked a guard how Sheriff Joe got away with such illegal jail conditions and was told that the world has no idea what goes on in here. Shaun decided he would let the world know. While still incarcerated he started to write a blog jonsjailjournal to highlight the atrocities in Arpaio’s jails. Fear of reprisals meant he had to smuggle his writing out of the jail with his legal papers. He sent it home to us, his parents, in the UK. We posted it anonomously on the Internet and it was only when the BBC and Guardian newspaper wrote articles about it that the blog attracted international media attention and Shaun went public.

It documents prisoners in cells with temperatures of up to 138 degrees, with only swamp coolers as air conditioning, sitting in pools of sweat, resulting in skin serious infections.

‘The temperature outside is 114 degrees. The trickle of air into our cells feels like hot air blowing from a hair dryer. We are soaked in sweat all day and night. It is difficult to write on this sweat-moistened paper. The majority now have skin infections and rashes, which persistently itch. My skin is so soggy from perspiration that when I scratch it the skin detaches and I end up with clumps of it under my fingernails. Currently, it is hard to stay conscious because the swamp cooler is barely blowing. Inmates are dropping like flies. Here, filth, squalor and disease are the norm.’

The cells are infested with cockroaches. The guards come in and spray the prisoners with chemicals that merely intoxicate the cockroaches.

‘Mark and I have used six tubes of AmerFresh toothpaste and six ounces of Razorless Beard Remover cementing cracks in the walls. The cockroaches still flood our cell every night and I have awoken numerous times this week to observe my hair stood on end and cockroaches crawling on my body.’

His blog tells of food containing parts of dead rats, gang violence, drug taking and death, inflicted on inmates by Arpaio’s guards as well as other prisoners, resulting in millions being paid out in law suits by the tax payers of Phoenix, as you are already aware. When Shaun started to write home about the conditions I could hardly believe that this was allowed to happen in America. If he had been arrested in a developing country it would have been unacceptable, but expected, not in America. Shaun spent all of his time in prison reading, writing and improving himself. He was self-motivated. Many of the inmates need a helping hand to motivate them to do something better with their lives, and to avoid criminal behaviour.

Appearing to be soft on crime is not popular, but I know that you are dedicated to making Maricopa County a better place for all its citizens, even those who may have broken the law, and I’m sure you will agree that treating inmates like animals, and keeping them in sub human conditions, will not make them better people. It is more likely to breed a hatred of authority and encourage anti-social behaviour, as the crime statistics in Phoenix prove. Tent City is a disgrace, and I agree with your plans to provide work and education for the inmates, rather than lying around where they are more likely to indulge in further criminal behaviour.

Since his release Shaun has written a book Hard Time which exposes human rights abuses by Sheriff Joe Arpaio in the Arizona jail system. The pink boxer shorts, prison stripes and return of chain gangs are well known in the media circus that is Joe Arpaio, and he is proud of his ‘tough on crime’ image, but I feel that most Americans would be shamed by the treatment of the unsentenced inmates in Arpaio’s care.

America was good to Shaun. He went to America a penniless student, having graduated from Liverpool University with a business degree. He worked hard and became a stock market millionaire, but then lost it all through involvement with the Rave scene and Ectasy. He served 6 years in total. He has been home for 3 years and has completely changed his life, and now talks to teenagers in schools and colleges about the dangers of going down that path. His book is a cautionary tale for young people. A teacher at one of the schools where he did his talk said it should be on the national curriculum.

Although I am deeply ashamed of the crimes my son committed, I am proud of the way he has rehabilitated himself. He gets constant emails from the students he talks to telling him how his talk has changed their lives. Since his release he has worked tirelessly writing Hard Time which was published in the USA by Skyhorse Publishing in May 2011 and published in the UK by Mainstream a division of Random House. I am taking the liberty of sending you a copy of the UK edition of Hard Time under separate cover, as I feel the contents may be of help to you.

We are an ordinary family from the north west of England. I am a retired teacher and my husband has a small insurance business. We were devastated when Shaun was arrested, and I had a nervous breakdown, but with the support of friends and family we got through it. It is a nightmare that could happen to any family. He has rehabilitated and redeemed himself through hard work, and if he can save other young people from getting involved in drugs our suffering will have been worth it.

I am a great admirer of your work, and what you are trying to achieve in Arizona, I hope you will help to stop the wrongs that are being purpetrated by Joe Arpaio and help to end this abuse. I wish you luck with your campaign, and although Shaun cannot return to America, if there is anything Shaun or I can do to help you in the pursuance of your election, please contact us.

Yours sincerely

Barbara Attwood

Phoenix Justice

Sheriff Arpaio has had a very adversarial relationship with the Board of Supervisors, especially when dealing with funding for the MCSO. Often times, when Sheriff Arpaio is "blocked" by the BoS, he has gone to his allies in the Legislature. Would you continue such an adversarial relationship with the BoS and would you run to the Legislature to do end runs around the BoS?

Mike Stauffer

Phoenix Justice: Thanks for this question as well. Remember that the sheriff is also an elected official in Maricopa County and is a co-equal officer of the county with the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors is responsible for the budget of the county and provides the budget to the sheriff's office. From there, the sheriff is responsible for the appropriation of funds to run the office within the confines of the law. Arpaio has not done any "end arounds" so much as he has broken state procurement laws. I will foster a cooperative, mutually productive relationship with the Board, keeping the common goal of the economic well-being of the county in mind.

Phoenix Justice

Mr. Stauffer,

For years Sheriff Arpaio has garnered both positive and negative press attention regarding his treatment of pre-trial detainees, especially in regards to food (green bologna). Do you plan on continuing the current practices in regards to pre-trial detainees?

Mike Stauffer

Phoenix Justice: Good question. The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. It also provides guarantees of fair, equal, and humane treatment for those who are incarcerated. I will bring the MCSO jail facilities up to constitutional standards of treatment. The serving of spoiled food to inmates is not in keeping with our American standards of treatment. Improper treatment also has led to the filing of over 6000 lawsuits by inmates and their families against the MCSO. I will insure that pre-trial inmates are segregated from those who have already been sentenced. I will improve the classification of inmate threat levels to insure the safety of our detention officers, the inmates, and the public.

Alvarado9001

Mr. Stauffer:

If elected Sheriff of Maricopa County, how would you handle illegal immigration enforcement differently from Arpaio?

Mike Stauffer

Alvarado9001: Thank you for the question. I will work in a cooperative and mutually supportive relationship with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to tackle the issues of immigration enforcement. MCSO will, once again, participate with other agencies to conduct investigations and obtain intelligence to effectively apprehend human smugglers, drug smugglers, weapons smugglers, etc. We will also cooperate with other agencies in enforcing employer sanction laws. I will not sacrifice the priority of public safety in Maricopa County for headline grabbing, reality show theatrics that have no impact on the crime rate or illegal immigration.

West K

Mike's campaign manager here, West Kenyon. Thanks to everyone for all the great questions. Keep them coming and invite other to join in. May I make one request. If you have a follow up question to one of Lt. Stauffer's responses would you please post as a completely new question. We will not be able to continually go back to check for replays and we want to make sure we address all your questions. Thank you again!

Gerry_C

Almost certainly, you will not seek as much press as the present Sheriff does. What do you feel is the appropriate level of press coverage for MCSO? How many staff will it take to produce such a coverage level? Will you be continuing the Herculean tradition of 2 - 3 speeches a day that the present Sheriff maintains? Will your press releases report negative news from the MCSO as well as positive news?

Mike Stauffer

Gary: It is said that one of the more dangerous places in Maricopa County to be is between Arpaio and a camera. I will not be jumping in front of every camera that comes along or conducting attention getting stunts for their own sake. Realistically speaking, I will have to hold off on determining an appropriate size for a staff in that office. MCSO is the third largest sheriff's office in the country and may require a sufficient staff to handle media, press releases, and information releases. I will always be honest and open with the people of Maricopa County and the employees of the organization. Thank you for your question

FormerRepublican

Lt. Stauffer: Arpaio has, throughout his history with MCSO left many, many employees on "administrative leave" earning a full paycheck while he "investigates" whatever matter he claims he's investigating. In the case of Joel Fox, this has been going on a year. Hendershott was on PAID STATUS for about that long. What are your thoughts on the duration of administrative leave? Can you streamline the process to either get these folks cleared or get rid of them?

Mike Stauffer

FormerRepublican: Great question.The reason Arpaio has continued the Fox investigation is to obstruct the full release of the Pinal County investigation report. Using the excuse of an ongoing internal investigation to aid in a cover-up is unethical and illegal. Internal investigations should be handled in an expedited manner. When appropriate, the employee in question should be notified of an investigation and be provided with a specific timeline for the investigation's completion. If the investigation is extended, it should be done so for specific reasons and the employee notified. In my experience, generally a timeline of 90 days with the ability to extend in 30 day increments is sufficient for most internal investigations.Internal investigations with a criminal element to them should be put on hold until the criminal investigation and all applicable actions (grand jury, trial, etc.) are completed. Those employees facing criminal court proceedings should be placed on leave to protect the integrity of the agency.This is all speaking in general terms since these investigations can take some time and everyone's rights (Constitutional and employment) must be respected.

Toad51560

Mr. Stauffer

What are your plans for all the outstanding warrants in this county?

Mike Stauffer

Toad51560: Great question: I will reinstate a Warrant Service Unit to focus on clearing the backlog of outstanding warrants.

FormerRepublican

What a fantastic way to reach out to readers/voters!

Lt. Stauffer: Some MCSO employees have also been allowed to hold very lucrative contracts for security and or other law enforcement type "after hour" jobs. In the case of Aaron Brown, a $500,000 contract was given to him by the Fiesta Bowl....what can you tell us about your ideas for making sure that people like Aaron Brown, Joel Fox or Larry Black don't make money on the side while sitting at their desks? What seems appropriate to you?

Mike Stauffer

FormerRepublican: Thank you for the question: The ethical concern here is are these employees receiving extra compensation for performing their duties. I believe that a revamping of the "extra-duty" and "off-duty" policies of MCSO to include reviews and disclosures of these side jobs is in order. This will insure that employees are not earning extra compensation for performing duties for which they are already employed. All off-duty employment will be cleared through the sheriff's office by an "off-duty" coordinator. All side jobs will be authorized through the office of the sheriff to prevent any conflicts.

Phoenix Justice

Mr. Stauffer,

Thank you for answering my earlier question.

I consider "Tent City" to be an abomination created as a media ploy to project the image that Sheriff Arpaio is the "toughest sheriff". I also know that to state publicly that one wishes to close "Tent City" to be the death knell for anyone wishing to become Sheriff. I also know that in your previous interview with New Times that you had no plans to close "Tent City". My question is, why not close this concentration camp that serves no real or ethical purpose in the incarceration of convicted criminals?

http://phoenixjustice.blogspot...

Furthermore, do you intend to improve the conditions for those who are in the various jails in the MCSO system that are awaiting trial?

Mike Stauffer

Phoenix Justice:You are welcome. In response to your most recent question: The original purpose for the tent city facility was to alleviate overcrowding at the various facilities without having to release inmates prematurely. It was also intended to be a money saving project.

Clearly, this facility is not saving money due to the numerous lawsuit payouts for inhumane conditions.

I will have to assess the continued need for this facility as I understand the MCSO inmate population has been on the decline for a number of years.

I also see a purpose to maintaining a more secure and modernized version of a military-camp style facility for first-time and low risk classified inmates. I believe that this segment of the inmate population will be more likely to benefit from this type of incarceration than some of the more hardened repeat offenders.

Joseph Fuller

Mike,In 2008 the Goldwater Institute wrote a scathing report on MCSO under Arpaio called “Mission Unaccomplished”. In its Executive Summary it points out “The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is responsible for vitally important law-enforcement functions in one of the largest counties in the nation. It defines its core missions as law-enforcement services, support services, and detention. MCSO falls seriously short of fulfilling its mission in all three areas.” Can you list your top priorities in fixing each of these areas? http://www.goldwaterinstitute....

Mike Stauffer

Joseph, Thank you for your question. I have read the GWI report and agree with its conclusions. I will prioritize the law-enforcement services of the MCSO back to the unincorporated areas of the county, the county islands, and the contract towns and cities that have been woefully neglected during Arpaio’s administration. I will conduct a workload study of the agency to determine the staffing levels needed to reduce response times and provide adequate coverage. I will also work with the other law enforcement and governmental agencies in Maricopa County to insure compatibility and cooperation to provide effective support to their missions. I will also focus on modernizing and securing the detention facilities to provide safe, effective, secure, and humane incarceration conditions. This includes providing adequate detention officer staffing in the facilities.

Lafinguy

Mike, my entire family is behind you and I'd just like to know, what can we do for YOU to assist in your success at becoming the next sheriff for Maricopa County? We are not Republican's, therefore cannot sign your petition. However, we are encouraging our GOP friends to do so. I'd like to do more.

Mike Stauffer

Hi, Lafinguy...Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. The most important support would be to continue getting the word out about my campaign to bring an end to this corrupt, ineffective regime. Keep encouraging your Republican and Independent friends to support us. Also, you may still help with signature collection and financial support regardless of your party affiliation.

Wondering

Mr. Stauffer,How do you plan to get the staff large as it is to buy into having a new boss and new way of doing things? It seems to me this could be the toughest job of all.

Mike Stauffer

Wondering:Thank you for the question:The great majority of the staff at MCSO is made up of law enforcement professionals who understand the chain of command and how to adapt to new policies. In addition, I will conduct a strategic planning process that will include the chance for everyone to provide input into changes they would like to see in the agency. This will instill an atmosphere of ownership and responsibility for the agency.

Carl Toersbijns

MCSO is like the Titanic....the only way it will get better is to steer it in the right direction with small changes at a time for the difficulties of turning a big ship around is well known to be a failing proposition. good luck Mike,, I know you can do it with the right internal and external support to transition change.