By Randy Parraz | Point of View
During his tenure as Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio unleashed a reign of terror on immigrant communities targeting those he perceived as undocumented.
For those of us who dared to challenge Sheriff Arpaio publicly, many of us were unjustly arrested and prosecuted for crimes we did not commit. After the passage of SB 1070—I led the historic recall to oust the senate president and author of SB 1070. Sheriff Arpaio and his then-Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan, relied on SB 1070 to racially profile drivers and to conduct violent and targeted worksite raids throughout Maricopa County.
Moderate Republicans, Democrats, and Independents came together to defeat State Sen. Russell Pearce and his extremist policies on healthcare, public education, and immigration. Arizonans stood up and said they didn’t want extremists representing them. Rather than learn from what happened to his close ally Sen. Pearce, Sheriff Arpaio continued his extremist agenda until the voters removed him from office in 2016.
When radical and extreme leaders are allowed to remain in office it weakens our economy, disrupts our political institutions, and puts communities at risk.
The years since Joe Arpaio and Jerry Sheridan’s ouster have been better. Sheriff Penzone did meaningful work to address many of Arpaio’s failures. However, there is still much work to be done to rebuild trust, especially in the Latino community.
Come November, Arizonans have a choice. Do we continue to build on Sheriff Penzone’s progress by electing Tyler Kamp? Or do we go backward and elect Jerry Sheridan, who served as the chief deputy to the most sued Sheriff in America—a sheriff whose illegal practices and policies have now resulted in over $300 million of taxpayers’ money wasted?
As a reminder, Jerry Sheridan helped lead the unconstitutional raids on Latino communities. He was a proponent of the “show me your papers” law and according to internal MCSO documents, has allegedly used racist language to describe people of color. The Department of Justice cracked down through court orders and appointed a federal monitor to oversee the department’s compliance.
To this day, MCSO is still working to fully comply with the directives outlined in the court decree.
We all remember the Arpaio era. And when it came time for the rule of law to convict and punish Arpaio, President Trump intervened and pardoned him. Jerry Sheridan is a younger version of Sheriff Arpaio and he recently appeared on stage to support Donald Trump and his extremist agenda. Jerry Sheridan—a man found in contempt of court and who is now seeking to be Maricopa County’s top law enforcement officer—actively stumps for a convicted felon running to be president of the United States. This should be disqualifying.
That is why we must elect Tyler Kamp. He is a highly decorated former police officer who embraces prioritizing trust between law enforcement and constituencies. Tyler Kamp will ensure the completion of the requirements brought by the court orders, solve MCSO staffing issues, and guarantee justice for all.
He will keep politics out of the sheriff’s office and will build on programs championed by Sheriff Penzone to provide opportunities for inmates to have the tools and resources they need to make sure they don’t become repeat offenders. Tyler Kamp has international law enforcement experience, managerial expertise, and the vision we deserve in Maricopa County.
So, I implore the community as this election approaches, let us go forward not backward. Elect Tyler Kamp as our next sheriff of Maricopa County.
Editor’s Note: Randy Parraz is a Community Organizer and activist. He was the co-founder and president of Citizens for a Better Arizona, the group that led the Russell Pearce recall campaign in response to SB1070. He previously served as the executive director of the Arizona Education Association and Arizona State Director for the AFL-CIO.
