Maricopa County has a new sheriff in town.
Democrat Paul Penzone beat long-standing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio Tuesday in a campaign that featured plenty of attacks on both sides.
There's a new sheriff in town. @AZDemParty reacts to @Penzone4sheriff named winner of MCSO race #abc15 pic.twitter.com/J1DvJ9YfkM
— Nohelani Graf (@NoheG) November 9, 2016
Arpaio, who has been sheriff since 1993, is still in the midst of criminal contempt charges for continuing to profile Latino drivers after a federal judge barred him from doing so.
Polls had Penzone up in recent weeks -- and Grammy Award-winning singer John Legend even stumped for the former Phoenix police officer.
Arpaio represented the last vestige of a movement started a decade ago by Arizona politicians who advocated for local police to crack down on illegal immigration.
He attached himself to Donald Trump, but the alliance could not overshadow what became a repudiation of Arpaio's mounting legal woes and costs to taxpayers stemming from his traffic patrols targeting immigrants.
His downfall proved partly tied to the criminal contempt-of-court charge.
