Not long ago I sat in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office listening to a litany of complaints which had nothing to do with the story at hand.
Any time I interview Sheriff Arpaio, it generally goes like this. The media is out to get him. Liberals are out to get him. The mayor is out to get him. County Supervisors are out to get him. He's just enforcing the law.
I was there to do a story about the Sheriff's MASH unit, a program which continues to help abused and neglected animals.
I wasn't there to get him.
I happened to mention the name of County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox. I had heard the Sheriff was investigating her.
"Huh, huh," he said. "You just wait."
Of course we didn't have to wait long. Turns out the investigation was already underway, and just the latest chapter in the ongoing feud pitting the Sheriff, and County Attorney Andrew Thomas, against the Board of Supervisors, especially Wilcox, and Don Stapley.
We learned this week that the two sides have spent more than a million dollars (so far) suing each other, a sum that would easily fund nearly a couple dozen county jobs, according to County Manager David Smith.
There are skirmishes everywhere. The county attorney claims the supervisors are trying to create a "shadow" office of attorneys who would work outside the scope of his authority. The Supervisors have held up funding for immigration enforcement, and registering one of the Sheriff's buses. The Sheriff took the unusual step of videotaping an indictment service on Supervisor Stapley, then released it to the media.
Lawsuits have followed, and because the county can't represent itself in its own civil war, private attorneys have racked up lots of billable hours.
C'mon people.
You serve us.
You're spending our money.
Cut it out.
One would think that as public servants and professionals you could work out your differences through mediation, or merely sitting down at a table to resolve these issues face to face. Instead, you're acting like spoiled children by sending your lawyers to do your bidding and sending the bill to taxpayers.
