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PHOENIX — Joe Arpaio, the 90-year-old former Arizona sheriff who was a once powerful figure in Republican politics but was ousted nearly six years ago amid frustration over his headline-grabbing tactics and legal troubles, was defeated Wednesday in a race for mayor of the affluent suburb where he has lived for more than two decades.
His loss in Fountain Hills’ mayor’s race against Ginny Dickey, a two-term incumbent marks Arpaio’s third unsuccessful comeback attempt since his 2016 defeat after serving 24 many years as Maricopa County sheriff.
The political stakes of running in Fountain Hills, a Republican-heavy town of 24,000, were much lower for Arpaio than when he served as the top law enforcer of a county of over 4 million people.
Arpaio lost to a Democratic challenger 2016. He was convicted of criminal contempt for refusing to comply with a judge’s order stopping traffic patrols targeting immigrants. However, he was pardoned later by the then-President Donald Trump.
Arpaio finished third in an Republican primary to a U.S. Senate Seat in 2018, and second in the GOP Primary in a 2020 attempt to win the sheriff’s position.
In his two previous comebacks, Arpaio was defeated in Fountain Hills.
Arpaio, a skilled political fundraiser who spent more than $12 million in his 2016 sheriff’s campaign, has shelled out $161,000 in the mayor’s race – six times the amount spent by Dickey.
Before the federal government and courts removed his immigration powers Arpaio led 20 traffic patrols targeting immigrants. He also conducted more than 80 raids on businesses to arrest people who were working illegally in the United States.
While his defiance was a popular trait with voters over many years, Arpaio came under heavy fire for adopting policies that were not in the public’s best interests and for racking up $147 millions in taxpayer-funded legal costs.
Although he claimed to be America’s toughest sheriff, his agency failed to investigate more than 400 sexual-crimes complaints that were made to him.
