Joe Arpaio speaking at a Donald Trump campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona, June 18, 2016. (Photo: Gage Skidmore)
In the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential victory, the activists in Arizona whose movement unseated immigration hardliner Sheriff Joe Arpaio are providing one glimmer of good news to progressive organizers across the nation.
Arpaio, who has held the Maricopa County Sheriff position since 1993, lost his re-election bid to his Democratic opponent, Paul Penzone, by a 10-point margin. Arpaio is perhaps the most prominent and outspoken immigration hardliner in the country other than President-elect Donald Trump. In late October, Arpaio was charged with criminal contempt for ignoring a 2011 court order to cease conducting the racial-profiling-based immigration arrests that made him a national figure. He faces six months of jail time if convicted, but if Trump’s comments from an August rally are to be believed, Arpaio could soon find a national role under a Trump administration.
Local community groups organized under the name “Bazta Arpaio” (“basta” means “enough” in Spanish) and coalesced around his antagonism of the local Latino population to campaign explicitly against his re-election bid. Arpaio’s loss is, in part, due to the thousands of doors knocked by Bazta Arpaio volunteers. “We won this [through] battle,” Norma Jimenez, an undocumented organizer with Bazta Arpaio, told Truthout. “Our community knew what was at stake and made sure to vote for a new day that didn’t include Sheriff Arpaio!”
Over at Penzone’s end-of-campaign rally, the former Phoenix city police officer delivered a victory speech to supporters, making reference to the xenophobia that had long been connected to Arpaio. “We made a statement across the nation. Arizona stands for something greater — that no matter where we come from, or what we look like, or what our beliefs are, we’re all entitled to respect,” he said. However, these promises of an end to racial profiling may be difficult to keep…