The front page picture in today's Arizona Republic (Monday, June 8) couldn't have been more apt. Five legislators standing or sitting around awaiting, as the caption tells us, for "a House vote Thursday on a
budget."That's what most Arizona legislators have been doing for the past five months: Awaiting instructions from their so-called leadership on what budget to pass. It's a sorry story of democracy crippled by inertia and in the hands of a few people. The result is a Republican legislative budget package that is a disgrace; an assault on basic services while protecting special interests.
The Arizona Republic has done a credible job the last week or two in providing information on how the budget plans of Gov. Brewer, the Legislature's Democrats and the Legislature's Republican majority differ. But the newspaper has failed, so far, to give any accounting of what rank-and-file legislators have been doing for five months.
I ask because my two District 21 Representatives, Warde Nichols and Steven Yarbrough (both shown doing nothing in the picture) have been strangely quiet. (Nichols did surface briefly to help grab more tax dollars for private schools and his own private businesses). With all the idle time these past five months, why weren't they holding forums within the district educating taxpapers on the issues involved in the multi-year budget crisis, and soliciting suggestions on proper priorities.
That's what an involved, active State Representative would be doing. I regret that I don't have one in District 21, and I'm afraid many other Arizona taxpayers have the same problem.
In Novemeber 2006, Dowling was indicted on 25 felony charges, including bid rigging, misuse of public funds and the theft of $1.9 million in public money.
At the time, Sheriff Joseph Arpaio labelled her actions as "repulsive."
So, please tell me how we go from a repulsive public official stealing millions to one who is allowed to plead guilty to a wrist-slapping misdemeanor (giving her daughter a summer job) in full satisfaction of all the charges?
Something had to be woefully wrong somewhere along the way.
The Sheriff's Department spent 11 months investigating this case. Was the investigation badly flawed or, as Dowling charges in a lawsuit, were the two-dozen-plus charges an outrageous example of "malicious prosecution and abuse of process"?
And what about the prosecutor's role. Was County Attorney Andrew Thomas and his staff bamboozled by the charges. Couldn't they see an incredibly weak case, and shouldn't they have done some weeding in November 2006 rather than presenting the whole load -- garbage and legitimate questions about Dowling's conduct -- to a Grand Jury for indictments? Or was Thomas involved in a malicious prosecution conspiracy with Arpaio?
These questions need to be answered because they go to the heart of how justice is administered in Maricopa County. That's why I hope Dowling goes forward with her lawsuit. Unfortunately, I fear that we'll see a huge settlement, requiring county taxpayers to pay millions in exchange for no public disclosure of information.
That would be a miscarriage of justice. We need to know, one way or another, whether we can trust what goes on in the Sheriff's Department and the County Attorney's Office when it comes to investigating other public officials.
Are Arpaio and Thomas dedicated public servants going where evidence takes them or are they creeps using their elected offices to get back at political opponents -- possibly through illegal means? (I suppose there is a middle ground: They could be dedicated public servants who are just inept at building a case that could stand up at trial.)
Let's hope we find out soon.