Last week, I received a news release from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's campaign manager Chad Willems. The email explained that every day for the last few years, a group of protesters has gathered outside Arpaio's downtown Phoenix office at lunchtime to protest against him.
In the interest of having some fun with his foes (and because he’s raised the unprecedented sum of $8 million for his re-election campaign, he can afford to) Arpaio has commissioned a billboard at the corner where the protesters gather. It features a picture of Arpaio and the words "Sheriff Joe Arpaio is Watching ... Out for Us All."
Thursday morning, I was at the campaign office of Arpaio's Democratic challenger Paul Penzone conducting an interview. Whenever I'm interviewing someone I put my cell phone on silent and stick it in my bag. After the interview, I checked my phone as I walked out to my car and noticed I had a voicemail.
I checked the voicemail, only to discover ... it was a robocall asking me to cast a vote for Sheriff Joe Arpaio! Somehow, he knew I was at his challenger's office. The billboard is right -- Arpaio really must be watching.
