Critics Want to Dump Dupnik After Comments

Wednesday, 02 February 2011 17:43

A campaign is underway, organized by conservative activists in Tucson, to recall Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik in response to divisive
comments made in the wake of the Tucson shooting on Jan 8. Dupnik, who became sheriff in 1980 and has never failed to be reelected,
denounced Arizona as a "mecca for prejudice and bigotry," and observedan "atmosphere of hatred and bigotry" in Arizona's politics. The
statements were made at a press conference at the University Medical Center following the shooting, and have galvanized many of the sheriff's
critics.

In the weeks that followed, a website sprung up at www.dumpsheriffdupnik.com, which lists a donation target of $100,000. Several organizations are working together to circulate a petition which would call upon the Department of Elections to issue a recall election, with the effort headed by Dan Baltes, an activist from Salt Lake City who has taken a particular interest in Dupnik. The petition requires 98,260 signatures to advance, or 25% of the number of people in Pima who voted in the last general election.

"It's about taking a stance against the statements he made," said Dan Baltes, Executive Director of Americans Against Immigration Amnesty and the man behind the recall website, "statements which were irresponsible and had no basis in any fact. It's not what law enforcement officers should do when inserting themselves into politics." However, when asked if Dupnik's achievements during 30 years of serving as Pima's sheriff were reflected in the decision to try and recall him, Utah-based Baltes said that "as far as his performance, we don't have much information about it. Prior to us being involved, prior to his comments, I didn't even know who Dupnik was."

The debate over whether or not an official of Dupnik's stature should be making politically charged observations has stirred up similar sentiment in many of Tucson's conservative voices, who join the critics mobilizing against him. On Jan 31, the Pima County Tea Party Patriots held a rally in front of the Pima County Sheriff's Department, with petitions being handed around. About 100 people attended, many of whom hoisted signs that said "Dump Dupnik" and "Tucson, Take a Stand".

"We held a rally because of his outrageous comments about conservative voices being the cause of the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords. We believe he is exploiting the incident to silence opposing political voices. We want to let him know that we will not be silenced," said Allyson Miller, founder of the Pima County Tea Party Patriots. The group is not officially affiliated with the Tucson Tea Party, but is a grassroots organization with about 500 members. Their role in the recall so far has been to help coordinate events such as the Dupnik rally, and to help the Pima County Republican Party handpick a candidate to run against him in the next election, which will be held in 2012.

Dupnik's comments have drawn consternation from all over Arizona, and indeed, put him briefly on the national stage. Among those who believe Dupnik overstepped his bounds as a law enforcement official is U.S. Rep. John Kavanagh (R-Ariz), who weighed in on the comments.

"I think the sheriff spoke before all the facts were available, and after they were available, he misspoke. What happened in the shooting, these were clearly the actions of a deeply mentally disturbed person driven by demons within his head and driven very little by things occurring outside."

Activists say that it is still too early to set a timetable for the recall effort, but Baltes said that "We have about 200 volunteers gathering signatures, businesses putting petitions out for people to sign, right now I'm extremely optimistic this will be successful."

Baltes has submitted all the requisite paperwork which allows him to spearhead the petition campaign, even though he is a Salt Lake City resident. Baltes himself is not permitted to sign the petition, however. He is supported in his effort by two groups run locally, AZ Tourist News and Black Weapons Armory.

Sheriff Dupnik could not be reached for comment at this time.

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