Thomas’s record will win out over smears

An op-ed in the East Valley Tribune from Thomas's Special Assistant Barnett Lotstein, in response to some recent guest columns bashing Thomas.

Andrew Thomas’ opponents face a daunting task. How do they convince Maricopa County voters to throw out of office a popular prosecutor who has set the standard nationally for tough policies on crime and illegal immigration? They’ve already pulled out one of their last trump cards: using their connections in the media to try to smear him...
No prosecutor in America can claim the record of success and innovation Thomas has established over the past four years. Among his many achievements, he’s instituted arguably the toughest prosecution policies in the nation for violent criminals and sex offenders. His crackdown on repeat offenders has single-handedly sent thousands of additional career criminals to prison. Thomas enforced this policy even over the strong objections of Napolitano, who didn’t want to pay the extra prison costs. After all these reforms, his office still enjoys a 93 percent conviction rate.
....He essentially bases his entire article on the claim that Thomas should disclose something to the voters: that he owes Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio a “pretty significant political debt” because Arpaio endorsed him for county attorney in 2004. Oops. Arpaio endorsed nobody for Maricopa County attorney in 2004.
Will the Tribune do its readers a favor and reassign this partisan hack’s column to somebody who can at least get his facts straight and comply with journalistic ethics?

Read more