The buck stops...where?

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has put a hold on Arpaio's money allotted for illegal immigration enforcement. This signals a large political shift of support in this distinctly party line divided state.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2009/04/01/20090401immigmoney.html

This isn't the first time that the County Board of Supervisors has placed themselves in the news. In fact the Board was the very body that was holding hearings on the jail segregation policies.

While it is true that the Board of Supervisors may be sincerely concerned, politics in this state is a different beast. Very few in public office are humble in regards to the press. Political "pissing contests," are quite frequent. I can't help but wonder if this is a real moral concern of the board (immigration policy and/or excess spending) or if the board is reaching for 15 more minutes of the public's attention.

The board would not be the only participants. This weekend I attended an animal adoption event in arguably the most affluent part of Maricopa County, Fountain Hills. While the wonderful non-profit who puts on these events works with the Sheriff on all of their adoption events across the county, Sheriff Arpaio chose only this event to attend. Microphone in hand he reminded the gathered "fellow animal lovers," of all the glorious accomplishments he has had as Sheriff... except for the most appropriate boasting. He mentioned nothing of his policy and dedication to helping the stray and abused animals of this county, something that one must commend him for no matter how they feel about any of his other policies. Why would he not mention all of his hard work for animals at an event by an organization that his support has helped immensely? Why would he only show up to the event in the wealthiest part of the county? Maybe I heard wrong and the speakers distorted the speech I heard from 50 feet away, but from my position Joe Arpaio's rhetoric sounded distinctly like a speech at a campaign fundraiser.