Paul Babeu

Last updated

On October 23, 2011, Babeu announced the formation of an exploratory committee to run for U.S. Congress in what would become Arizona's newly redrawn 4th congressional district. [23] He ran against one-term representative Paul Gosar, who had been elected to the state's 1st congressional district in 2010.

The following February, Jose Orozco, who was an undocumented immigrant, claimed that Babeu and Orozco had been lovers since meeting in 2006 on an online dating site. Orozco claimed that Babeu had known that he was an illegal alien while they were lovers, at odds with Babeu's views on immigration policy. After the relationship ended, Orozco claims that Babeu threatened Orozco with deportation to guarantee his silence. Orozco claimed his statements are documented in copies of email and SMS correspondence between Orozco and Babeu. [24]

A spokesman for Babeu denied the allegations and described them as "sensationalist". The spokesman confirmed that Babeu would continue to run for U.S. Congress. [25] Babeu came out as gay on February 18, 2012, saying that his sexual orientation was the only factual statement from the allegations. [26] Babeu stepped down as co-chair of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in Arizona, but received the continued support of U.S. Senator John McCain, who called Babeu his friend. [27]

Babeu dropped his congressional bid on May 11, 2012; instead he sought re-election as sheriff. [28] He was re-elected by a large margin on November 6, 2012. [29]

On August 31, 2012, the Arizona solicitor general exonerated Babeu after an investigation. In a written statement, he wrote "The investigation determined that Babeu did not commit any criminal violations and further concluded that, although Orozco conducted himself in a manner that may constitute a violation of the law, there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction on anything more than a misdemeanor charge. It would be an inappropriate use of already-limited resources to prosecute Orozco for a misdemeanor." [30]

2016 congressional election

Babeu ran for Arizona's 1st congressional district in the 2016 elections. The district's incumbent representative, Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, did not seek re-election as she instead ran for the U.S. Senate. [31] On August 30, 2016, Babeu was declared the winner of the Republican primary. He faced Democrat Tom O'Halleran in the general election. [32] O'Halleran defeated Babeu, receiving 51% of the vote to Babeu's 44%. [33]

Departure from office

Babeu's tenure as sheriff ended on January 1, 2017, after his term expired. Republican Mark Lamb succeeded Babeu as sheriff. [34] [35]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Steller, Tim; McCombs, Brady (May 23, 2010). "Babeu is new face of Arizona sheriffs". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  2. Edythe Jensen (November 20, 2008). "Sheriff-elect Babeu won't finish year with Chandler police". azcentral.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  3. "Babeu says he was victim of priest abuse". KTAR.com. March 3, 2011.
  4. "Arizona sheriff Paul Babeu, originally from Western Mass., resigns from Mitt Romney's Arizona campaign after misconduct allegations by former lover". The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts) . February 20, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 PCSO (November 24, 2011). "About Sheriff Paul Babeu". PCSO. Archived from the original on November 10, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 "Border Boletín: Who is Paul Babeu?". azstarnet.com. May 23, 2010. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  7. "MA State Senate – Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire & Franklin Race". Our Campaigns. November 5, 1996. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  8. "It's official: Barrett and Babeu will square off again in race for mayor of North Adams". iberkshires.com. August 8, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  9. "Babeu kicks off his campaign with event at the Holiday Inn". iberkshires.com. September 19, 2001. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  10. 1 2 Robert Anglen, Ronald J. Hansen and Sean Holstege (March 1, 2012). "Legal trouble dogged Mass. private school led by Babeu". The Arizona Republic . Gannett. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  11. Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (November 2001). "Massachusetts Office of Child Care Services vs DeSisto School Inc and A. Michael Desisto" (PDF). ABC15.com. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  12. Dave Biscobing; Mark LaMet; Maria Tomasch (June 24, 2013). "Documents: Babeu ran private boarding school with history of physical abuse". ABC15.com. The E.W. Scripps Co. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  13. pinalcountyaz.gov (November 12, 2008). "Pinal County 2008 General Election Results". pinalcountyaz.gov. Archived from the original on December 15, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  14. pinalcountyaz.gov (2009). "2009–2010 Pinal County Budget Book". pinalcountyaz.gov. Retrieved November 25, 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. "Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu Elected to Second Term as President of Arizona Sheriff's Association". PhoenixNewTimes.com. January 20, 2011. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  16. National Sheriffs' Association (June 19, 2011). "Sheriff of the Year". sheriffs.org. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  17. Collom, Lindsay (January 28, 2011). "Paul Babeu named 2011 Sheriff of the Year". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  18. 1 2 SheriffPaul.com (November 24, 2011). "Meet Paul". sheriffpaul.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  19. mccain.senate.gov (April 20, 2010). "Senators McCain and Kyl Announce Border Security Plan". mccain.senate.gov. Archived from the original on August 14, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  20. JJ Hensley (April 14, 2011). "Joe Arpaio aide investigation finished by Babeu". azcentral.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  21. Dennis Wagner (May 19, 2012). "Pinal Sheriff's Office stockpiles, prepares to sell military equipment". The Arizona Republic . Gannett, azcentral.com. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  22. Dennis Wagner (August 20, 2014). "Police in combat gear stir criticism". The Arizona Republic . Gannett Company. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
  23. azredistricting.org (November 24, 2011). "Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission". azredistricting.org. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  24. Monica Alonzo (February 16, 2012). "Paul Babeu's Mexican Ex-Lover Says Sheriff's Attorney Threatened Him With Deportation (Phoenix New Times)". Phoenixnewtimes.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  25. Catanese, David (February 18, 2012). "Babeu bombshell: Gay relationship & deportation threats, report says". Politico . Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  26. Martin, Nick R. (February 18, 2012). "Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu Angrily Denies Ex-Boyfriend's Accusations". TPM. Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  27. "Will recent allegations damage Babeu's political future?". KTVK. February 19, 2012. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  28. Sheriff Babeu Abandons Race for Arizona Congressional Seat. Fox News Latino. May 11, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  29. Lockhart, Larry (November 7, 2012). "Pinal County: Babeu leads GOP push". Casa Grande Dispatch. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  30. Sanders, Rebekah L.; Collum, Lindsey (August 31, 2012). "Pinal Sheriff Paul Babeu exonerated". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  31. Wong, Scott (October 5, 2015). "Arizona sheriff launches bid for Congress". The Hill . Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  32. Morales, Laurel (August 31, 2016). "It's Republican Paul Babeu And Democrat Tom O'Halleran In Monstrous CD-1 Race". KJZZ. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  33. "Democrat Tom O'Halleran defeats Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu in CD-1". ABC 15. November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  34. Eduardo Santiago, 3 best known Arizona sheriffs out in new year Archived January 4, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (January 3, 2017).
  35. Ronald J. Hansen, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu mum on plans after leaving office, The Arizona Republic (November 9, 2016).
Paul Babeu
Paul Babeu by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Babeu in December 2011
Sheriff of Pinal County
In office
January 1, 2009 January 1, 2017
Civic offices
Preceded by
Chris Vasquez
Sheriff of Pinal County
2009–2017
Succeeded by