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I am sure some people are really angry that Larry Naman is a lousy shot!!!!
Oh the pain...now where's my million bucks? Oh the pain of it. The unrelenting unholy horror. The sheer terror that it must be to serve as a Maricopa County supervisor. Fortunately, the dark times have ended for our intrepid leaders. Heads have rolled and now it’s time to cue the wheelbarrows. Roll ‘em right on up to the county treasury. It’s payback time! Never mind that the ones who will do the paying (and paying and paying) are us. On Thursday, Maricopa County Manager David Smith recommended paying off several of the judges, politicians and county employees who have demanded that we ease their pain and their suffering at the sullied hands of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the now disbarred ex-county attorney, Andrew Thomas. At the front of parade is none other than Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, who is wheeling the biggest barrow of them all thus far, one deep enough to hold nearly $1 million, courtesy of you and me. Can Supervisor Don Stapley be far behind? It’s one thing to pay off rank-and-file county employees, the ones caught in the middle of the county wars. But it’s galling to think that a politician supported by voters for three decades would now expect those same voters to give her a cool million bucks. Wilcox didn’t return a call to explain how scoring at the expense of the constituents she claims to serve will ease her suffering. In their lawsuit against us, she and husband Earl claim their reputations are in tatters, their various enterprises have suffered and that they are emotional wrecks. Mary Rose, in particular, is devastated by the loss of her Golden Rule in Government Award – an honor withdrawn by the Arizona InterFaith Movement after she was indicted -- while both are upset that their restaurant went belly up during the summer of 2010. “Before the Wilcoxes were wrongfully investigated and harassed and before Mary Rose was wrongfully indicted and sued by the Defendants, El Portal was a great economic success,” their lawsuit says. I don’t suppose its failure could have had anything to do with the tanking economy. Or the restaurant’s health department ratings. That said, there is no doubt that Wilcox was wronged. She was targeted by powerful people with oversized egos and undersized ethics. Thomas, Arpaio and their sidekicks careened out of control. Their prosecutions went nowhere. Not so much as a single racketeer did they expose. But they’ve been discredited. With the exception of Arpaio, the county already has their heads mounted on pikes outside county hq. “Justice has finally been served for Maricopa County..,” a glowing Mary Rose Wilcox proclaimed this week as Thomas and his lieutenant Lisa Aubuchon were disbarred. “We had to live for three years with just hell at Maricopa County but we survived it, we persevered, kept our heads high and said justice will prevail.” Exactly. So where is the damage to Wilcox’s reputation – other than the damage caused by putting her hand out, palms up, to taxpayers? And Stapley? Though all charges against him were eventually dismissed, Gila County Attorney Daisy Flores said she had enough evidence to prosecute Stapley for seven felony offenses – involving false swearing on financial-disclosure reports -- but decided not to “due to the sordid tapestry of how this case arose.” How much are we going give Stapley for his pain and suffering? I understand why the county is settling these cases. Even if we win in court, we lose given the outrageous cost of lawyers. County officials say we are paying, on average, $88,000 a month to defend against the various lawsuits. In all, the county wars have already cost taxpayers $10 million, as Wilcox likes to point out. Add now $2 million more, as the county prepares to settle with former Maricopa County Superior Court Presiding Judge Barbara Mundell ($500,000), Stapley’s secretary Susan Schuerman ($500,000) and Wilcox (ca-CHING!). The settlements will have to be approved by the Board of Supervisors – two fifths of which is in line for a payday. Is there any doubt how those votes will go? I suppose it would be too much to expect Wilcox and Stapley to forgo a bonanza and take just enough to cover their legal fees. While forgoing the dough may not ease their pain it would go a long way toward boosting those reputations they’re so worried about. Wilcox, in particular, should reconsider. She is, after all, running for a sixth four-year term at the county trough this fall. I can just see her campaign slogan now: “I got your money. Now can I have your vote?” (Column published April 13, 2012, The Arizona Republic) |