AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio goes down to defeat

The Maricopa County sheriff has finally lost.

A scream rose from the crowd gathered at Grant Park on the south side of Phoenix when the Associated Press announced that Joe Arpaio’s 23-year tenure as Maricopa County Sheriff had come to an end.

There were hugs, high-fives, and chants of “Si se puede, si se pudo” — “Yes we can, yes we did.”

“It’s going to be a new day for Arizona,” 30-year-old realtor Dulce Matuz told ThinkProgress. “We’re not just going to be known as the state that passed anti-immigrant laws. We’re going to be the state that voted against hate and xenophobia. We can finally move on and be a state that celebrates diversity.”

Matuz voted for the first time in her life on Tuesday, and was thrilled to cast her ballot against a man who has loomed large over Phoenix’s Latino community for nearly a quarter century…

Arpaio, who Matuz called “our mini Donald Trump,” was unseated Tuesday by Democrat Paul Penzone. This past weekend, Penzone stopped by the local offices of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union to thank the dozens of high school activists who mobilized for months to register and turn out voters of color against Arpaio.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.