Ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio files signatures in bid to unseat Fountain Hills mayor

PHOENIX – Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Wednesday he turned in the maximum number of nominating signatures as he takes aim at the office of mayor in Fountain Hills.

He’s trying to unseat two-term Mayor Ginny Dickey, who filed her signatures earlier this month.

The only other person who’d submitted a statement of interest for the seat withdrew from contention, according to the town’s website, so the race is likely to be decided with the Aug. 4 primary. It only would go to November’s general election if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the primary.

Arpaio said he had to pare down the 760 signatures he collected to the limit of 647 before turning them in.

“I am extremely thankful and honored with the support that is coming from the citizens for my candidacy,” he said in a press release.

A candidate for mayor in Fountain Hills, a northeast Valley suburb with about 25,000 residents, needs 324 valid signatures to get onto the ballot.

Dickey said she collected more than 500 signatures, which were submitted March 8.

“As we officially begin the reelection effort, I seek to continue serving our community and address important issues,” she said in a press release at the time.

“Over the next two years I will keep moving forward with the careful development of our town, providing for the safety and services our residents want, maintaining our infrastructure and pursuing economic vitality.”

Arpaio has lived in Fountain Hills for more than 20 years. Without providing specifics, he said the town about 30 miles northeast of downtown Phoenix is heading in the wrong direction.

“I will help in reversing that trend with exciting policies and leadership to be revealed during the campaign,” he said.

After 24 years as sheriff in Arizona’s largest county, the influential but polarizing Republican has had a tough stretch electorally.

In 2016, Arpaio’s six-term run as sheriff was snapped in a loss by more than 10 percentage points to Democrat Paul Penzone.

Arpaio then finished a distant third in the 2018 GOP primary for U.S. Senate won by incumbent Martha McSally.

He took aim at a return to the top of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in 2020 but finished second in the Republican primary.

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