Amid the controversial departure of two of his top aides, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio spoke Thursday to a journalism class at the Walter Cronkite School in downtown Phoenix.
Arpaio focused on the media’s coverage of him and his programs for much of his nearly two-hour presentation to the news reporting and writing class.
“I get blasted everyday in the newspapers,” Arpaio said. “All I do is get negative press.”
The self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America said he enjoys speaking to journalism students and future journalists because they haven’t been “brainwashed” yet.
He also said he was frustrated with the media for, as he said, ignoring his good programs and focusing on the more controversial ones.
“It’s better to have 50 percent accuracy than zero,” Arpaio said.
Arpaio said he still appreciates the media, however, because when a story critical of one of his controversial programs is written, his approval numbers rise.
Arpaio discussed some of these controversial issues, including his position on illegal immigration, Tent City and his treatment of prisoners.
Arpaio also mentioned how he was disappointed there weren’t any protestors when he walked into the Cronkite School. He said he posted it to his Twitter account in hopes of drawing people to the building.
“I’m controversial,” he said. “If I wasn’t, you wouldn’t have me up here. I’ve been controversial from the day I took office.”
Throughout his presentation, students asked questions about a wide range of topics, from deputy training to revisiting his coverage in the media.
“He was surprisingly more charming than I thought he would be,” journalism sophomore Caroline Hester said. “He had a really good sense of humor.”
One student asked how he would solve the illegal immigration problem, after Arpaio complained no professional journalists had ever asked.
To this, Arpaio said that working with the Mexican government in an operational aspect is crucial. If necessary, the United States should send the army into Mexico to help the Mexican government protect the border.
Another question asked was in reference to the most recent developments regarding the situation around Arpaio’s chief deputy David Hendershott, who recently resigned from his position after allegations of misconduct arose.
After class, several students took pictures and spoke briefly with Arpaio.
Joseph Garcia, professor of the JMC 201 class Arpaio visited, has had the sheriff speak to his classes before, and had covered Arpaio while he was working as a reporter.
Garcia asked Arpaio to speak to students so they could use him as a source in their final story of the semester.
“It was a good chance for students to talk to a top Arizona newsmaker,” Garcia said.
Arpaio said he would be open to participating in another “Meet the Press” style interview with members of the Cronkite faculty if an invitation from the school was extended. Arpaio’s last such engagement — a “Must See Monday” event in November of 2009 — was interrupted by singing protesters, forcing the interview to be cut short.
Contact the reporter at connor.radnovich@asu.edu
