Andrew Thomas
From Ballotpedia
| Andrew Peyton Thomas | |
 | |
| Maricopa County Attorney | |
| Candidate for Arizona Attorney General | |
| Assumed office 2005 | |
| Current term ends 2010 | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Website | Official Andrew Thomas for Attorney General Campaign website |
Contents |
Despite speculation to the contrary, Andrew Thomas refused to concede the primary nomination to Tom Horne until every single vote was counted, a process that continued for a nearly a week after Arizona voters went to the polls on Tuesday, August 24, 2010. [2] [3] [4] Finally, on Tuesday, September 1, he conceded the nomination to his primary opponent when, after all the votes had been recounted, it was determined that Horne had maintained a 899 vote lead over the former attorney. [5]
Education
- Bachelor's degree, University of Missouri (1988) in political science
- Juris Doctorate degree, Harvard University (1991)
Professional experience
Upon receiving his law degree, Thomas moved to Arizona where he joined a Phoenix-based private practice law firm as a civil litigation attorney. In 1994, he served as Assistant Attorney General for Arizona before later working for then-Governor Fife Symington III as both deputy counsel and criminal justice policy advisor. Thomas then joined the attorney's office of Maricopa County - first operating as a Deputy County Attorney in 2003 before being elected as the County Attorney the next year.
Controversies
Arizona State Bar investigations
In 2008, the Arizona State Bar launched an official investigation into complaints of alleged misconduct that occurred during Thomas's tenure as Maricopa County Attorney. Shortly thereafter Thomas filed a Petition for Special Action with the Arizona Supreme Court in an effort to halt the proceedings. [6] Thomas argued that the partition against him was politically motivated. He stated that county judges who refused to enforce Proposition 100, a voter approved ballot measure "that ended the right to bail for illegal immigrants accused of serious felonies," encouraged the State Bar to launch the investigation after his office called out those judges for not performing their civic duty. [7] In response, the State Bar requested the court to dismiss the petition calling for a special jurisdiction and called for Thomas to "address his concerns properly within the established disciplinary investigation process." [8] On August 15, 2008, the State Supreme Court official rejected Thomas's petition and called for the State Bar to proceed with its inquiry. The following year, however, Thomas was cleared of all thirteen state bar complaints lodged against him.
A month prior to his announcement that he would launch a campaign to seek the statewide office of attorney general, the Arizona Supreme Court, at the urging of the State Bar, appointed a special investigator to examine accusations of misconduct by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office "after a Pima County judge accused Thomas of misusing his authority to investigate county supervisors, and doing so for political gain." [9] However, Ronald Rotunda, a professor of law at Chapman University School of Law in California and a leading expert in the nation on legal ethics and constitutional law, argued in an affidavit that the inquiry is "illegal and an unconstitutional violation of due process of law." [10] Rotunda concluded that the investigation was illegal based on the fact that John Phelps, Executive Director of the State Bar, misrepresented his authority when he called for a special investigation of Thomas, a power that is reserved exclusively to the Chief Bar Counsel.
RICO spending
Tim Nelson, former general counsel to then Governor Janet Napolitano and a Democratic candidate for Maricopa County Attorney in 2008, held a press conference in late-July to criticize what he argued was Thomas's habit of using Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) funds to bankroll his self-serving agenda. These proceeds gathered "by law enforcement from asset forfeitures" are to be directed toward fighting and preventing drug use and organized crime, according to state and federal statutes. [11] Both Nelson and the left-leaning Phoenix New Times, with its own apparent axe to grind against Thomas, suggested, however, that the Maricopa County Attorney funneled the money toward organizations and individuals that shored up his name recognition. Among the funds earmarked for these groups, as cited by the New Times, was $168,000 directed toward Christian-based organizations the paper claims were engaging in proselytizing, the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion or religion. Though the New Times argues that proselytizing is illegal, there are no laws or statutes, federal or state, deeming it as such. The circulation also chastised Thomas's use of the funds to "finance a conference on illegal immigration in Phoenix in 2005" for the simple reason that it is not "something that the Justice Department allows RICO funding to be used for." [12] This, of course, despite the threat of Mexican drug cartels that have been a source of contention on the Arizona-Mexican border.
Political issues
Illegal immigration
It was during his tenure as Maricopa County Attorney that Andrew Thomas served as a frequent advisor to the Arizona State Legislature on the formation of the now controversial state immigration measure, Senate Bill 1070 - The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act. In encouraging Governor Jan Brewer to sign the legislation, he argued in favor of its necessity, stating the “law would give state and local law enforcement officials important new tools for the fight against illegal immigration." [13]
After Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed SB 1070 into law on April 23, 2010, Thomas vowed that if elected state attorney general he would vigorously fight in favor of the legislation. He further noted that of the five candidates running for the statewide governmental position, he is the only one who fully supports the measure. [14]
Campaign contributions
| 2002 Race for Attorney General - Campaign Contributions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Raised | $423,133 | |||
| Total Raised by Primary Opponent | $221,583 | |||
| Total Raised by Gen. Election Opponent | $238,203 | |||
| Top 5 Contributors | Public Fund $402,457 (95.11% of Total) | |||
| Andrew Thomas $1,000 (0.24%) | ||||
| Allison Genrich $110 (0.03%) | ||||
| Lawrence E. Sifert $110 (0.03%) | ||||
| Cathi Herrod $110 (0.03%) | ||||
| Individuals v. Institutions | $19,586 (4.6%) | |||
| N/A | ||||
| In v. Outside State | $18,868 (4.5%) | |||
| $1,928 (0.5%) | ||||
Elections
2002
| 2002 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary [15] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
 Andrew P. Thomas (R)
| 47.4% | |||
| Foster Robberson (R) | 28.8% | |||
| John Greene (R) | 23.8% | |||
| Total votes | 278,192 | |||
| 2002 Race for Attorney General - General Election [16] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Terry Goddard (D)
| 51.9% | |||
| Andrew P. Thomas (R) | 45% | |||
| Ed Kahn (Libertarian) | 3.1% | |||
| Total votes | 1,201,343 | |||
2004
| 2004 Race for Maricopa County Attorney - Republican Primary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Andrew P. Thomas (R)
| 29.2% | |||
| Andrew Pacheco (R) | 24.6% | |||
| Jerry G. Landau (R) | 15.8% | |||
| Mike Bailey (R) | 13.9% | |||
| Tom McCauley (R) | 13.2% | |||
| Rick Poster (R) | 3.4% | |||
| Total votes | 196,936 | |||
| 2004 Race for Maricopa County Attorney - General Election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Andrew P. Thomas (R)
| 58.5% | |||
| Don Harris (D) | 41.5% | |||
| Total votes | 1,008,155 | |||
2010
- See also: Arizona Attorney General election, 2010
| 2010 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary [17] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party |  a Tom Horne
| 50.1% | |
| Republican Party | Andrew Thomas | 49.9% | |
| Total Votes | 552,623 | ||
Contact information
Campaign Address:
Thomas for AG Committee
4757 E. Greenway Rd, #103-233
Phoenix, AZ 85032
Phone: (602) 791.4488
E-mail: Contact@ThomasForArizona.com
External links
- Andrew Thomas for Attorney General Campaign website
- Andrew Thomas's Facebook profile
- Andrew Thomas's Twitter account
- Project Vote Smart - Andrew Thomas biography
References
- ↑ Seeing Red Arizona "Thomas makes it official: Leaving office April 6 to run for AG" 1 April, 2010
- ↑ Phoenix New Times "Andrew Thomas Set To Concede, Sources Claim; Will Make Statement This Afternoon" 27 Aug. 2010
- ↑ Tucson Citizen "Andrew Thomas prepares to concede to Tom Horne" 27 Aug. 2010
- ↑ The Arizona Republic "Horne's lead over Thomas in AG race down to 536 votes" 27 Aug. 2010
- ↑ Arizona Daily Star "Thomas concedes, backs Horne for AG" 1 Sept. 2010
- ↑ Justia - Arizona Revised Statutes §23-483 Petition for special action to review lawfulness of decision, order or decision upon review; procedure
- ↑ Intellectual Conservative "Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas takes on liberal AZ State Bar" 28 May, 2008
- ↑ State Bar of Arizona "State Bar of Arizona Files Response to Maricopa County Attorney’s Special Action Request" 18 June, 2008
- ↑ KPHO Phoenix "Special Investigator To Probe Andrew Thomas" 9 March, 2010
- ↑ Sonoran Alliance "State Bar Inquiry Of Thomas Illegal, Unconstitutional Expert Says" 21 June, 2010
- ↑ AZ Central "RICO funds cover range of MCSO expenses" 29 April, 2009
- ↑ Phoenix New Times "Tim Nelson Takes on Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas' RICO Spending" 30 July, 2008
- ↑ Sonoran Alliance "AZ Anti-Illegal Immigration Leader Andrew Thomas Encourages Governor Brewer to Sign Controversial Senate Bill 1070" 22 April, 2010
- ↑ Sonoran Alliance "Thomas Faults 4 Democrat AG Opponents For Opposing SB1070; Pledges Aggressive Defense In Court" 27 April, 2010
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State - Official Results 2002 Primary Election
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State - Official Results 2002 General Election
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State - 2010 Primary Election Results
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