Gordon quits his day job to begin his gubernatorial campaign

Phil Gordon: Today’s April Fool’s joke

Phoenix Mayor Phil “Sanctuary City” Gordon, getting a jump start on his gubernatorial campaign, is once again lashing out at Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio.

Gordon, who has ridiculed the sheriff’s raids of illegals as “made-for-TV stunts,” should know a thing or two about playing for the cameras. He recently made great use of his platform while speaking to a luncheon honoring the controversial labor union organizer, Cesar Chavez.

It was that speech that drew Arpaio’s ire, provoking him to send a letter to Phoenix City Manager Frank Fairbanks, in which he termed Gordon’s Friday speech “inaccurate” and a threat to future cooperation between the city and the office of the sheriff. The mayor’s inflammatory language exhorted the mostly pro-illegal alien crowd to “make your voice heard,” creating “a hostile environment” for the sheriff’s deputies at a protest later that day.

The sheriff’s response comes after Gordon accused Arpaio of racial profiling in his crackdowns on illegal aliens. Last week the sheriff deployed deputies and his volunteer posse members to north east Phoenix at the request of local merchants. In a two day period, 53 people were arrested, 27 of whom were in the country illegally.

Obviously, there is a job to be done.

Gordon endorsed Arpaio in his last election bid. Now, with his own political future gleaming on the horizon, Gordon is looking toward a new and growing constituency. If only he could figure out a way to get illegals on the voting rosters, he could expand his sanctuary city policies and really place Arizona on the map—as a sanctuary state.