Robb: Don Stapley the Innocent runs for Congress

I was shocked that former County Supervisor Don Stapley announced for the open Congressional District 5 seat. It’s a testimony to the capacity for self-delusion by the political animal.

Stapley claims that he was exonerated in the soap opera that engulfed county government during his tenure.

Now, it is true that Stapley was badly abused by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas in their maniacal pursuit of an imagined grand conspiracy between the board of supervisors, senior county staff and certain judges. And Stapley has been compensated by county taxpayers for that abuse.

But he hardly came out of the ordeal smelling like a rose.

During the ruction, it became public that Stapley set up a fund ostensibly to run for office in the National Association of Counties. Contributors to it were people who do business with the county.

However, Stapley instead spent a majority of the funds on personal stuff for him and his family. In other words, he leveraged his elected office for personal enrichment.

Stapley wasn’t charged with a crime. But he was pretty much documented to have been a skunk.

A sensible person would have taken the settlement money for the Arpaio-Thomas abuse and retreated from public life. Instead, Stapley says he’s just the man to represent the East Valley in Congress.

Given the low-esteem in which Congress is held these days, perhaps he’s right.

Reach Robb at robert.robb@arizonarepublic.com.