Andrew Thomas

The Tim Nelson campaign was playing defense Tuesday, battling back against a string of criticisms from Nelson's opponent, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, centered around Thomas's assertion that Nelson opposes the death penalty due to what he wrote on behalf of a death row inmate in 1998.

Monday, Thomas hammered Nelson for having represented murderer Jose Ceja and arguing in favor of commuting his sentence to life imprisonment. He kept up the attack Tuesday, and criticized what the Nelson campaign had told PolitickerAZ.com.

On Monday, Joshua Kilroy, Nelson's campaign manager, told PolitickerAZ.com that "Tim is trying hard to remember how all of this happened," and that frequently seeking the death penalty could sap vital resources and "end up compromising public safety."

PHOENIX -- Tim Nelson's defense of a death row inmate in 1998 provides the foundation for the latest charge against him from the camp of Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, who is running to protect his seat from Nelson's challenge. 

"He has hidden this from the voters and the media," said Thomas at a press conference from the headquarters of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) on Monday. "Not to have acknowledged that he is against the death penalty," said Thomas, is a "violation" of public trust.

Nelson denies he is an opponent of the death penalty. 

The case in question involved Jose Ceja, a man who had been convicted and sentenced to die for the double murder of a Phoenix couple. When Ceja tried to get his sentence commuted from death to life imprisonment, the court assigned the law firm Brown & Bain to Ceja's defense. Nelson, at that time an associate with the firm, took the case.

Maricopa County attorney candidate Tim Nelson has unveiled a list of high-ranking prosecutors past and present who support him in his bid to unseat incumbent Andrew Thomas.

At a press conference Thursday to announce the endorsments, Nelson appeared alongside several of the backers, inluding Gov. Janet Napolitano, a former U.S. attorney and Arizona attorney general; Terry Goddard, the current attorney general; and perhaps most notably Grant Woods, a Republican who preceded Napolitano at the AG's office.

"Tim Nelson is one of Arizona's finest lawyers," said Woods. "I have no doubt Nelson will be an outstanding county attorney."

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas released a long list of endorsements this afternoon. Thomas, who is being challenged by Tim Nelson picked up the endorsements from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the National Border Patrol Council, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA).

Also announced today was the endorsement of several prominent Democrats and Independents, including Georgia Staton, Democratic nominee for Attorney General in 1990 and County Attorney in 1988; Jerry and Donna Neill, co-founders of the anti-crime community organization NAILEM; and Linda Kleiner, founder of Together Against Graffiti (TAG).    

Thomas added, "I'm gratified that leaders from across the political spectrum recognize my commitment to protecting our neighborhoods.  We need to continue to build on the progress we've made in reducing both crime and illegal immigration."

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, both of whom are seeking re-election this year, are not seeking the endorsement of the Arizona Republic, according to a commentary piece they jointly issued Thursday:

 
John McCain isn't going to be getting the New York Times endorsement over Barack Obama.  And we have a hunch that the Arizona Republic probably isn't going to be touting our re-election campaigns either.

And that's OK, because it would seriously confuse our supporters were we to seek the Republic's editorial endorsement, as candidates typically do.

This is why we took the unusual step of politely and respectfully declining the paper's recent offer to solicit its support by appearing before its editorial board with our opponents.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas have announced they did not seek the endorsement of the state's largest newspaper the Arizona Republic. Arpaio and Thomas assumed they would not get the endorsement of the Republic so why should they seek it. Below is an explanation of their decision in their own words.

The first public debate between incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and challenger Tim Nelson has been set for Oct. 1.

Sponsored by the Men's Anti-Violence Network, the debate will  focus solely on issues relating to domestic violence. Ted Simons, host of PBS affiliate KAET's "Horizon" program, has been asked to moderate, though he is presently unconfirmed.

The debate will feature Nelson, Thomas and Michael Kielsky, the Libertarian candidate, and will take place in the Viad Building on Central Avenue in Phoenix.

PHOENIX -- Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas continued his assault against opponent Tim Nelson Monday, accusing him of "misusing" his position as general counsel to Gov. Janet Napolitano in order to benefit the American Civil Liberties Union, who Nelson had represented in private practice.

Thomas claims that Nelson gave a "sweetheart deal" to the ACLU when he approved the settlement of a lawsuit it filed against the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) over allegations of racial profiling. The state had to pay attorney's fees to the ACLU and was granted what Thomas termed "an unprecedented role in the regulation of police officers."

"The terms of the settlement were very detrimental to public safety and the taxpayers," said Thomas at a press conference in downtown Phoenix. "My opponent was an ACLU lawyer, and that meant that the proceeds of that settlement were for former colleagues that represented that soft on crime organization."

Nelson represented the ACLU in one case that took place in the late 1990s, when the organization sued the city of Gilbert to stop its mayor from issuing an proclamation that called for the observance of "Bible Week."

Forty-two days until the election, there have been no public debates finalized in the race between Democrat Tim Nelson and incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

Though the two will appear on NBC 12's "Sunday Square-Off" on Nov. 2, two days before the election, no other dates or venues have been set for the two to go head-to-head between now and then.

"I anticipate it will be resolved this week or next," said Thomas, speaking at a press conference Monday afternoon. "There is another one we're going to be agreeing to in the next couple of days."

Joshua Kilroy, campaign manager for Tim Nelson, confirmed that there are no other dates finalized, but said Thomas is missing an opportunity this week to meet his opponent.

"We are strongly encouraging County Attorney Thomas to attend the event being sponsored by the Maricopa County Bar Association on Wednesday," said Kilroy.

PHOENIX -- Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and his Democratic challenger, Tim Nelson, blasted away at each other Monday over their records and view on illegal immigration.

Nelson beat Thomas to the punch, issuing a statement Monday morning that took Thomas to task over his policies regarding the prosecution of individual cases of illegal immigration.

"Andrew Thomas has pursued a misguided policy of focusing all of our county’s energy and resources on individual immigrants," said Nelson in a statement. "He has largely ignored the systematic causes of illegal immigration, including the violent coyotes who smuggle human beings into Arizona and the employers who hire large numbers of illegal workers to undercut our labor market."

Nelson went on to tout his record as general counsel to Gov. Janet Napolitano, pointing to his role in drafting the governor's order that sent National Guard troops to help secure the border with Mexico, and helping to defend the state's employer sanction law from civil suits challenging its constitutionality.

"I am proud to have worked with the Governor on systematic reforms to help Arizona cope with our broken federal system," said Nelson.

Yet Andrew Thomas, speaking to press at the headquarters of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association later in the morning, espoused the opposite view, saying Nelson's stance on illegal immigration meant he was planning to "violate his oath of office" by not prosecuting criminals, and claiming he is beholden to the "illegal immigrant lobby."