Phoenix Law Enforcement Association

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.

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."