Recall Bid Against Arizona sheriff Faces Tough Odds

By Jacques Billeaud, Associated Press/NBCLatino

PHOENIX (AP) — Volunteers set up a table outside a music festival one day last month togather signatures for a drive to oust the notoriously polarizing sheriff of metropolitan Phoenix. The venue, with its largely liberal crowd, seemed the perfect place to drum up support.

But it didn’t take long for fans of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to show up and deliver a heckling. “Free handouts for illegal immigrants,” one of the sheriff’s backers intoned as other sign-carrying supporters raised their voices to try and drown out those of Arpaio’s opponents.

The recall group walked away with only 100 signatures, compared with the 500 gathered in the same spot a day earlier when the sheriff’s supporters weren’t there.

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