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January 17, 2008 - 12:07AM
Thomas’ office pays $188K for handbooks
Dennis Welch, Tribune
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas’ office paid more than $188,000 in taxpayer money to print 600,000 crime prevention handbooks featuring his name and picture.
County attorney pressured over booklets' cost
Money for the thick, glossy pamphlets came out of Thomas’ general fund budget, according to a statement released late Wednesday from Deanne Poulos, a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
Although the board approves Thomas’ budget, it was not aware of the effort until the guidebooks hit the streets in editions of the Arizona Republic and East Valley and Scottsdale Tribunes.
The county attorney’s office has yet to respond to a public records request from the Tribune detailing other related costs such as how much the office paid to distribute copies.
The handbook includes information on various crime-related topics as well as contact information for local police agencies and crime prevention and victims agencies. On the back page, Thomas claims the money for the booklet was provided by the board — a claim that has some of the supervisors upset.
Since the booklets were distributed, members of the board have criticized Thomas for spending the money when the county could be forced to lay-off workers due to its budget problems.
Some members also have questioned whether it crosses the line between informing the public about crime and promoting himself politically on the taxpayers’ dime.
Recently, state lawmakers along with Gov. Janet Napolitano have called for laws that would restrict when publicly elected officials could appear in publicly funded campaigns.
In her annual State of the State Address on Monday, Napolitano said: “Too often lately, we see this money go for TV commercials that amount to little more than publicity for an elected official. That’s the wrong way to use it. Pass a bill that uses the money for core functions of law enforcement.”
In addition Sen. Jim Waring, R-Phoenix, has introduced legislation that would prohibit elected officials from attaching their names to campaigns paid for with public money unless specifically allowed when the money is appropriated by the state legislature.
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