Smith: Vitiello short on facts, yet again

Jun 30, 2016

Anthony Smith

By Anthony Smith

The role of county supervisor requires a person to pay attention to details and be a good researcher of the facts. The policies and decisions you make depend on you having a full understanding of the issues. Unfortunately, unlike my previous campaigns, I’ve spent an unprecedented amount of time correcting my opponent’s statements. This editorial is in response to Mr. Vitiello’s latest inaccurate claims.

I stated in the recent candidate forum that in lieu of the sheriff spending RICO money for nonprofits, those dollars could be spent for overtime for deputies and investigators. I stand by that claim. In my opponent’s editorial he quotes the Arizona Revised Statues but ignores the “latter” portion of the statute. Quoting in part from ARS 13-2314.03, paragraph E, “OR for any purpose permitted by federal law relating to the disposition of any property that is transferred to a law enforcement agency.” The “OR” statement refers to the document from The U.S. Department of Justice titled “Guide to Equitable Sharing for State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies,” where on page 19 it clearly states, RICO money used for overtime of officers and investigators is a permissible exception.

Nonprofit giving is very important, but when people in certain rural areas are afraid to go out at night or don’t feel safe in their neighborhoods, I believe protecting these citizens by paying overtime for additional patrols is the higher priority.

Another claim made by my opponent is that solving the historical flooding problem in Maricopa is just talk and no action. As I stated during the forum, a plan to protect the City of Maricopa and the rest of Pinal County is very much in progress. The City of Maricopa and a host of other municipalities, Native American communities and other interested parties are all members in the Lower Santa Cruz River Alliance. The Alliance is an advocacy group that is working directly with the Corps of Engineers on the project. Later this year and as part of the Feasibility Study, the Corp of Engineers plans to introduce some conceptual designs to mitigate the 100-year flood for Maricopa and other parts of Pinal County.

By this time in the campaign, I believe a candidate should be able to correctly name the communities in the district in which he is campaigning. In Mr. Vitiello’s last editorial, he says he has been speaking to people throughout the district including Stanfield. Stanfield is not part of District 4.

Lastly, Mr. Vitiello’s reference to my supporters as “minions” is both unbecoming and unprofessional. After this election, we most likely will continue living in the same community and this type of behavior is divisive and separates people.

Anthony Smith is a resident of Maricopa and the incumbent county supervisor for District 4. He is running for re-election in the Republican primary against Rich Vitiello.