Paul
Babeu, the Pinal County lawman dedicated to lowering crime, fighting illegal
immigration and challenging President Obama’s unconstitutional power grabs,
announced Monday he is running for Congress.
The
two-term sheriff will vie for the open 1st Congressional District.
“I’ve
spent seven years fighting Washington’s inaction and now it’s time to bring the
fight directly to our nation’s capital,” Babeu said. “I will work tirelessly to
protect the residents of rural Arizona, shrink the federal government, overturn
Obamacare and guard against attacks on the 2nd Amendment.”
The 1st
Congressional District stretches from Flagstaff through the White Mountains and
south to Pinal County and northern Pima County. The district is one of the
largest in the country and encompasses rural and suburban areas plus several
Native American tribes.
“The
challenges facing CD1 stretch far beyond the district’s boundaries,” Babeu
said. “Illegal immigration impacts us all. I’ve stood on the front lines
against the drug cartels and human smuggling rings and I will bring this same
tenacious work ethic to Washington, D.C.”
The
issues facing CD1 are as diverse as its people and regions. Babeu said he plans
to work to improve forest health, ensure that the U.S. Forest Service is acting
responsibly, increase job opportunities and fight overreach by the U.S. EPA.
“I will
work to ensure the EPA deals fairly with Arizona,” Babeu said. “Coal power
plants provide much of the energy for rural Arizona and I will fight any
misguided effort to shutter those plants and make it more expensive for
residents and business to buy electricity.”
Babeu
is a veteran of the Iraq War and spent 20 years in the Army National Guard,
rising to the rank of major. In addition, Babeu commanded 700 troops on the
Arizona-Mexico border as part of Operation Jump Start, which helped reduce
illegal immigration and drug smuggling by 94 percent in the Yuma Sector.
Babeu
began his law enforcement career as a City of Chandler police officer and
eventually became the first Republican sheriff of Pinal County. Since taking
office, Babeu’s deputies have seized more than 162,000 pounds of drugs, exposed
an identity theft ring in the county recorders office and busted Superior Court
personnel in a bribery scandal. Service has improved through regimented staff
training and high performance standards evidenced in the national accreditation
of the 1,100-inmate jail.
Babeu
boasts the biggest drug bust against a Mexican drug cartel in Arizona history –
nearly $3 billion worth. Recent efforts are targeting the Sinaloa Cartel scouts
occupying mountaintops along the drug and human smuggling corridor in an effort
to provide safe passage as they head to other parts of the country.
“Stopping
the flow of drugs and smuggling rings must be a priority of law enforcement and
is a defined responsibility of the federal government,” Babeu said. “Our
politicians have failed us time and again when it comes to securing our
southern border. I will not rest until the federal government does its job so
it is not left to the local sheriffs and police departments in border states to
fend for themselves.”
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