PHOENIX — Joe Arpaio, the 90-year-old former Phoenix metro sheriff who was ousted in 2016 by voters frustrated with his headline-grabbing tactics and legal troubles, has narrowed his opponent’s lead in the race for mayor of the affluent suburb where he has lived for more than two decades.
But the former six-term Republican sheriff of Maricopa County was still trailing Wednesday in his bid to unseat Ginny Dickey, a Democrat serving her second term as mayor of Fountain Hills on the edge of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Arpaio, who is attempting his third comeback attempt since being voted out as sheriff, said he was waiting for ballots that were dropped off at polling places on Tuesday to be counted.