Book Description
When Arizona passed the nation's most draconian anti-immigrant law in 2010-SB 1070-every effort to stop or reverse this law failed. So how did a small number of Arizonans, led by a progressive Democrat and a Republican Mormon, band together to take down one of the most powerful and extreme politicians responsible for pushing Arizona's anti-immigrant agenda? One signature at a time.As senate president, Russell Pearce escalated his attacks against immigrants. He worked hand in hand with the self-described "toughest sheriff in America," Joe Arpaio, notorious for his worksite raids and unlawful stops of Latinos and immigrants. While establishment leaders remained content to wait Pearce out, a few concerned citizens decided to do something a bit more radical-to recall and remove Pearce from office.In a matter of 18 months, Arizona went from ground zero in the fight against anti-immigrant hostility to zero tolerance for any and all anti-immigrant legislation. Despite the heightened divisiveness in today's political environment, the Pearce Recall serves as a modern-day David versus Goliath narrative of what can and must be done by ordinary citizens when extremists politicians pursue an agenda that is racist, divisive and mean-spirited.