Nelson declares victory in Maricopa County attorney debate

The Tim Nelson campaign has declared a "decisive victory" in last night's debate against incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, while Thomas called Nelson a "Johnny-Come-Lately" on the subject of domestic violence.

The forum, held Wednesday night and hosted by the Men's Anti-Violence Network, focused on the problem of domestic violence, and each man claimed he'd proven himself the strongest candidate on the issue.

The Nelson campaign declared he'd won by "outlining how he will put public safety first, expand protections for domestic violence victims and vigorously pursue offenders." In a press release following the debate, the Nelson campaign said Thomas had been "on the defensive for much of the evening," and said Thomas had tried "several times to distort Nelson’s record, trying to tie him to a death penalty case in which Nelson was only peripherally involved."

The case in question was the subject of an Andrew Thomas press conference, in which he said Nelson was unqualified to be county attorney because of an argument he'd written in defense of a convicted murderer while working as a defense attorney in private practice.

"These are the intellectual gymnastics of a desperate man," said Joshua Kilroy, Nelson's campaign manager.

Thomas on the other hand said Nelson is a "Johnny-Come-Lately to the fight against domestic violence" in a post-debate statement.

"There are few fights more important and I intend to continue our successes against this despicable crime, just as we have effectively prosecuted other criminals in a way that has helped lead to a reduction in Valley crime," said Thomas.

Thomas said that during his tenure there had been a "24% increase in number of domestic-violence offenders going to jail or prison," and said he'd successfully lobbied the Arizona State Legislature on domestic violence legislation, including a spousal rape law. Thomas said Nelson had no record of "doing anything at all" on domestic violence, and criticized his opponent's pledge to change the "plead to the lead" policy Thomas instituted, in which a defendant must plead to the most serious charge in order to get a plea bargain deal.    

Tim Nelson is a Johnny-Come-Lately to the fight against domestic violence.  There are few fights more important and I intend to continue our successes against this despicable crime, just as we have effectively prosecuted other criminals in a way that has helped lead to a reduction in Valley crime