Jarrett Maupin Sr. and Jr. controversies

Jarrett Maupin II, protege of Al Sharpton, wants to be mayor of Phoenix, but unfortunately for his campaign, incumbent mayor Phil Gordon's challenges to his ballot petitions have disqualified enough signatures to get him off the ballot. It seems that Maupin hired individuals with felony convictions to collect signatures, and a majority of his signatures were from people not registered to vote, leaving him 91 signatures short. Maupin said he was "outraged" by Gordon's challenge of his petition and insisted that he would be on the ballot.

Maupin got press by showing up at the mayor's office with a voter registration form, stating that Gordon is a Democrat in name only and should switch his registration to Republican. Ironically, Maupin was head of the Young Republicans at Brophy College Preparatory (though this was before he was of legal voting age).

I also just came across a news report from 2005, regarding Maupin's father:

A car carrying the Rev. Al Sharpton led sheriff's deputies on a nine-mile chase at speeds up to 110 mph before state troopers stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver, authorities said.
Chief Deputy Charles Sullins said driver Jarrett B. Maupin, 43, was rushing Sharpton to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport after Sharpton visited anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on Sunday at her camp outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford.
Because the 2005 Lincoln was rented to Maupin, of Phoenix, sheriff's deputies impounded the car. Maupin posted a $1,000 bond on charges of evading arrest with a vehicle and reckless driving, authorities said.
The car carrying Sharpton and two other passengers was clocked doing 110 mph in a 65 mph zone on the interstate south of Dallas, Sullins said.
He said the driver ignored deputies' attempts to stop it and weaved in and out of traffic before state troopers were able to get in front of the car.

Maupin Jr. was also present in the vehicle. Sharpton denied the allegations, saying that he was not part of any police chase. He declined an offer from the police to drive him to the airport, and began walking down the road, accepting a ride from a passing vehicle.

In 2005, Maupin Jr. ran for Phoenix City Council but was defeated by incumbent Michael Johnson. In 2006, he was elected to the Phoenix Union High School District Board for a four-year term.

Maupin, who attended but did not graduate from my alma mater, Brophy College Preparatory (he transferred to St. Mary's after making accusations of racial harassment), was profiled in Phoenix's New Times regarding his politics in an article titled "Kid Sharpton."

UPDATE (April 28, 2009): Rev. Jarrett Maupin Jr. has resigned from the Phoenix Union High School District Board as part of a plea agreement in U.S. District Court after being arrested for giving false information to the FBI. In exchange for his plea, he will not be prosecuted for other crimes, for which he is paying restitution to victims.

I hope this means the end of his political career.

UPDATE (July 9, 2016): It came out in 2015 that the false statements Maupin made were false allegations against Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, accusing him of being a child molester. Maupin claimed he had seen pictures and video, but the charges had been completely fabricated by Gregory Coleman, an aide to City Councilman Michael Nowakowski, as a test of Maupin's ethics. Maupin failed (though I would argue that the same is true of Coleman).

Maupin was unapologetic for his fabrications and saw himself as the victim of Coleman:

Maupin told 12 News’ Halloran that Coleman came to him with the information about Gordon and that he simply reported it to authorities. It was, he tells her, a mistake, one for which he's sorry.

“I'm not guilty of anything more than Martha Stewart or any number of people making a false statement to a federal entity,” he told her. “And most of us probably do that on our income taxes every year. I think the difference is they had the ability to attempt to politically lynch me. And I am a survivor of an attempted political lynching.”