Local radio station KTAR is reporting that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio may be considering a gubernatorial run:

(Arpaio) won't say what he'd do about the state budget if elected.

"First of all I won't answer that and give away my secrets to all the other opponents," he said. "I will answer that if I decide to run. People have to understand where I'm coming from."

He's confident that he'd win the election and can do the job of governor. "I'll take my resume and put it against anybody in this state where I've been in private business. I've been in the Army...I met with ambassadors. I can go on and on."

A November 2008 study by Rasmussen Reports showed Arpaio with a clear advantage over other likely candidates.

In other news, a Department of Justice official sent a strongly worded letter to Arpaio's attorney in a civil rights case over the weekend, saying that the DOJ said it would examine a written summary of the racketeering allegations, not dig through the entire case files.

Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced Thursday they were dropping the racketeering suit against the Board of Supervisors because the DOJ was taking over the investigation.

The letter also said that it would share all the material Arpaio sent with the investigators at the U.S. Attorney's Office. Arpaio is currently the subject of a federal grand jury investigation into allegations of abuse of power.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio have filed a motion to dismiss the federal racketeering lawsuit they filed against the Board of Supervisors in December.

In the motion, Thomas says the Justice Department has agreed to investigate the Board of Supervisors for misconduct.

In a news conference Monday, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced they're filing a federal racketeering lawsuit against many county leaders, some attorneys and several judges, among others. The suit alleges that the Board of Supervisors actively worked to prevent the sheriff's and the county attorney's offices from performing their duties.

In a statement, the Board of Supervisors called the suit a "sore loser lawsuit." A county spokeswoman also said that Arpaio and Thomas appear to have "very active imaginations."

• Arpaio, Thomas vs. Maricopa County Board Of Supervisors, et. al.
• News Release: Arpaio, Thomas File Racketeering Lawsuit