It’s time to hold the Maricopa County attorney and sheriff accountable, two Democratic candidates hoping to oust the incumbent Republicans said Friday.

Democrats Dan Saban and Tim Nelson spoke at the Tempe campus’ Discovery Hall in a forum sponsored by the Young Democrats.

Saban is running to unseat Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and Nelson is running against County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

Saban and Nelson said it’s time to hold the Republicans responsible: Arpaio for alleged racial profiling and Thomas for allegedly overreaching his power.

Both candidates said the alleged abuses have occurred because voters have not gone to the polls to hold them accountable.

“These are two dangerous men who are in office,” Saban said. “I can’t sit back and not offer voters a choice.”

Saban ran against Arpaio in the 2004 Republican primary, receiving 44 percent of the vote. He said it was a campaign to gain name recognition. Saban is an ASU alumnus with more than 30 years in law enforcement.

“I’m not a politician. I’m a cop,” Saban said. “This position is what I do. It’s easy to throw my hat into the ring.”

Arpaio’s obsession with illegal immigration has put public safety at risk, he said. Rather than pouring so much manpower into combating illegal immigration, Saban said he would focus on the 10 to 12 percent of illegal immigrants who are actually committing crimes. Then he would reapportion deputies to improve response times.

Saban added that Arpaio has 24 appointed top-level executive staff positions when he only needs eight to 10.

“He spends our tax money to promote himself,” Saban said.

Arpaio’s campaign staff did not respond to requests for comment.

Nelson told ASU students in attendance that they would live with the effects of this election — on both a national and local level — for years to come.

“There has never been a more important election than this year,” Nelson said.

He said the polls for his race are in a dead heat and appealed to the students for donations.

“Unfortunately, it takes money to get elected and, in a race as close as mine, every dollar counts,” Nelson said.

Nelson has practiced law for 20 years, recently serving as general counsel to Gov. Janet Napolitano. He also served as special counsel to Napolitano when she was the state’s attorney general.

The county attorney’s job is to prosecute criminals, give legal advice and defend the county if it gets sued. Nelson said he took issue with the amount of money Thomas spends on outside lawyers. In 2004, $5 million went to outside lawyers or consultants. That number has increased threefold, 80 percent of which has gone to campaign contributors, he said.

“Sometimes you need specialized counsel, but much of this is unnecessary,” Nelson said.

In response, Barnett Lotstein, spokesman for the county attorney’s office, said the increase was reflective of the population increase in Maricopa County over the last four years. Getting good counsel to win cases saves taxpayers money in the long run, he said.

“The population has grown substantially, and there is a greater need for legal service,” Lotstein said. “We’ve used outside counsel successfully. [Outside counsel has] won the last 11 cases against the sheriff’s office.”

Reach the reporter at philip.haldiman@asu.edu.