PHOENIXΒ β The president of the state Senate wants to rename a major Arizona freeway for Charlie Kirk.
Senate President Warren Petersen, a Gilbert Republican and a GOP candidate for attorney general, wants Kirk's name on the 78-mile stretch of Loop 202, which carries more vehicles every day than any other Arizona highway, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
"It is right that Arizonans are regularly reminded of the tremendous legacy of this champion for free speech who was assassinated for his stand, which is why I introduced this bill,'' Petersen told Capitol Media Services.Β "Charlie Kirk is a son of Arizona who embodied the very fabric of our founding fathers when they crafted the Bill of Rights," he said,Β saying his phrase "son of Arizona" means the 31-year-old Kirk made Arizona his home, although he grew up in and spent more than half of his life in Illinois.Β
Segments of Loop 202 have a name, including Red Mountain and San Tan, and one 23-mile stretch is called the Ed Pastor Freeway, named for a former Arizona Democratic congressman.
Republican former Gov. Doug Ducey presided over the naming ceremony in 2019 when that last stretch of theΒ highway was completed. There are signs on the road designating it as named for Pastor, the state's first Latino congressmember.Β
Petersen said his proposed legislation would not overturn that name; there's nothing wrong with segments of the freeway keeping their existing designations and having Kirk's name added to them, he said. He did not explain whether that means ADOT would have to erect two sets of signs along the route.
The proposal for a new designation annoys House Minority Leader Oscar De Los Santos.
The freewayΒ β and, in particular, the segment named for PastorΒ β passes through his district that includes Laveen and areas in southwest Phoenix. He said Pastor's name was put on the roadway because he was instrumental in securing the federal funds for construction.
"And that's how it should stay,'' De Los Santos said.
As for having a highway with dual names, "It would make more sense to extend Congressman Pastor's name to the entire loop to avoid confusion,'' he said.
De Los Santos was careful to say his opposition to Petersen's proposal has nothing to do with Kirk, whose Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action political organizations were based in Arizona.
Senate President Warren Petersen
"The murder of Charlie Kirk was horrific,'' the House Democratic leader said. "We abhor and have spoken out against political violence, gun violence, and incendiary rhetoric both before and after this incident.'' Kirk was shot to death in September while speaking at Utah Valley University.
Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan had a somewhat different response to the idea of state lawmakers considering such legislation.
"Too many people are dying, as a result of Republican inaction in gun violence prevention, for us to rename highways after all of them,'' said the Tucson Democrat.
There's also the fact that highways and geographic features generally get their names changed only after going through a review by the legislatively established Arizona State Board on Geographic and Historic Names. In the case of state roads, that is done with input of the Arizona Department of Transportation.
But Petersen said his plan is superior.
Charlie KirkΒ
"We chose the legislative route because it provides full transparency and a direct accountable vote by the people's elected representatives,'' he said.
"The board typically handles naming requests,'' Petersen acknowledged. "But given the magnitude of Charlie's impact and the circumstances of his death, it's appropriate for the Legislature to take this up directly.''
Petersen's proposal also goes against a generally accepted board policy to not name something after people until they have been gone for at least five years. That appears designed both to avoid political controversy and toΒ provide the ability to look at requests with the benefit of historical perspective.
In using the legislative process, the Senate president legally avoids going through the board and is not subject to the board's five-year rule.
Petersen declined to say directly why he doesn't want to wait until 2030, responding instead by saying Kirk has "touched millions of lives.''
"He understood that the United States of America was unique in the world, in large part, because of the unequivocal commitment to free speech,'' he said.
As to that five-year rule, even the board itself has ignored it.
Then-Gov. Doug Ducey in 2019 at the dedication of a new segment of the Loop 202 freeway in honor of former Congressman Ed Pastor.
That happened in 2003 after Democratic then-Gov. Janet Napolitano pushed the board to rename Squaw Peak in Phoenix after Army soldier Lori Piestewa, a Hopi. She was the first Native American woman killed in combat for the United States.
There was some objection at the time. But the board majority approved the change even though it came just a month after Piestewa died in Iraq after a rocket-propelled grenade hit her Humvee during an ambush.
What Petersen is proposing is not unique. Local officials have received requests to rename streets after Kirk. But at least one has been rejected: a bid by the Rev. Jarrett Maupin Jr., a Kirk supporter, to name the Seventh Street bridge in downtown Phoenix.
