State Sen. Victoria Steele, D-Tucson, said she’s spoken with the FBI after an online town hall she was holding last week was interrupted by somebody who shared child pornography.
Steele called the incident “violent,” “traumatic” and “hideous” for the roughly 125 people who tuned in on the virtual Zoom discussion alongside state Reps. Pamela Powers Hannley and Randy Friese, who also represent the north-side Tucson district.
But it ultimately triggered Steele, a child sexual abuse survivor, who said she didn’t feel safe, suffered heart palpitations and had to spend the night on the phone with friends because she was unable to sleep.
“I will be OK, but I will never be fine as a result of what happened to me as a child,” Steele told the Star. “I was a victim of this when I was a little girl. It has had an ongoing impact on my life. I’ve had to work with it. I’ve had to deal with it my entire life.”
Steele has become an advocate to stop child sexual abuse and violence against women. She co-founded the Tucson Chapter of the National Organization for Women. She also has pushed for state legislation to curb sexual abuse, including an unsuccessful attempt this session to narrow the exceptions that prevent some clergy members to be classified as mandatory sexual abuse reporters.
For that work, Steele said she feels like she was targeted by the video.
“I do think that was issue-specific because … they didn’t show the video until I started talking about child abuse,” she said, adding the video came in the 49th minute of the town hall.
Steele said she was notified by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which forwarded her case to the FBI, with whom she has interviewed. An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment.
Steele, who sent out an email to the participants of the Zoom call with a list of mental health resources, said she’ll continue to be outspoken regarding her opposition to sexual abuse.
“Why do I do this work? Because I know what it’s like and I want to prevent this and stop the monsters who are doing it,” she said.
Tucson continues its fight against Legislature over election dates
The city of Tucson has filed a complaint against the state regarding its move to change the timing of elections, arguing that it violates the city’s charter, and ultimately continuing a yearslong battle with the Legislature.
The city has long fought the state over its passing of laws in 2017 and 2018 that require Arizona cities with odd-year elections to switch to even years, or the same years as state and federal elections, which have the highest turnout.
In January, the Tucson City Council had unanimously passed a motion for the city’s legal staff to argue that the statute “cannot be applied to the city as a charter city with respect to the timing of either candidate or non candidate elections, including the charter amendment elections that are purely a matter of local concern.”
The city’s complaint, which was filed in Pima County Superior Court on May 1, asserts those points, according to a copy obtained by the Star.
A spokeswoman for Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who is named as one of the defendants along with the state, said Thursday the office has not been served and is “not commenting at this time.”
County attorney candidate gets endorsement despite competitor’s family connection
The Tucson Police Department Officers Association has endorsed Jonathan Mosher, a Democratic candidate for Pima County Attorney, calling him “a well-respected prosecutor, successfully working on a number of high-profile cases with many members of our association.”
Jonathan Mosher
The association, which has more than 700 officers, detectives and sergeants, said in a news release that Mosher, who has held the positions of chief criminal deputy, chief trial counsel and felony training supervisor, “tenaciously” prosecuted cases involving officers who were the victims of crime.
That endorsement comes at the expense of another Democratic candidate for county attorney, Laura Conover, a criminal law attorney who is running as a criminal justice reform candidate. She is the sister of Sgt. Jason Winsky, supervisor of TPD’s mental health support team.
Laura Conover
Conover has otherwise picked up a number of key individual endorsements, including ones from U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, state Reps. Pamela Powers Hannley and Andrés Cano, and Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson.
Mosher boasts endorsements from outgoing County Attorney Barbara LaWall, county Supervisor Ramón Valadez and state Sen. Andrea Dalessandro.
Despite limits on groups, rally held at Chuy’s
More than 100 people, led by Daniel McCarthy, an Arizona candidate for U.S. Senate, and Garret Lewis, a local radio host, held a political rally this week at Chuy’s Mesquite Broiler in Oro Valley after the restaurant had its liquor license suspended because of coronavirus restrictions.
A group held a political rally outside Chuy’s Mesquite Broiler in Oro Valley. The state liquor board last month suspended the liquor license of Chuy’s after officials said the restaurant was allowing diners to eat on the patio.
The restaurant’s owner, Christopher Evenson, told KVOA that the meetup was intended for supporters who “share the same ideas on how everyone feels and stands politically.” Photos shared on Facebook showed many of the attendees were from the Tucson Trump MAGA Meetup group.
While local and state orders ban public gatherings, Evenson told the station that what he thinks happened at the restaurant wasn’t illegal. Oro Valley police did not issue any citations but drove by to make sure the event was peaceful.
“The short answer is no. I do not think it is illegal,” he said. “We are all adults, congregating where we want to congregate.”
Evenson, who has already said he plans to appeal the suspension, called the police decision the “correct step.”
“At this point in time with how long this thing has gone on, I think that is the correct step,” he said. “There is more dangerous activity going on elsewhere than congregating for business sake and political beliefs.”
Vote by mail open for coronavirus-concerned voters
Voters who usually vote at the polls and may want to do so from home this year are now able to sign up to vote by mail for the Aug. 4 primaries.
Those interested can do so at www.recorder.pima.gov/BallotByMail, by printing and mailing a form on the website, or calling 724-4330.
To be eligible, you must be registered to vote at least 29 days before Election Day, 18 years of age on or before the day of the election, and must request a ballot by 5 p.m. July 24.
Meanwhile, those who are already on the permanent early voter list received a notice this week about the primary. Almost one-third of voters who received the notice are “independent” or “party not designated” voters, so they have the option to choose which political party’s ballot they would like to receive for the primary.
