There may not be many cowboys in Arizona anymore, but you wouldn’t know it from a pair of recent campaign ads by Republican candidates for Congress.
Cowboy-hatted QAnon congressional candidate Ron Watkins kicked things off in early February with a grainy, spaghetti Western web spot, complete with whip-crack sound effect, announcing the launch of a “nonviolent, volunteer, grassroots political organization” to support his bid in Congressional District 2.
That’s the new congressional district that covers most of Northern and Eastern Arizona, down to Pinal County.
Then Senate hopeful Jim Lamon upped the ante with a slick Super Bowl ad that has him slapping on six-shooters and a 10-gallon hat to square off in the street against “The D.C. Gang,” played here by masked-stand-ins for Joe Biden, Mark Kelly and Nancy Pelosi.
Lamon isn’t the only one wearing an Old West marshal’s badge, either. His posse at the just-OK Corral includes a pair real-life lawmen: Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd.
Though Lamon only shoots the weapons from the “bad guys’” hands, the ad sparked outrage — and, reportedly, a ban on Facebook — for its violent content. A number of critics pointed out that former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Kelly’s wife, is a still-recovering victim of the 2011 mass shooting in Tucson.
Lamon’s response on Twitter: “I think I might single handedly solve the Arizona drought with all the snow flakes that are melting over my Super Bowl ad.”
Coincidentally, or not, both Watkins and Lamon are relative newcomers to Arizona.
‘Course, it won’t much matter what the pundits and politicians think of all this cowboy cosplay. Though both Lamon and Watkins support overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election, ultimately it’ll be up to the primary voters to decide if these two fellers are all hat and no cattle.
Henry Brean
Cunningham blasts Avis
Tucson City Councilman Paul Cunningham called out Avis Car Rental in a profanity-laced Facebook post on Sunday night, criticizing the company for “unsavory” business practices and charging him a $50 cancellation fee when he tried to alter a reservation.
Cunningham said he had accidentally booked a car for an extra day and immediately canceled the reservation, but was told the fee would not be refunded. He explained that this was one of many such incidents he’s had with the company over the past 10 years and he was “pissed.”
The post mentioned having the company’s Tucson branch removed from the airport and launching an inquiry into when its sales taxes had last been audited. Cunningham wrote in the same message that he would never actually take those actions, however.
“I should use my influence to kick your a**** out of Tucson international airport because I don’t need any of my constituents subjugated to companies with unsavory business practices that exploit people and swindle their money,” he wrote. “But I actually believe in integrity and would never stoop to your level.”
Cunningham removed the post within about 15 minutes and replaced it with a new post saying he “shouldn’t get so worked up over a messed up car rental reservation.” He added that “we have local folks who work for this company and I should be collaborating with them to make it better, not sending off incendiary open letters.”
The Ward 2 councilman told the Star he regrets “venting” the way he did, but that it’s “unlikely I will book with Avis or any company affiliated with them again.” He also said the company later agreed to give him a full refund after he filed a report with the Better Business Bureau.
Avis Budget Group representatives did not comment on the situation.
Sam Kmack
Seems like a simple fix ...
The Legislature has already budgeted the money for the schools, but now they need to give the schools permission to spend it. If they don’t do it by March 1, Arizona schools will be forced to cut $1.1 billion in spending quickly.
It’s a simple problem that would seem to call for the simple solution of a bill that would permit the spending the Legislature approved. HCR 2039 is that bill. But it isn’t working out so simply, thanks in part to some Southern Arizona legislators.
The Arizona House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 45-14 to lift the cap on school spending and avoid catastrophic cuts, exceeding the needed two-thirds majority. The three Southern Arizona representatives who voted no were Republicans Mark Finchem of Oro Valley, Lupe Diaz of Benson and Gail Griffin of Hereford.
But Senate President Karen Fann is having a harder time getting the votes for the resolution in the Senate. With all the Democrats supporting it, along with a handful of Republicans, she needs just a couple more to reach the two-thirds threshold.
Among those who still have not committed to vote yes are two Southern Arizona senators: Republicans Vince Leach of SaddleBrooke and David Gowan of Sierra Vista.
Patty Machelor and Tim Steller
Finchem says he lacks signatures
Rep. Mark Finchem has been making a big name for himself lately. He submitted a doomed resolution to decertify the 2020 election results from Yuma, Pima and Maricopa counties. He also was subpoenaed by the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
And CNN reported Wednesday how Finchem, who is running for secretary of state, has engaged in extreme denial of the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that scientists can’t “prove COVID exists” and that the vaccines are “a crime against humanity.”
His high profile has yielded strong fundraising. He’s reported $662,910 in donations, second only to fellow GOP candidate Edward “Beau” Lane with $716,226. What he hasn’t got yet, though, is enough signatures to be a candidate.
“I am also short 2,000 signatures to get on the ballot,” Finchem said via Twitter on Monday. “Without your signature, I will not be able to even run.”
He can probably do it, though. He and other GOP candidates for secretary of state have until April 4 to gather a minimum of 7,378 valid signatures from Republicans and independents registered to vote in Arizona.
Tim Steller
Trump dumps on governor
Talk has been circulating in D.C. about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recruiting Gov. Doug Ducey to run for U.S. Senate in Arizona’s GOP primary.
The idea, according to national news reports, is that Donald Trump is losing his hold on the GOP, which gives Ducey a good shot to win the nomination and face Sen. Mark Kelly in the general election.
Trump is trying to stop such talk. On Monday, he sent out an email proclaiming, “MAGA will never accept RINO Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona running for the U.S. Senate—So save your time, money, and energy, Mitch!”
Tim Steller
