Few have tried to impeach a state senator in Arizona. Even fewer have succeeded. But the Tucson grassroots movement is trying to do just that.
Republican Senator Justin Wadsak won the seat by less than 2,800 votes and was sworn in on January 9. Since then, she has drafted legislation to attack the homeless, LGBTQ people, drag queens and children. That’s why the Tucson-based group Sack Wazakfiled papers to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office on May 8 to dismiss her.
Sak Wadsak, whose logo features Wadsak’s iconic bangs, darker eyebrows and bright lipstick, received 5 signatures from 30,981 people, a quarter of the total votes cast in the November election. I started collecting on the 9th of the month.
The bipartisan group has until Sept. 5 to gather signatures in the legislative 17th district, the Republican-majority constituency in northeast Tucson, home to more than 230,000 people.
no easy task
The feat of recalling an Arizona senator has been attempted three times. There has been one success — in 2011, when voters recalled Senator Russell Pierce, who drafted an anti-immigration bill and later advocated eugenics and sterilization of poor women.
Sak Wadsak spokeswoman Christina Rodriguez said the effort would be successful given Wadsak’s legislative record of attacking people like Pierce more than a decade ago. But Arizona doesn’t need a reason to file a recall.
“What she’s doing hurts us as Arizonans,” Rodriguez said. “Her bill she’s trying to pass affects all of Arizona. She’s trying to hurt people not just in Tucson. She’s trying to hurt people across the state.”
“Phoenix people should care,” she added.
A transgender pride flag is hoisted during a protest against anti-LGBTQ laws at the Arizona State Capitol on January 22nd.
Matt Henney
‘She’s ignoring voters’
in a letter to the editor In an article published in the Arizona Daily Star on March 31, Tucson resident Jim McWilliams said that Wadsak was “an ignorant man, but perhaps the ignorant people of Arizona deserve political representation.” No,” he insisted.
But Sak Wadsak, founded on February 15, believes the senator violated his oath of office by crossing the line of ignorance by claiming on Twitter that he would only serve those who voted for him. there is
“She’s ignoring voters in her constituency,” Rodriguez said. “Regardless of whether we agree or not, and despite how divided we are in politics right now, you are not a senator of your own party only.”
Sak Wadsak cited four bills sponsored by Wadsak as reasons for the recall.
- SB1435 It would eliminate the requirement for Arizona attorneys to be members of the Arizona Bar. Instead, responsibility for licensing state attorneys falls to the Supreme Court.
- SB1700 It would ban books of a sexual nature in schools, books that “promote gender fluidity and gender pronouns,” and books that “promote the grooming of children to normalize pedophilia.”
- SB1698 It would be a felony for parents to take their children to drag shows, and parents who chose to take their children to shows would be registered as sex offenders.
- SB1413 It will require cities in Arizona to tear down homeless camps and sue those who live there for trespassing.
The House passed SB1698 and SB1413 on Monday and sent them to the Senate. If the bill reaches Governor Katie Hobbs, Democrats are expected to add it to her historic and growing veto list. SB 1700 passed the Senate on March 20 and is awaiting a final vote in the House.
“(Wadsak) is amplifying the hysteria about drag performance,” Tina Kilkallen said. A petition was filed with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office seeking the recall of Wadsak. “She’s not going to stop writing these tough bills.”
Wadsak and a member of her staff declined to comment for the story.
“Too extreme for Arizona”
If Sak Wadsak manages to collect the required signatures by Sept. 5, the group will have 10 days to file a recall petition with the Pima County Registrar’s Office. Wadsak will then have five days to decide whether to resign. If she doesn’t, the government will organize a recall election to be held on the next available election day.
Sak Wadsak has no financial backing, but has a large team of door-to-door volunteers who plan events throughout the summer.
“Sen. Wadsak is too extreme for Arizona,” the group wrote. May 1 Letter to the Stateannounced its intention to petition for a recall vote. “She made it clear that she was more interested in being a ‘culture warrior’ to legislate moral panic than listening to the needs of voters.”
Will Wadsak be the second state senator to be impeached? only time will tell.
