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And Finally, Here's The Reality
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"My Ward 6
team and I thank each of you who
supported the work we’re doing
on behalf of the community. With
the Primary election behind us,
there’s a citywide General
election coming. Today, I’m
going to do my opponent a big
favor; I’m introducing you to
him so you know what’s at stake.
This week I’ll give you the
broad brush strokes on who this
guy really is. In coming weeks,
I’ll share more specifics on his
statements and social media
posts. |
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If at anytime
he’d like to refute any of these
claims, he has made it
abundantly clear that he’s no
stranger to social media. I’ll
be watching to see if he feels
misrepresented. |
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What’s behind
the smiley face you see
plastered on signs around town?
Val Romero is running as an
“Independent.” The truth is he’s
out speaking at Libertarian
events admitting that he’s so
far to the right that he’s
“creating chaos in the
Republican Party.” In Arizona,
that’s quite an accomplishment. |
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Romero says
his campaign mantra is “unity in
the community.” What does that
look like? He was out front on a
Recall Romero (our Mayor)
campaign, has called for the
recall of every sitting City
Council member, is openly
critical of the TUSD school
board for their mask policy, has
denigrated Pima County for
supporting the arts, and has
marginalized our African
American community with
derogatory comments he made
about the importance of our
CROWN Act respecting natural
hair styles. That’s Val Romero’s
idea of ‘unity.’ |
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Note to Val:
building a working rapport with
colleagues does not start with
that sort of rhetoric. But I see
how it fits with your far right,
Libertarian approach to
‘governance.’
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This week
I’ll introduce you to two
particularly illuminating bits
of his “platform.” When I
co-hosted a free vaccination
clinic at Reid Park Zoo, Romero
posted on social media that it
was something to “fight
against.” Here’s the post:
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His call to
arms was to ‘fight against’ a
voluntary, free vaccination
clinic. His hashtag #individualsovereignty
is the call to arms of a No
Vaxer. That truly is deserving
of a ‘sad face.’ |
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And with the
surge in COVID infections, the
TUSD school board implemented a
mandatory mask policy. I believe
that policy is aligned with
science, the CDC guidance on
mitigating COVID community
spread, and I applaud them for
demonstrating leadership in the
face of the governor’s failure
in that area. Here’s Val
Romero’s response: |
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#individualsovereignty?
Being a No Vaxer and anti-mask
is not showing leadership during
a pandemic. |
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On his
Facebook, Val Romero has quotes
from Andrew Breitbart – an icon
of the Rush Limbaugh right. His
breathtaking failure to
understand the values of this
community is on full display
throughout his social media
exposure of what’s really behind
the smiley face you see on the
signs. |
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More?
Romero’s campaign base camp
appears to be behind tables out
at gun shows. His social media
is plastered with those images.
When I brought a Resolution to
the City stating we will enforce
federal gun laws in Tucson and
reject the nullification law
adopted by the uber-conservative
Arizona State Legislature that
is in violation of the U.S.
Constitution Supremacy Clause,
Romero posted this: |
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Romero then
went on one of the
last-remaining low rent shock
jock shows in the city and
stated “I’m not about community
policing because I’m not gonna
say ‘hey, you shouldn’t be doing
that. We need actual trained law
enforcement officers with
firearms and everything.”
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Note to Val:
Community policing is a critical
component of developing
productive relationships with
our entire community. It serves
as a key communication tool,
force expander and builds trust
between our police officers and
the residents they are sworn to
protect. |
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Romero would
rather send our cops into
neighborhoods ready to shoot
than to put in the hard work of
establishing rapport. |
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And it’s also
important to note that the
‘host’ of that show uses a
pronunciation of Mayor Romero’s
first name that is a sexual
derivative most women would find
offensive. Val, it’s not cute
that you chuckled your way
through the interview each time
he used the term. |
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Mr. Romero,
Tucson is not a gun-totin' town
that doesn’t support the arts,
is racially insensitive, is No
Vax, anti mask, and that can
tolerate someone running for
office who will not invest the
minimal amount of effort to
speak intelligently about our
core issues. That, sir, is
someone impersonating a
candidate. |
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Meanwhile,
I’ll continue promoting our
water security, fighting on
behalf of the community for a
clean groundwater supply,
working with telecom to assure
the quality of the aesthetics of
our residential neighborhoods,
study the budget and support
funding decisions to repair our
roads, support our police in
their work at establishing
rapport with residents, and work
collaboratively with my
colleagues in public office
throughout the region. |
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Supporting
recall elections of every member
of the Mayor and Council, and
posting semi-lucid criticisms of
the TUSD school board and Pima
County leadership is not
advocating for ‘unity in the
community.’ |
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The General
Election is citywide. No matter
which ward you live in, you can
vote. You now know what’s behind
the smiley face on all those
signs. He’s not Tucson." |
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Steve Kozachik, Aug. 10, 2021,
Source |
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