Ben Buehler-Garcia: The Valiant Little Taylor

By Tom Prezelski

Cross-Posted From Rum, Romanism and Rebellion

It probably tells you everything that is wrong with the Republican
Party in Pima County that the hopeless candidacy of the clueless Mike
Polack has generated more excitement among their activist base than the
candidacy of a guy who nearly won 4 years ago.

Like Steve Kozachik, Ben Buehler-García distinguishes himself from most Republicans by not having complete
contempt for Tucson and Tucsonans. This was the reason for Kozachik’s
success, Bueller-Garcia’s near-success, and, on the opposite end of the
spectrum, the failed candidacy of Shaun McClusky. Of course, as we all
know, Kozachik was eventually run out of his party for such radical
notions, while McClusky inexplicably holds a position of high respect
among what passes for the Republican intelligentsia in the Old Pueblo.

Of course, none of this should be regarded as an endorsement of
Buehler-García. He is still wrong about nearly everything, but at least
he does not seem to hate the people he wants to represent, which counts
for something, not much, but something.

Because of his adequacy as a candidate, Buehler-García has largely
failed to arouse the enthusiasm of Republican activists who demand
someone more in the Frank Antenori mold of a guy willing to insult his
own constituents in the name of standing up for whatever passes for
conservative principles this week. Thus, as he did the last time he ran, he has resorted to trumpeting some non-achievements.

In this case, the bragging comes in the form of a Facebook ™ post,
ostensibly a “press release,” announcing that his candidacy is now
official:

May 14, 2013 – Tucson, AZ –
Tucson City Council candidate Ben Buehler-Garcia’s campaign filed an
Affidavit of Qualification with the Tucson City Clerk’s office
this morning – the first candidate to submit the maximum number of
allowable signatures.

Buehler-Garcia’s campaign hit the ground running April 27th, with a
crowd of supporters gathering sufficient signatures in a single morning
to put him on the ballot. In a second walk, volunteers gathered
additional signatures, far exceeding the maximum number that could be
submitted.

That would be nice, if it were true. Buehler-García filed his petitions two weeks after the incumbent, Karin Uhlich, so he cannot be called “first” by any means.

Buehler-García goes on to argue that this reflects “tremendous
support” for his candidacy, but there is some question about whether or
not this can be considered a remarkable achievement. Buehler-García’s much touted “maximum number” of signatures is still less than the minimum required for Democrat Uhlich. Thus, by his own logic, Uhlich’s candidacy has even more support than his.

Of course, this is all stupid. The question of who filed what
and when they filed it is one that serves mostly to give insiders
something to talk about before campaigning begins in earnest. It will be
forgotten by August when we all start arguing about real issues. What
is important is what this says about the pathetic state of the overall
Republican effort.

If our City Council was as universally reviled as the Star
and other sources keep saying it is, it would follow that there would
be any number of concerned citizens lining up to try to replace them,
and even more who are willing to write checks and volunteer. That this
has not happened seems to indicate either that the community as a whole
is not nearly as unhappy with the direction of its leadership as the
guys who post onto the Star’s comment section are, or that the local Republican Party is simply incapable of putting up a competent opposition.

Councilman Kozachik has attracted no opponent despite his
status as most hated councilman among the Jon LoGiudice crowd. As
mentioned above, Councilman Fimbres will be running against a pretty
mediocre one-issue candidate. That the only competent Republican
candidate has generated so little sincere enthusiasm is an indication
that Tucson is going to remain a one-party town for the time being.