When people like former Mesa Mayor John Giles and Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury saw the MAGA extremism enveloping their Republican Party, they showed courage and good character by distancing themselves from the scourge of the Alt-Reality Trumpist Cancer, including those individuals who persist in their big lie assertions that the 2020 elections were stolen from Donald Trump.
Spilsbury lost her council seat in a recall election propelled by the MAGA zealot-leaders of Turning Point.
Current Scottsdale Councilman Barry Graham apparently does not feel broadcasting the big lie of the 2020 election year after year is a disqualifier for public office, choosing to endorse election denier and disgraced litigator Alex Kolodin in his quest to become Arizona’s next Secretary of State, the person in charge of administering elections in the Grand Canyon State.
Local area activists Shea Najafi and John Ainley have called out Graham for his embrace of Kolodin.
Najafi commented to Blog for Arizona.
“I can tell you Scottsdale voters of all stripes don’t like extremism of any kind. The fact that Barry Graham publicly endorsed an extremist election denier for Secretary of State who was sanctioned by the State Supreme Court and was detained by Scottsdale PD in 2020 is a major red flag and shows bad judgment on his part.”
In an op-ed for Arizona Promise and Gazette, Ainlay wrote:
“Kolodin was directly involved in efforts challenging Arizona’s 2020 election results. He served as local counsel in Sidney Powell’s failed “Kraken” lawsuit seeking to overturn the result, litigation that later led to him being admonished by the State Bar of Arizona and placed on probation.”
“He represented Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward as she fought a subpoena from the congressional committee investigating January 6. Kolodin’s association through these bad actors with this shameful episode in American history makes him complicit with
cop-beaters.
Now Kolodin is running to oversee Arizona’s elections, and Barry Graham is publicly backing him. The same Barry Graham who touts POSA support and claims he’s just here to put residents first. But by endorsing Kolodin, Barry is putting his weight behind a guy who doesn’t think residents should get a say in how they vote.
This matters in Scottsdale, where roughly two-thirds of voters historically cast ballots by mail. Kolodin has supported legislation to shorten early voting, ban vote centers, and require voters to repeatedly verify their address to continue receiving an early ballot. He also sponsored a 2026 ballot measure imposing new voter-ID requirements that critics warn could make mail voting significantly harder.
So where does Barry Graham stand?
Does he believe Joe Biden won Arizona in 2020? Does he condemn the effort to overturn that result? What are his views of January 6? Does he support Scottsdale residents’ continued ability to conveniently vote by mail? Does he support Kolodin’s proposals to fundamentally change Arizona’s early-voting system?
Graham made these questions relevant by endorsing Kolodin for the office that administers our elections.
If Barry supports Kolodin, he should answer these questions and explain whether he also supports Kolodin’s record and election agenda.”
The Blog for Arizona reached out to Councilman Graham for comment, but he did not respond.
The questions Najafi and Ainly raise should definitely be pondered by Scottsdale voters when they go to the polls to consider Graham’s and Kolodin’s candidacies.
Do they want an election denier as their next Secretary of State?
Do they want to re-elect a Councilman who puts party over decency and reality?
The answer to both questions should be a two-letter word.
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