At a July 14 press conference, Yahya Yuksel announced he will stay in the race despite rape allegations which he tried to cover up. An angry crowd of 35 rape survivors and other women chanted “Shame on You!”
Candidate Yahya Yuksel persists in a bizarre campaign for the CD2 Congressional seat in Tucson — ignoring repeated calls for him to drop out of the race, disavowment by the Pima County Democratic Party, and cancellations of invitations from Democrats of Greater Tucson and Represent Me AZ.
Read Accused Rapist Yahya Yuksel Must Drop Out Now
Yuksel sent a broadcast email on July 26:
Is AZ Going Blue? It’s Up To You. | Y4C Newsletter
From: Yahya Yuksel yahya@yahya4congress.com
I have a strong belief that Democrats will win this seat in November. From polls to the last elections, everything seems to be going blue here, but it can only happen with your vote. So make sure to vote by early ballot starting August 1st.
Did you know that independents can also vote in Democratic primaries? You just need to call the County Recorder’s Office and ask to get the Democratic Primary ballot.
Pick the candidate who best represents you, and your policy ideas. Someone who holds both parties accountable when they stray.
- Someone not beholden to any party, or special interest but to the people they are elected to represent.
- Someone who has new solutions for increasing wages, adequately funding education, campaign finance reform, boosting solar energy, and funding an AZ high-speed rail.
Paid for by Yahya 4 Congress, if you wish to stop receiving these, just reply and let us know.
The email arrived as the Arizona Daily Star reported that Kenny Jacobs, the former campaign coördinator for Yuksel’s campaign, posted on Twitter that the campaign intentionally posted false information to the Federal Election Commission.
13/ surprising as Edip Yuksel is one of the least responsible persons I encountered during my time at the campaign. Cut to the chase – the filing is inaccurate AF. No, it’s not an intern’s fault. I believe Edip Yuksel purposefully filed that way to mask particular disbursements.
— Kenny Jacobs (@kennyjacobs) July 26, 2018
Jacobs left Yuksel’s team three weeks before the disastrous press conference.
Found Yuksel’s statement (from August 6?) about the alleged rape on his campaign website:
https://www.yahya4congress.com/statement.
He was available today August 12 at the Wilmot library to answer questions. The video is online at his FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/yahya4congress/
Just got this email from Yuksel’s campaign so I guess he’s still in the CD 2 race: “Dear American,
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” – Abraham Lincoln, June 16, 1858
People are tired of politics-as-usual, the division, the influence of money, the influence of special interests, and exposed bias in media. Why can’t we find a common set of facts to build upon (R.I.P. Walter Cronkite)? We don’t have to agree on everything to fight for the common ground we believe in.
Did you know Americans have a less than 20% approval rating for Congress, yet they preach the same rhetoric expecting different results. Moreover, the Parties show no ability to change, they force their preferred candidate onto you. They don’t offer new solutions to the same old problems. That’s why 24% of people view the parties unfavorably, up from just 2% in 2002.
Could this be a factor in why people feel so apathetic towards voting?
The federal government’s job is to do the following in a cost-effective manner:
· Protect national security
· Maintain relations with other sovereign states
· Protect consumers, the environment, and the less fortunate.
· Provide greater economic opportunity to most Americans
· Maintain public infrastructure.
My campaign is built on addressing all our problems with new, innovative solutions. We cannot continue to just get by, we must be bold in our policy, and stop the division in this country.
Please reach out to me by responding to this email. Let me know what you think. I want to hear from you.
Paid for by Yahya 4 Congress, if you wish to stop receiving these, just reply and let us know.
Contact Us”
I hope it’s not lost on those who have followed this story how badly all of this played out and how unfortunate it is for our politics. I have very conflicted feelings about it.
Certainly there is an urgent need for the best and brightest of our younger people to step up and compete for these seats in Congress. If we have any hope of rebuilding our democratic institutions when these devastating Trump years are finally over, then Congress is going to have to look like the people it supposedly represents. Congress is going to have to be more diverse and look like America.
Mr. Yuksel thought he was one of those people and perhaps he still does. And maybe he is, although not in AZ CD2 and not in 2018.
What really happened here is that Mr. Yuksel’s candidacy was derailed by the discovery of a 10 year old police report describing an alleged rape that a group of people decided was factual based on their judgement of the credibility of the alleged victim. And this is what ended Mr. Yuksel’s campaign which is effectively over whether he chooses to believe it or not. Everything that happened afterwards including the press conference, the KGUN interview, etc…did not contribute to Mr. Yuksel’s downfall because there was no way for him to resurrect a perception of good character once the alleged rape was accepted as factual by a group of people willing to pursue the demise of his candidacy.
And that leaves us with what? If the rape allegations are true, then an undesirable candidate has been flushed out of the race, assuming redemption is outside the realm of possibility. If the rape allegations are not true, then a rush to judgement flushed out a young and inexperienced candidate who did not take care of this problem in his past before entering the race.
But if the truth is murky as it so often is, then I’m not even sure what this is about anymore. Mr. Yuksel was not going to win the nomination even without the “scandal.” So, if anything, this story is a cautionary tale for those who attempt to run for public office. You better have your ducks in a row and/or pass all the purity tests before you declare your candidacy.
I think we need to recognize how much courage it takes for someone to step up and try to compete for an elected office. And I hope that other young people aren’t discouraged because of this.
Lastly, it’s time to move on. The body is dead, the corpse has been thrown overboard, and there is nothing to be gained by watching the sharks devour it.
Your ad hominem attacks on Mr. Bodine do not challenge the facts reported out in this article. I suspect the main reason is that the facts reported here are true and you are a supporter of Mr. Yusel who doesn’t like where the facts are pointing: a flawed candidate who really ought to bow out of the race and remove himself from the ballot.
It’s unfortunate that the author has no concern for facts, and it’s just another opinion hit piece that has no journalistic standards. I have lost far more respect for Mr. Bodine than his target Mr. Yuksel and find myself questioning the author’s motives?