Do the People of Arizona Really Want Jake Hoffman Writing Arizona Election Law?

What were Voters in LD 12 and Rusty Bowers thinking when it comes to Jake Hoffman?

The voters in Arizona Legislative District 12 and State House Speaker Rusty Bowers have told the residents of the Grand Canyon State over the last three weeks that, when it comes to Jake Hoffman, potential crime does pay.

How did they do that?

Remember that Mr. Hoffman has been accused of the likely crimes of:

• “Underpaying underage labor (conservative teenage activists apparently linked to Charlie Kirk’s Turning Points organization) for trolling conservative, Pro-Trump, Anti Biden, and Anti-Democratic Party leaning content. That breaks minimum wage statutes. 
• Creating many bogus social media accounts that were operated by the underage underpaid labor force.
• Creating a candidate for Legislative District Five, Randall Sand, that does not exist. Let us say that again. Randall Sand does not exist. This is a clear case of election fraud.

Despite these revelations, the voters in Legislative District 12 elected Mr. Hoffman to serve in the Arizona State House.

Furthermore, Arizona State House Speaker Rusty Bowers has decided to put him on the House Government and Elections Committee as the Vice-Chairperson.

YSR 11-17-20

Talk about putting a fox in the hen house.

As Laurie Roberts sarcastically noted in the headline of her November 23, 2020 column for AZ Central:

“House Speaker Rusty Bowers appoints a newly elected legislator who specializes in internet disinformation campaigns to the No. 2 post on the panel that oversees elections. Genius plan.”

State Representative Athena Salman, the ranking Democrat on the House Government and Elections Committee issued the following statement, reacting to this “great thinking” on the part of Mr. Bowers:

“Representative-elect Hoffman ran a business that took advantage of lax laws on the intentional spreading of disinformation about our elections on social media. Several major platforms permanently suspended him for his unethical behavior in violation of their rules. Instead of keeping him far away from important elections issues facing our state, the conservative-majority put Hoffman second in command on the Government & Elections Committee. This effectively is putting the fox in charge of the henhouse, both eroding public confidence in the process and putting our elections in harm’s way.”

In a reply to questioning by Erasmus Baxter the Phoenix New Times, the Republican Communications Director for the State House of Representatives, Andrew Wilder, commented:

“Incoming Representative Hoffman was duly elected by the voters in LD12 and will bring experience to the Government & Elections Committee with his previous elected service on the Queen Creek Town Council and Higley School Board.”

Really?

Is he kidding?

Since when does any public servant welcome the experience of someone who has engaged in highly unethical and possible criminal behavior.

That is a question that should be asked of the voters in Legislative District (LD) 12 who ignored a viable write-in candidate (Kristin Clark) and still voted for Mr. Hoffman.

That is a question for Rusty Bowers who clearly values a different sort of experience than most leaders.

That could also be a question for the Chairperson of the Government and Elections Committee, John Kavanagh.

A person who served in law enforcement before becoming a state legislator, people should wonder how Mr. Kavanagh feels about having a vice-chair who has a history of underpaying child labor to promote false election propaganda on an East Valley Troll Farm or who has created phantom candidates that do not exist.

Do the people of Arizona really want Jake Hoffman writing Arizona Election Law?

Not based on his past unethical or possible criminal behavior.

Shame on Mr. Bowers.

Shame on the voters in LD 12.