“Honest leadership… For a change” is a great campaign slogan, except when the candidate running on that slogan embodies anything but integrity.
Such is the case for the former Republican candidate Steve May, who was running for the Arizona House of Representatives in Legislative District 17, which houses ASU.
May, who withdrew from the race early last week, went from being a phenomenon to a controversy. Winning in the primary as a write-in candidate, he seemed set for success in November’s general election.
However, investigations suggested he was anything but an ideal candidate.
Allegations that May asked homeless people on Mill Avenue to run for public office as Green Party candidates produced a national investigation, including an interview on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and a front page story on the New York Times.
The purpose of recruiting more Green Party candidates, critics say, was to split the Democratic vote. The alleged motive was for some people to vote for the Democratic candidates, while others voted for Green Party candidates, ultimately reducing the power of Arizona’s Democratic Party. But May denied those claims.
“Well, that's not the purpose, and it's really not the point, either. The Democrat Party doesn't own those votes, and neither does the Republican Party,” May told Robert Siegel, host of “All Things Considered.”
The Arizona Democratic Party complained that several candidates May recruited were “sham candidates.” Shortly after that, the Arizona Green Party filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to remove up to 11 candidates off of the ballot.
While May vehemently denied these recruited candidates, one of whom lists his campaign office as a Starbucks, were recruited to divide the Democratic vote, the events surrounding this controversy suggest otherwise.
May’s sudden withdrawal from the race drew speculation, while the vagueness of his press release announcing this has only increased the questions.
“This unique experiment in democracy has also raised my own awareness and helped me see clearly that personal and political timing must align for a campaign to truly be successful. I spoke about the need for honest leadership, and I have determined the necessary personal alignment does not exist to continue the campaign,” he said in a press release.
Perhaps, this is one of the few political controversies that end with the candidate doing the right thing.
Either way, the national humiliation forced May to do the right thing. Arizona voters do not deserve to have a well-funded, hypocritical candidate on the ballot.
Once again, public inquiries have allowed the truth to surface, reconfirming that a free press and free speech, foundations for our democracy, are alive and well.
Andrew can be reached at andrew.hedlund@asu.edu.
