Arizona Republic columnist Abe Kwok recently wrote an op-ed claiming congressional candidate Conor O’Callaghan has been unfairly slinging mud at his fellow primary candidates. Dual op-ed headlines called the attacks “meritless” and “laughable.”
O’Callaghan’s legitimate questions of his opponent are neither. Also, as Kwok himself alluded to in a prior column, isn’t the whole point of a competitive primary to distinguish oneself from the others on the basis of facts?
During the recent Congressional District 1 Clean Elections debate, O’Callaghan referred to “Planned Parenthood [being] under attack in the court system here in the ’90s,” and asked what Marlene Galán-Woods had done to speak up.
He spared Galán-Woods the indignity of pointing out that her husband, Grant Woods, led the charge against Planned Parenthood at that time.
A simple Google search would have revealed this to Kwok.
In the same debate, Galán-Woods countered O’Callaghan’s charge that she donated to former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer by citing the exact dollar amount but then saying in the same breath that she doesn’t recall the donation.
She then said afterward that she never backed Brewer, only to be contradicted immediately by follow-up reporting by Dennis Welch confirming the donation to Brewer, who signed one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country at the time.
Shouldn’t the takeaway be Galán-Woods’ credibility, rather than focus on the person who posed the question?
Galán-Woods’ husband was Brewer’s campaign co-chair. She also donated the maximum allowable amount.
It’s fine, if not admirable, for one’s views to change and evolve, but Galán-Woods is gaslighting voters by pretending she didn’t fight against Democratic Party ideals for nearly four decades. She wasn’t just a bystander; she was actively engaged.
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She was nowhere to be seen voicing concerns about any Republican policies until it was politically convenient in the post-Trump era. It is fair game for people to call out a pattern of behavior in Galán-Woods’ record.
Perhaps the facts seem obscure in isolation, but together, they tell a most concerning story.
Kwok also took issue with points O’Callaghan made about Amish Shah voting for Trump in 2016 and his voter registration history.
No “grains of salt” were necessary here.
Shah only registered as a Republican in Arizona in 2016, shortly before announcing his run for the Legislature, and never registered as a Democrat for the decades he lived in New York. His stances on contraceptives and gay conversion therapy at the Statehouse should give any Democratic voter pause.
These are all entirely legitimate concerns that should be raised.
Most disturbing is that Kwok dismissed these factual past positions as “laughable” and “meritless.”
It was journalistically dishonest of Kwok to claim O’Callaghan’s “attacks” have no merit, especially when further research clearly demonstrates their validity.
The fact is, O’Callaghan did what the media should have been doing for months.
They should have sent him a thank-you note, not an ill-advised opinion piece.
As a CD 1 community organizer and women’s rights activist, it is apparent that O’Callaghan has what it takes to fight for us in Congress. To that end, I proudly volunteered to appear in a video endorsement on his behalf.
As a lifelong Democrat, he has always fought for women’s rights, has always supported candidates that fight for women’s rights, and will continue to fight for the rights of myself, my daughter and the women in my community.
Shea Najafi founded the Civics 101 Happy Hour and is the Scottsdale Women’s Rights Rally lead organizer. On X, formerly Twitter: @shea_najafi.
Thank, don't blame, O'Callaghan for his questions
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28.05.2024
Arizona Republic columnist Abe Kwok recently wrote an op-ed claiming congressional candidate Conor O’Callaghan has been unfairly slinging mud at his fellow primary candidates. Dual op-ed headlines called the attacks “meritless” and “laughable.”
O’Callaghan’s legitimate questions of his opponent are neither. Also, as Kwok himself alluded to in a prior column, isn’t the whole point of a competitive primary to distinguish oneself from the others on the basis of facts?
During the recent Congressional District 1 Clean Elections debate, O’Callaghan referred to “Planned Parenthood [being] under attack in the court system here in the ’90s,” and asked what Marlene Galán-Woods had done to speak up.
He spared Galán-Woods the indignity of pointing out that her husband, Grant Woods, led the charge against Planned Parenthood at that time.
A simple Google search would have revealed this to Kwok.
In the same debate, Galán-Woods........
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