In this episode:
In the coming weeks we’ll bring you extended conversations with some of the candidates looking to represent you.
Today we hear from the two candidates for Yuma County Recorder.
Democrat Emilia Cortez is new to politics and is seeking public office for the first time. Her background includes over 15 years as the Director of Yuma County Girl Scouts and work as a community advocate and volunteer coordinator for various non-profits.
Cortez says the Recorder position is one she has dreamed of since she got her public service badge as a young girl scout. A lover of “systems,” Cortez says the ultimate system for her is the registration and elections process.
David Lara is fairly well known in the region. The small business owner believes former President Donald Trump did not lose the Presidential election in 2020 due to fraud he says has been rampant in south Yuma County for decades, including ballot harvesting and pay for ballot schemes.
Lara's advocacy and vocal complaints are said to have inspired not only his notoriety, but also allegations in the film “2,000 Mules” – which claimed Democrats plotted to steal the 2020 election essentially using the same ballot harvesting scheme Lara says was common in southwest Arizona and exported to key states across the nation during the 2020 elections.
That film, and the book that inspired it, was pulled by its distributor following a lawsuit by a Georgia resident the film accused of illegally voting. The company, Salem Media, issued an apology to the man and ended all marketing for the film.
Lara also recently spoke at the Republican National Convention as one of the events “everyday American” presenters. Lara’s speech focused on the U.S.-Mexico border in San Luis and the burden high migrant numbers had on the community in recent years. We ask him about that speech.
Both candidates had rocky paths to the General Election ballot. Lara won a recount against incumbent Republican Recorder Ric Colwell by just over 40 votes, and Cortez, after a petition paperwork error that kept her off the primary ballot, was forced to run as a write-in.
