Guests – Daniel Butierez, Rick Shafton, Janet Edwards
Special Election in CD7: Republican Daniel Butierez Challenges Adelita Grijalva
A special election for Congressional District 7 in Southern Arizona is set for September 23rd, just one month away. This race will determine who replaces the seat formerly held by Raul Grijalva. Republican candidate Daniel Butierez joined Kathleen Winn to discuss his campaign and recent debate performance.
Butierez recently participated in a forum in Patagonia, deep in Democratic territory. Despite being in what he called a "Democratic stronghold," Butierez found the experience surprisingly positive. "I actually had a lot of fun," he said.
During the debate, Butierez noted that while participants were told nobody received questions beforehand, his opponent Adelita Grijalva "had all the answers written out in front of her." Butierez contrasted their styles, saying he speaks "from the heart" while answering questions based on his knowledge and experience, whereas Grijalva reads prepared responses. "I don't think it has a good look, but that's her choice," he remarked.
One shocking moment from the debate concerned Grijalva's comments about homelessness. According to Butierez and audience members, Grijalva suggested homeless people "are where they are supposed to be" and criticized President Trump for trying to address homelessness in DC.
Butierez, who hires homeless individuals in his own business and focuses on giving people "a hand up instead of a handout," expressed dismay at these comments. "Why would you not care about these people?" he asked.
The Republican candidate emphasized the importance of border security in CD7, which contains all ports of entry into Arizona. He criticized Grijalva for deflecting questions about the border by attacking Trump. "The Democrat platform is hate Donald Trump, hate ICE agents, hate law enforcement, and know that the homeless are where they're supposed to be," Butierez said.
On border security, Butierez explained his support for completing the border wall: "We need to know who's coming into our country, we need to follow them towards the border entries, and we need to stop the drugs." He disputed claims that most drugs come through official ports of entry, stating that more fentanyl comes in backpacks carried across unsecured border areas than in vehicles stopped at checkpoints.
Despite running in a traditionally Democratic district, Bootieris sees an opportunity for victory. "I just got a call from a gentleman out in San Luis who asked me where he can get a ballot. He's a Democrat, he wants to vote for me," he said. Bootieris mentioned that 120,000 Democrats didn't turn out in the primary, indicating dissatisfaction with their party.
Butierez also expressed concerns about Grijalva's endorsement from CAIR, which he characterized as linked to extremist groups. "If you send Adelita to DC, she will join the squad," he warned.
Early voting begins on August 27th, and Bootieris plans to campaign throughout the geographically massive district in the coming weeks. He has been invited by the mayor of Douglas to attend the groundbreaking for a new port opening on September 5th.
"I'm winning over independents, I'm winning over Democrats, and if we can get the Republicans out to vote, we're going to win this thing," Butierez said.
Winn concluded the segment by emphasizing that the seat "belongs to the people, it doesn't belong to the Grijalva family" and urged voters to consider trying "something different" under the Trump administration.
Political Analysis with Rick Shafton: From Party Transformation to Urban Politics
Political consultant Rick Shafton joined Kathleen Winn to discuss the changing political landscape across America, from party transformations to urban governance challenges.
The Evolution of Political Parties
Shafton began by discussing how the Democratic Party has transformed from its earlier identity. "Having been around for a while, where I learned politics is working with Democrats—a lot of conservative Democrats," Shafton explained. He noted that historically, even Arizona had numerous conservative Democrats, citing former congressman Bob Stump who began his career as a Democrat before switching parties.
These conservative Democrats, sometimes called "boll weevil Democrats," formed part of a conservative southern block that "supported water projects and highways." According to Shafton, "Those Democrats are now Republicans."
Shafton argued that the Democratic Party, once viewed as "the party of miners" and the working class, has transformed into "the party of Antifa weirdos, trans groomers, DEI wokeness, Palestinian whack-a-doodles" that's no longer aligned with mainstream America.
He criticized Republicans for being intimidated by name-calling from the left—terms like "racist," "homophobe," and "fascist"—which he says Democrats use strategically. "Conservatives and Republicans are trained to be docile and polite and turn the other cheek, to be nicer than the Democrats," Shafton said, adding that "when I was on the Democratic side, we learned to exploit that weakness."
Trump Administration 2.0
Discussing the current Trump administration, Shafton praised advisor Stephen Miller for his unapologetic approach to implementing conservative policies. "He's taking this attitude of 'I don't care what names you call me, I'm going to get the job done' to the ultimate level," Shafton said.
Comparing Trump's first term with his current presidency, Shafton observed significant differences: "In the first term, he trusted the so-called experts more than he should have and they held him back from doing a lot of things." The "swamp" in Washington—which Shafton identified as "the Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan crowd"—was able to obstruct many of Trump's initiatives.
Now, Shafton believes Trump has "much better advisors" who are "telling him how to get around existing laws to achieve what we need to achieve to take the country back." The "small group of Republicans who were like 'we need to follow all the rules and dot the i's and cross the t's and do things in a bipartisan manner'" have lost their influence.
The Crisis of Urban Governance
Shafton provided analysis of New York City's mayoral race, where Democratic socialist Zohon Mandami, 33, is likely to become the next mayor. Despite a $13 billion budget deficit and rising crime rates, Mandami's platform includes promises of more free services—city-owned grocery stores, free bus service, rent freezing, free childcare—and raising taxes on the wealthy.
Shafton blamed rent control, instituted in 1947 as a post-war measure, for New York City's decline in the 1960s and 70s. "If you limit how much rent someone can receive at a time when you have rapid inflation, which you had in the late 1940s and 50s, people are just getting behind," he explained. "As that continued and as politicians kept pandering to tenants, the quality of housing got worse and worse."
The Republican Party in New York City is "a pathetic joke," according to Shafton, who explained that unlike competitive states like Arizona, there's little incentive to maintain a viable Republican organization in solidly blue areas. "What election does it impact anyway? Maybe a governor's race every couple of years."
COVID Impacts and Cultural Shifts
Reflecting on the COVID pandemic's lasting impacts, Shafton recalled how public sentiment shifted rapidly during April 2020. "The beginning of the week people were kind of for [lockdowns], by Friday people were totally against it," he said, noting how some regions returned to normal activities while others remained shuttered.
Shafton believes the pandemic "changed a lot of how people looked at the world" and "made young people much more conservative." The "COVID kids" witnessed government overreach firsthand, giving Shafton "a lot of hope for the future because they saw this, they saw what government did."
He noted lasting changes to urban nightlife, with cities like New York now closing much earlier. "Chinatown used to be—go there at three in the morning and go downstairs to one of these places. You didn't want to look at the kitchen, but you'd get a great meal. They can't—can't do that anymore. They shut at nine o'clock."
Fighting Human Trafficking: Jan Edwards on Victim Recovery and Prevention
Jan Edwards, founder of Paving the Way Foundation, joined Kathleen Winn to discuss recent developments in human trafficking cases and ongoing prevention efforts.
Backpage Victims Compensation
Edwards discussed a newly established fund to compensate individuals who were sex trafficked through advertisements hosted on Backpage.com between 2004 and 2018. The $215 million settlement comes after the conviction of Backpage's owners, who controlled approximately 80% of the child sex trafficking market worldwide.
"You could order up a kid like you ordered up a pizza," Winn noted about the operation. Edwards reflected on attending the sentencing hearing where victims' families brought pictures of their loved ones, despite Backpage attorneys trying to prevent impact statements.
Both Winn and Edwards emphasized how the Backpage founders were fathers with daughters of their own, yet engaged in this horrific business. "It was all about greed, it was all about power, it was all about money," Winn said.
Understanding Trauma Bonding
Edwards highlighted the importance of educating the public about trauma bonding and the psychological impacts of trafficking. "Most people can't comprehend first of all being in that position, and let alone 'choosing' to stay," she explained, addressing common misconceptions about why victims don't simply leave their exploiters.
"A child's prefrontal cortex is not fully developed until they're between 25 and 30," Edwards noted, explaining that young victims cannot fully process what's happening to them or make rational decisions about their circumstances.
Edwards described the "long-term doxing" that continues to impact victims, sharing an example of a PhD professor whose intimate video was sent to her employer after a brief relationship. "People think that they know you even after a one-way conversation when I'm looking at a picture or watching a video," she said.
The Cost of Recovery
The financial cost of helping trafficking victims is staggering. "To find, recover, rehab, restore, and reintegrate one child is seven million dollars," Edwards revealed, breaking down the expenses: recovery operations, law enforcement, AI data gathering, analytics, rehabilitation for drug or alcohol addiction, and the lengthy process of reintegrating survivors back into society.
"If you talk to any survivor, they will say that it is a sentence of lifelong trauma," Edwards added.
A promising program by Polaris gave survivors $500 monthly over two years, which reduced recidivism by approximately 72%. "That could be that gap money for them," Edwards said of the Backpage settlement funds, hoping survivors will consult financial advisors to manage their compensation wisely.
Prevention and Education
Edwards discussed concerning trends, including "Bob houses" where OnlyFans content creators live together while producing content—and who are now grooming girls as young as 12 via Instagram. "They are starting to engage with girls as young as 12... telling them how much money they'll make," she warned.
She highlighted the broader cultural issue of commoditizing women: "You're either pretty or ignored," a mindset that drives industries focused on keeping women looking young and attractive. This cultural messaging, combined with social media platforms, creates dangerous vulnerabilities among young people.
Winn emphasized the importance of keeping children innocent as long as possible: "Don't let them grow up too fast." Edwards added that children's desire to fit in "runs the show above parenting," making them particularly vulnerable to manipulation.
In her closing advice to parents, Edwards urged: "It's time for parents to rise up and be strong and push back on the tech narrative." She stressed that young children don't need smartphones and suggested alternatives like simple calling devices for necessary communication.