Guests – Daniel Butierez, Dave Smith, Joel Strabala, Doug Everett
Spring Break Eases Tucson's Commutes
Kathleen Winn notes the lighter traffic during spring break, making the morning drive smoother. With schools out, the usual rush of students and parents is absent, highlighting how daily routines shift during this time.
Daniel Butierez Launches Recall Against Sheriff Nanos
Daniel Butierez, a local activist and congressional candidate, has filed for a recall petition against Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos. "I've already filed the application. I've got my signature sheets. I've already gotten signatures. And today, after I finish up with a couple of interviews, I will be confirming that I've put them together correctly, that everything's done. And as long as they're done properly, I will be releasing a video telling everybody step by step how they need to put these together and then mail them to 1218 West Roger." He needs 122,211 signatures—aiming for 130,000—within 120 days, requiring about 13,000 notarized sheets. Butierez plans to complete it in two months with over 400 volunteers.
Butierez emphasizes his support for law enforcement: "I'm a big supporter of Back the Blue. And I know the officers, there's a lot of them and we heard it on national TV come out, Fox News did, and said that they had spoken to officers that talked about the treatment of Sheriff Nanos to his deputies. And everybody's they're afraid of retaliation." He accuses Nanos of eroding trust between the department and community, without personal attacks.
Ongoing Concerns in the Nancy Guthrie Case
Butierez and Winn critique Nanos's handling of Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, now 40 days unsolved. Winn calls Nanos's recent comments irresponsible: "He said criminal minds are criminal minds, he told NBC where Guthrie's daughter Savannah Guthrie co-hosted Today Show. Nanos says he has an idea of the motive behind Guthrie kidnapping but declined to share it publicly." Winn highlights missteps, including speculation without results and distrust in Nanos's statements.
Deputies have voiced frustrations anonymously, with some saying, "This isn't us, this is the sheriff. This isn't how we conduct our business." Winn notes the close election between Nanos and Heather Lappin, plus Nanos's treatment of dissenters, as factors fueling the recall.
Daniel Butierez's Bid for CD7 Congress
Butierez is the sole Republican candidate for Congressional District 7, aiming to start the 2027 term after Adalita Grijalva completes the current one. "For starters, I will actually go in and represent everybody because I don't feel very represented by Adalita. And I know a lot of people don't. First off, we support our, our border patrol and member device. Yes. And Adalita doesn't." He contrasts his focus on constituents with Grijalva's: "She's running to be a politician. I'm running to fix the issues in our community."
Butierez prioritizes border security and law enforcement: "It doesn't look very becoming if we're attacking the law rather than writing the law or we're breaking the law rather than enforcing the law, because we're running for an office to be lawmakers and all these people protesting ICE. ICE is just enforcing the law." He criticizes Raul Grijalva for campaigning on immigration fixes without action over 22 years.
Dave Smith on Local Politics and Media Manipulation
Dave Smith discusses the Nanos recall effort: "I heard yesterday that someone has filed to do a recall on Nanos. Uh, it is not the Republican party, but, uh, you know, we will talk more about that next week, but they have now a clock has started ticking. I think they have 120 days to get 120,000 signatures." He supports it, citing Nanos's scandals and resume issues exposed by AZ Central.
Smith slams local media bias: "This little jerk begins to attack him and then turns and attacks the audience for those of us that had made comment. And I just got, uh, I left the man. I just stood up and told him he was just a leftist clown and walked out because it's just become, it's unbearably stupid." He accuses outlets of protecting Nanos while ignoring facts, calling it "propaganda."
Broader Threats and Global Tensions
Smith warns of radicalization and open borders: "We have 2 million of them that we don’t even know… The 2 million gotaways are terrifying." He references a Michigan synagogue attack: "This was an Israeli preschool. He wanted to take out the next generation. Um, and the security guards, God bless them, shot him dead." The perpetrator, a Lebanese national naturalized under Obama, had explosives.
On Iran: "Iran has been at war with us for 47 years. It's time to end that war." Smith praises Trump's approach and notes UN condemnation of Iran. He criticizes U.K. Labour Party and U.S. Democrats for holding DHS funding hostage: "The left itself has no foundation of factual. They just don’t worry about the fact of this or that."
Joel Strabala on Recent Election Results
Joel Strabala, LD17 chairman, updates on the RTA election: "So as of last night, without that 8,000-ish ballots, yes vote was 116,000 and no votes was 82,000… It’s 58 to 41%." Proposition 418 passed easily; 419 by a slimmer margin. Turnout reached 37%, with Republicans at 36-37%.
Strabala highlights undeliverable ballots: "We had 34,000 ballots returned as undeliverable." He pushes for voter roll cleanups and more polling sites: "The county had only three election-day sites for a countywide vote—all inside Tucson city limits."
Voter Access Issues in Pima County
Strabala reports equipment failures at the mobile voting center and poor communication. Green Valley refused sites due to ICE protest safety fears. He expects 126 sites for the midterm primary under the elections department.
Doug Everett's Campaign for LD17 Senate
Doug Everett, engineer and candidate for LD17 Senate, qualified with 1,000 signatures—double the requirement. "I turned in 1,000. I got a little over 1,000. They validated 984. And so I’m on the ballot." Fundraising has hit $17,000, with a $50,000 goal.
Everett focuses on safety, jobs, and education: "I’m a candidate to promote jobs and opportunities and, and safety. And, and so if we, uh, have a better education system, we’re promoting more opportunities." He opposes income-based ESA restrictions: "If, uh, you know, there's a principle that if, uh, in there, that if that's your, the funding follows your student. Yes. Uh, so that should be independent of, of your income."
On workforce: "We have Pima Community College, we have other avenues here down in your area. Uh, we have the university of Arizona, go wildcats. Uh, so, uh, the U of A has a great engineering program, uh, but Pima Community College also has a wonderful program." He supports attracting businesses for economic growth.
Everett backs law enforcement funding: "We need to, uh, promote law enforcement and, and, uh, part of that is, is, um, supporting, um, the law enforcement officers and, and a very important way of supporting them is to pay them a hundred percent and they're not being paid."
His website: vote.arizonadugster.com.
Debunking ESA Fraud Claims
Winn previews a discussion on Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs): "A new study recently, uh, that came out in the last week, uh, shows that, um, only about 2% of ESA dollars are being spent on items that are not allowed. So 98%." She counters opponents' 20% fraud claims and notes the program's efficiency, serving over 100,000 students at half the public school cost. Matt Beienburg from Goldwater Institute will join tomorrow.
Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed supportive measures. Winn stresses accountability: "You don't want fraud waste or abuse. Uh, but the people that do that, uh, the people that try to take advantage and scam the system, they do get found out."
U of A Basketball Tournament Preview
The Arizona Wildcats face Liberty in their first game, seeded No. 1 in their bracket. Winn aims high: "We are number one in our bracket, of course, and we want to go all the way to be in the final four and then to be the national champs. That's what we're going for. Nothing less."