Lawmaker on slain newsman: 'The only thing this guy accomplished is that he was a reporter?'

Note: This column has been updated with comments from former Gov. Bruce Babbitt.

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On the morning of June 2, 1976, reporter Don Bolles went to a midtown Phoenix hotel to meet with a low-life criminal about a shady land deal.

Bolles was an investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic, a first-rate journalist who for years exposed organized crime and took on crooked politicians and public figures in the state he loved.

He would never tell that final story.

The meeting had been a setup. When he returned his car, six sticks of dynamite had been placed beneath it. The remote-control bomb exploded as he backed out of a parking space.

The president understood then what Bolles did

Upon Bolles’ death 11 days later, President Gerald Ford released a statement, saying he was “distressed and outraged that a reporter in search of truth became an apparent victim of the underworld.”

Then-Phoenix Mayor Margaret Hance was in tears.

“He lost his fight, but I pray that we will not forget him or what he was trying to do – create a decent, safe environment for all the citizens of Arizona.”

Nearly 47 years later, there is finally a drive underway in the Arizona Legislature to pay tribute to Don Bolles, a bill that would allow a privately-financed memorial to be built at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza.

After Don Bolles:The evolution of racetracks, mob influence

Some of our leaders, however, don’t think Bolles rates the honor.

“So, the only thing this guy accomplished is that he was a reporter?” Rep. Jacqueline Parker, R-Mesa, asked on Tuesday, during a Republican caucus on the bill. “Is that why we are voting a monument to him?”

I’ll let former Gov. Bruce Babbitt answer that.

“I met and began working with Don Bolles in 1974 when I was elected Attorney General of Arizona,” he told me. “His detailed investigative reports were the first to describe how organized crime, led by a gangster named Ned Warren, had corrupted politicians, compromised the business community, murdered witnesses, and defrauded thousands of retired land investors.

“He contributed more than any single person, and gave his life, to our drive to rid Arizona of organized crime and political corruption. As much as any individual in the history of our state, Don Bolles deserves to be honored with a memorial on the Capitol Mall.”

Senate bill honoring him was DOA

The proposal is the brainchild of reporter Hank Stephenson, who for years has been pitching the idea of honoring Bolles on the Capitol grounds. This year, he and Rachel Leingang, co-founders of the Arizona Agenda, decided to mount a campaign to get it done.

“He lost his life to inform the public about government corruption, organized crime and influence peddling. A simple acknowledgement of that fact at the state Capitol is the least we can do,” they wrote.

Thus came Senate Bill 1039, sponsored by Sen. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, and House Bill 2171, by Rep. Jennifer Longdon, D-Phoenix.

The Senate bill was dead on arrival. Senate Government Committee Chairman Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, wouldn’t even hear it. I’m guessing he saw the word “reporter” and that was that.

The House version, however, was unanimously approved by in that chamber’s Government Committee.

'Not a good precedent' to allow a memorial?

On Tuesday, the bill’s Republican co-sponsor, Rep. Tim Dunn of Yuma, brought it before the House Republican caucus, where Parker proceeded to embarrass herself.

“I don’t know that we necessarily are setting a good precedent here by allowing monuments to be placed in our plaza just for everybody that was killed tragically,” she told her fellow Republicans. “I mean, that’s going to make it really crowded, so for now, I’m a no on this bill.”

Naturally, Rep. Barbara Parker of Mesa, who along with her daughter keeps mostly to the shallow end of the pool, also had valuable insight to offer on the proposal.

“Would you or anybody in here be interested in doing a statue in the plaza for former Senate President Russell Pearce, who was a patriot here in Arizona, who fought for many of the finest laws that we have that we are building upon? Is that something you’d be interested in?”

Some get the larger point, but not Parker

Fortunately, there are other Republicans who actually understood the significance of Bolles’ contribution to Arizona, that his courage in taking on the mob made Arizona a better, safer place to live.

Rep. Matt Gress of Phoenix called Bolles’ work “monumental” for the state.

Rep. Steve Montenegro of Goodyear said the monument would pay tribute not only to Bolles but to the First Amendment.

“We value the First Amendment here in this country,” he said. “I’m a witness, I’ve seen that in different parts of the world there’s so much corruption that if you speak up publicly you can probably end up dead by morning ... . I think that for someone wanting to memorialize that we do not stand for corruption, we do not stand for threatening individuals that speak up on the First Amendment. I think that that is what’s noble about this bill.”

Sadly, predictably, the younger Rep. Parker was unimpressed.

“We just can’t put statues up for every good cause,” she said. “We should probably be a little more discerning on proper role of government, what the plaza needs to stand for. You know, I’m sure he was a fantastic guy, but I just don’t know that this is really what we should be focused on right now.”

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Don Bolles doesn't deserve a Capitol monument, lawmaker says