Lawyer Quacy Smith to challenge Rep. Paul Gosar for US House seat

Quacy Smith, a lawyer and retired Marine and former police officer, has announced he will run for Congress as a Democrat in Arizona's 9th Congressional District, where incumbent Republican Rep. Paul Gosar serves.

Smith, a partner in Smith & Green law firm, is known in Arizona for representing clients in high-profile criminal cases.

The Buckeye resident served in the Marines from 1995 to 2000 and worked for the Blythe, Calif., police department from 2006-2011, where he grew up along the Colorado River, according to his personal biography.

He also worked for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, he said, while earning his law degree at night, which he used to open his own firm in 2017. He also is a bishop with Grace Unlimited International Church in California.

The western Arizona district that stretches from the West Valley south to Yuma and north to the borders of Nevada and Utah should be represented by a moderate who can work with both parties, Smith said. Gosar didn't face a Democratic opponent in the 2022 election, which followed a redrawing of districts.

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"It’s an opportunity to galvanize Democratic voters, to sway independent voters, but also an opportunity to persuade those persuadable Republican voters that have the same uneasiness with Mr. Gosar as independents and Democrats generally have," he said Wednesday in an interview with The Arizona Republic. "I see it as an opportunity to get some synergy and get middle America their voice back."

Smith, 46, was born in Palm Springs and raised in Blythe before joining the Marines. After his service, he lived briefly in Colorado and then moved to the West Valley, where he commuted to his job as a police officer in Blythe, he said.

"It was a pretty big deal to go home and serve," he said of that job, adding that one of his sisters has worked as a police officer in Tennessee.

Cases have drawn media attention

Smith frequently has appeared in the media because of his involvement as a lawyer in high-profile cases involving the families of people hurt or killed by police who sue and/or seek penalties for the officers involved.

He has represented the family of Ali Osman, a man Phoenix police fatally shot after he threw rocks at them.

He also represented Marshun Neeley, a man bitten by a Goodyear police dog.

Smith said that while he has represented clients with cases against police officers as a lawyer, he has always respected law enforcement, going back to his father's death when he was 11 and police officers in Blythe stepped in to ensure he stayed on track.

"When he passed away, it was police officers that gathered around my mother … (and) made sure I stayed out of trouble," he said. "I don’t believe in 'Defund The Police' and all that other stuff. That sounds wonderful until someone is breaking into your house and you need one of these officers to do their job."

He said that while most officers do their job well, those that do not need to be held accountable to protect the reputation of the entire police force.

"Those that are in authority should always be held accountable, whether you are a police officer or politician, business owner or parent, accountability is at the core of this country," he said. "Nobody is above the law. ... Any good officer will tell you the worst thing in world is to have a bad officer out there."

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The top issues in the district include securing the border and protecting water, he said.

"We have to find a way to shore up the border to where they are not open borders and we have common-sense immigration reform that reflects our values," he said. "We are a nation of laws."

He said that if Congress can't solve the border issue then it jeopardizes communities in the U.S. with being "overrun."

With regard to water, he said the massive population growth anticipated in the West Valley requires ensuring there is enough water to supply new residents and allow the region to prosper.

Gosar has been outspoken about his belief the U.S. should not be involved in providing assistance to Ukraine as it faces an invasion from Russia.

Smith said that issue requires constant evaluation.

"We should continue to do what we’ve always done as a nation, which is defend our allies. We’ve never been a nation afraid to confront wrongdoing," he said. "I think that our involvement in Ukraine has been measured. It has been calculated. And I think it has been responsible heretofore."

The U.S. should not wind up being a third party "to a war that is not ours," he said.

"I do not agree with the position that we shouldn’t be involved or should have never been involved," he said.

Smith echoed the sentiments of other Democrats hoping to unseat Republicans in Arizona's delegation next year with a call for bipartisanship.

He said he fears "the fringes will end up speaking louder than the majority" and young people will become disillusioned with politics.

"You can’t defeat extremism with extremism," he said. "When you try, you only end up with a deeper divide, stubborn positions and a government that doesn't work and won’t move."

He said he looks forward to getting out and campaigning in the district.

"I want to know what Republicans are thinking because I have to represent them, too," he said.

Smith is married and he and his wife Tiffany have eight children in their blended family and are grandparents.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lawyer Quacy Smith running Rep. Paul Gosar's US House seat