Sen. Wendy Rogers is a liability for Arizona Republicans

If you’re an Arizona state senator, the law says you need to live in the district you represent.

Public records show that Arizona State Sen. Wendy Rogers and her husband own three homes. One in Tempe. One in Chandler. One in Flagstaff.

Only the Flagstaff home is in her district.

Which begs the question, where is Wendy Rogers?

Is she in Tempe, Chandler or in Flagstaff?

That part is not entirely clear. But what we do know is Wendy Rogers has proven beyond a doubt that she is in the one place she doesn’t belong.

In politics.

Why Wendy Rogers' residency matters

Politics is a fishbowl, and when you dive in you are inviting all the scrutiny in the world.

Rogers has never liked the fishbowl. She doesn’t like reporters’ questions. And she resents reporters investigating her living arrangements.

So she went to court — an extraordinary step for anyone — to stop a reporter from asking legitimate questions about where she resides.

If Rogers doesn’t live in her far-flung district, then why is she racking up so much per diem from the state — some $19,754 between March 31, 2022, and Jan. 6, 2023, to cover her expenses?

Someone living in the East Valley isn’t likely traveling enough to stack the tab like that.

So Arizona Capitol Times reporter Camryn Sanchez did her job and pursued the relevant answers about Rogers’ residency. She was knocking on doors of Rogers’ homes to see if she could find where Rogers actually resides.

Her response? Ask a judge to stop journalism

In response, Rogers got a judge to bar Sanchez from her homes and asked the judge bar Sanchez from the Senate.  The judge declined the latter.

This is arrogance born of idiocy. If Rogers wanted a private life, she should have remained a private citizen.

If she had any political sense at all, she’d know that a court order to stop journalism is like shining a million-watt Klieg light on whatever she hoped to keep private.

In recording: Rogers pressed for more restrictions on reporter

Now it’s not just Sanchez inquiring about her residency. It’s the rest of the state media asking where she lives and why she’s claiming so much per diem?

In a press release, Rogers wrote, “I don't know this reporter personally, I don't know what she is capable of, and I don't believe anyone in their right mind would show up uninvited to my home at night. Therefore, I don't trust that this person wouldn’t lash out and try to physically harm me in some fashion.”

The reporter as predator. That’s a new one.

That sounds like it’s coming from an enthusiast of QAnon, the Oath Keepers and Stop the Steal, which of course, with Wendy Rogers, it is.

Without receipts, Rogers must reimburse the state

A responsible state senator would have talked to the reporter, answered her questions, cleared up the matter of residency, showed her the receipts for her per diem.

If she doesn’t have the receipts, then she needs to pay back the state and explain why she so badly botched her expenses.

I’ve already seen enough to convince me Rogers is an antisemite and, on that alone, unfit to serve in office.

She is a liability to the Republican Party and a gift to Democrats. Any Republican who endorses her or defends her is going to own every loopy and malicious thing she does.

And we may not have seen her worst yet.

Rogers still doesn't understand the job

Republican voters in her Legislative District 7, which includes Flagstaff, Payson, Show Low and Williams, are on notice that a vote for Rogers is a vote for the Democrats.

Her behavior is so beyond the pale that she’s a useful tool of the left for marginalizing conservative politics. You do yourself no favors sending her back to the state Capitol.

It’s odd, in her press release, Rogers says, “When I signed up to be a public servant, I understood what the job entailed.”

No, you didn’t, Wendy Rogers. And you still don’t.

When you ran for office, you were inviting this kind of scrutiny. You volunteered to be an open book.

And no judge should spare you the inconvenience.

Phil Boas is an editorial columnist with The Arizona Republic. He can be reached at phil.boas@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sen. Wendy Rogers is a liability for the Arizona Republican Party