Tom Horne must cut ties with former lawmaker accused of child sex crimes
Shame on Tom Horne.
The former state schools chief, who wants the job again, remains steadfast in his defense of disgraced former lawmaker David Stringer, who was once accused of child sex crimes.
Horne recently told Morgan Loew of 3TV/CBS 5 that former state Rep. David Stringer was “completely innocent of the charges against him.”
Here’s a clip from my interview with Tom Horne, who wants to lead AZ Public Schools - again. Here, he defends David Stringer’s involvement in his campaign. Stringer once pleaded guilty to child sex charges.
Full interview today at 5:30pm on 3TV.#PoliticsUnplugged#azfamily pic.twitter.com/EWnwQW0qpE— Morgan Loew (@morganloewcbs5) August 28, 2022
How can Tom Horne defend David Stringer?
Innocent people don’t resign from the state Legislature instead of cooperating with an ethics investigation over accusations that he paid children for sex.
Instead of staying to prove his “innocence,” Stringer resigned in 2019 after the Arizona House released a Baltimore police report from 1983 that detailed the accusations.
“The shock and horror we felt when we learned the details in this report are indescribable, not just as elected officials but as parents,” Republican House Speaker Rusty Bowers and then Democratic House Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez said at the time, in a joint statement.
Apparently, that’s not important to Horne, who insisted during the interview with Loew that “it was proven there was nothing to it.”
“Sometimes people plead guilty to a lesser charge to avoid the bigger charge,” Horne told Loew.
Top priorities: Where Horne stood on education issues in the primary
On Tuesday, Horne told me he’s convinced of Stringer’s innocence and that media reports of his association with him are exaggerated. Stringer gave him a donation and arranged to put up campaign signs, Horne said.
But he still has no problem with Stringer’s past accusations and still has the guts to defend a guy who should not be near schools or children. Stringer – who, by the way, once said that “there aren’t enough white kids to go around” – was actually banned from a school district.
Cutting ties is the least Horne could do
Horne is seeking to oversee the education of 1.1 million Arizona students, most of whom are minorities. He told me he disagrees with Stinger’s remarks.
The former superintendent of public instruction marked his tenure from 2003 to 2011 by working to ban ethnic studies in Tucson and championing English-only instruction for English learners.
He’s now vowing to create a hotline to report “critical race theory” instruction if he defeats current superintendent Kathy Hoffman, a Democrat.
This isn’t just any gig. Overseeing the education of Arizona’s children must be top of mind to all voters, regardless of political affiliation.
Horne should be ashamed to defend Stringer and to have any type of association with him. He told me he plans to call Stringer and cut all ties with him.
That’s the least he should be doing.
Elvia Díaz is the editorial page editor for The Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or elvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter, @elviadiaz1.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tom Horne should be ashamed to defend former Rep. David Stringer
