On July 30, the Republican voters of Maricopa County made the right decision by nominating Justin Heap to represent them in the upcoming general election.
Heap has what many Republican primary elections winners lack, namely the ability to walk the line between two extremes.
As a state legislator, Heap has established himself as a staunch supporter of conservative-leaning legislation. He did this without the use of inflammatory rhetoric that some legislators have been fond of. In other words, he carried his mission without being offensive to those with whom he disagreed. It is safe to assume that he will exercise the same common sense as county recorder while retaining the trust of the conservative base.
But in a general election, a republican candidate must appeal to more than staunch conservative republicans. If there ever was a time when a republican could win a general election in Arizona by appealing only to his base, that is not the case these days.
Heap earned the respect of moderate republicans and independents by refusing to jump on the stolen election bandwagon. In a recent PBS interview, Ted Simons tried several times to get him to commit. He wisely refused to commit one way or the other by pointing out that as a lawyer, he cannot support allegations that cannot be substantiated, and so far, after multiple court cases, it is not clear, legally, that fraud has influenced the result of elections.
Instead, Heap emphasized, during the Simons interview and throughout his campaign, that as a county recorder he would make sure that the laws are followed, that elections personnel are held to the highest standard, and that there is at the county recorder’s office the highest level of transparency.
The need for proper communication and transparency has manifested itself in many ways. One of them was the tragic case of disabled veteran Howard, who was disenfranchised by the shabby application of a good law. The Arizona Daily Independent documented Howard’s case in this article.
It should also be noted that, as a past legislator, Heap is capable of presenting to the legislature, in a proper manner, any legislation that becomes desirable to improve how the recorders office operates. None of the other contenders, republican or democrat, can claim this expertise.
