Pima County Democratic Party Deletes Post Blaming Victim For California Fire Tragedy

Pima County Democratic Party Deletes Post Blaming Victim For California Fire Tragedy

by | Jan 15, 2025 | News

By Staff Reporter |

The Pima County Democratic Party (PCDP) deleted a post in which it blamed a California fire victim critical of the Democratic governance for their plight.  

In a since-deleted post captured by The Arizona Daily Independent, PCDP said that victims were to blame for not paying more into the government. California has consistently ranked the highest in terms of tax burdens in the nation.

“Maybe pay your taxes and maybe local gov[ernment]s wouldn’t be so understaffed,” posted the PCDP.

PCDP was responding to a California resident, Wes Nichols, who posted on X that politicians had failed his home of 26 years in the Pacific Palisades. 

“I’m mad at what I saw. Our politicians have failed us. Unprepared, unimaginative, understaffed, now overwhelmed. Heads must roll for this disaster,” said Nichols. 

PCDP deleted their post after it sparked a flurry of criticism. 

Turning Point Action activist Lacey Nagao recalled that PCDP also held a “f**k the fourth” party held in 2022 to protest Independence Day. The advertisements for the event were deleted and PCDP issued an apology following public outcry. 

“A group of degenerative lost souls strikes again,” said Nagao.

According to LinkedIn, PCDP’s X account was managed by Shelly Burgoyne-Goode, the organization’s social media and digital strategist and (until last week) their executive director. 

Burgoyne-Goode had been with PCDP since 2019; prior to that, Burgoyne-Goode was a digital strategist for Veteran Marijuana Majority, writer and contributor for the left-leaning political site “Blog for Arizona.” Burgoyne-Goode identifies herself as an Army veteran who served during the early years of the Iraq War. 

PCDP’s new executive director is Alex Kack, a political consultant launched to significance as the “green shirt guy” who laughed at Trump supporters protesting his sanctuary city legislation at a Tucson City Council meeting. Kack was present that day as a field organizer with the People’s Defense Initiative (PDI), the Tucson-based advocacy organization behind the legislation to make Tucson a sanctuary city from immigration laws.

The Pima County Republican Party (PCRP) criticized PCDP’s post as an “extraordinary lack of compassion combined with a childish understanding of a devastating situation,” which the GOP group ascribed as a common trait of “the far left.” 

PCDP has a track record of deleting controversial posts in recent years.

In 2023, PCDP deleted a post in which it advocated for Arizonans to “kill” school choice in its entirety — not just the universal pathway, but all school choice funding. 

In 2022, PCDP deleted a post mocking a group of young conservative college men for not having any women present in pictures depicting their showing of the Daily Wire mockumentary, “What is a Woman?” The organization promptly deleted its post after Daily Wire host and mockumentary star Matt Walsh questioned how PCDP recognized there were no women present in the pictures observed, an allusion to the driving question on determining gender in the mockumentary.

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Tucson Stores Look The Other Way With Theft; ‘Police Don’t Show Up’

Tucson Stores Look The Other Way With Theft; ‘Police Don’t Show Up’

by | Aug 27, 2023 | News

By Corinne Murdock |  

Tucson’s stores are looking the other way with theft, according to local accounts of law and order in the city.  

Lacey Nagao, a Turning Point Action influencer, shared her experience of a store visit over the weekend in a viral account. Nagao reported that she witnessed theft at a local Walgreens while she was checking out, but that employees said it didn’t matter. A homeless man, one of the 10 or so outside the store, walked out with items including Cheetos, beer, and soda without paying. Nagao recounted that the man even issued a farewell to the checkout clerk.   

According to Nagao, the employees were beyond the point of feeling disaffected by the lack of police response to reports of theft. Per Nagao, the employees said the police “don’t show up” and “have been told not to do anything” concerning theft. Additionally, the store’s security guards were fired by their regional manager last month, and employees were instructed to allow thieves to “take whatever they want.”

Nagao said that when she asked the employee if she could have left without paying for her groceries, the employee acknowledged that she could have if she so desired.  

Nagao lamented the lack of law and order, blaming the city’s Democrat-majority leadership.  

“Our city is becoming a place I never thought I would see, and quite frankly, somewhere I refuse to live,” said Nagao. “Thanks to [Mayor Regina Romero], Tucson is quickly on its way to becoming the next San Francisco.”   

In response to Nagao’s account, several users reported that they noticed a lack of police amid drugs and crime.

Another user, a 50-year local, said that it “breaks their heart” to witness the changes unfolding.

Another local, noted a “huge influx” of homeless individuals in the area over the last four months.

Several users attested to similar issues happening in Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa.   

Several users pointed out that corporate policies factor into the permissive view of theft as well.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.