NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday August 27, 2007

Tim Bee trying to have it both ways

Attorneys for the Arizona Democratic Party are investigating whether state Senate President Tim Bee is violating the state’s resign-to-run law by stockpiling enough money to compete with Congresswoman Giffords and discussing his positions on issues like the war in Iraq.

According to Arizona state law, Bee would have to resign his seat as president of the Arizona Legislature to run against U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz).

The state law is triggered when an officeholder’s behavior indicates that he is running for another office, said Don Bivens, chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party. That would include raising money and discussing issues that are debated in the U.S. Congress.

Bee is already raising money through an exploratory committee and, according to the Arizona Daily Star, Bee wants to “…amass enough money to compete with the $1 million already in Giffords’ campaign war chest.” Bee also outlined his position on the Iraq war.

According to an Arizona Daily Star story published Wednesday:

State Senate President Tim Bee took his latest step toward a possible run for Congress on Tuesday by soliciting cash donations and support for a potential race against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

At the top of Bee’s do-to list: Amass enough money to compete with the $1 million already in Giffords’ campaign war chest. In order to do that, Bee will file papers establishing an exploratory committee shortly.

After initially sidestepping a question about the Iraq war, Bee said, “I believe that this war has been poorly executed, and there have been many mistakes made along the way, but at the same time, it’s going to be extremely important that we have a successful outcome.”

“Tim Bee is trying to have it both ways,” Bivens said. “When Rep. Giffords ran for Congress, she did the right thing and resigned her seat in the Arizona Legislature. Now, I’m not sure if Tim Bee just doesn’t have substantive opinions or if he’s trying to skirt the law. Either way, he should at least have the gumption to reveal his true intentions.

“Arizona voters are adamant: They want candidates to be upfront about their intentions. Tim Bee needs to stop stockpiling money in an exploratory committee to evade Arizona’s resign-to-run laws,” Bivens said. “Still, if I were Tim Bee, I would understandably be intimidated to take on Rep. Giffords, too.”