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Opinion

Reveles: Elect leaders who believe in foundational principles, moral values of our democratic republic

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Editor’s note: Roberto Reveles made the below statement during the Call to the Public section of the Oct. 12 meeting of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors.

Mr. chairman, our nation and our world are living in perilous times.

Sixty years ago this month our universe faced nuclear annihilation by an autocratic Soviet despot. Today’s threat is again from another dictatorial autocrat.

The undoubted existential threat to humanity becomes even more disastrously complicated by an America and Arizona at war with itself.

I lived through the frightening Cuban crisis and witnessed the massive mobilization of our military and its deployment to our southeastern states facing Cuba. I remain grateful for our nation that stood together.

Today’s threat however becomes even more frightening because we are a nation divided by incomparable power-seeking partisans who have deluded our once-Grand Old Party.

We begin this week with the solemn responsibility of voting for leaders who can be trusted with ensuring the integrity of our foundational exercise of the vote.

The unvarnished fact is that we face a dedicated minority of untruthful Republican partisans who are committed to gaining power through immoral and violent means.

An election-denying Republican candidate for secretary of state who would be responsible for overseeing and administering the accuracy and security of elections for the state. A person who supported the violent insurrection of Jan. 6. An election-denying proponent of the Big Lie running for governor in tandem with other proponents of using every means to change the outcome of elections if their team does not prevail at the ballot box.

We must elect leaders who genuinely believe in the foundational principles and moral values of our democratic republic, or risk losing our unique experiment in self-governance.

We must participate in and honor the results of our elections that are the envy of all nations. We cannot give in to the thugs that violently attempted to overthrow our government on Jan. 6. And we must not surrender our votes to those who conspired to falsely present themselves as the elected presidential electors.

Instead, let’s emulate the courageous life-long Republican Rusty Bowers who correctly described those violent disloyalties as “that’s fascist. And I’m not a fascist.”

As a genuine Oath Keeper both in my military and public service, I urge you members of this board and my fellow Arizonans, defend our Constitution, reject the fascists among us.

Reject Mark Finchem. Reject Blake Masters. Reject Kari Lake.

Vote as if the lives of the Grand Old Party and our state depend on it. Because your political party and our nation both depend on your vote for our democratic republic.