ARIZONA: Will Gay Democrat Get Snared In Downfall Of Sheriff Paul Babeu?

Last month I blogged the news that openly gay Arizona state Rep. Matt Heinz (D) had announced his plan to run for the U.S. House seat vacated by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. He may have some trouble coming, as buried in the Phoenix New Times expose' of Sheriff Paul Babeu is a little tidbit that some voters may have a problem with.

Openly gay Tucson state Representative Matt Heinz was one of two Democratic lawmakers who broke ranks with the party in March 2011 and voted to give Babeu $5 million to combat border violence. Other lawmakers opposed the measure, in part, because Babeu's county is at least 70 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. The measure finally was pared down to $1.7 million and passed by the Legislature. About a week after Heinz's nod to Babeu, the sheriff spent the night at Heinz's home, text messages that Jose shared with New Times show. "I'm at Mat Heinz and his boyfriend for dinner & ice cream . . . we are going out to bar and . . . to their house. [Am] staying over," Babeu texted to Jose at 1:04 a.m. last April 2.

We have no way of knowing what "staying over" actually means here, but you can bet that Babeu will be accused of fucking his way to that $1.7M grant. Would a heterosexual sheriff be allowed sleepover socialization with politicians who wield monetary influence over their agency? Of course he would. What a mess.