Steven Hsieh
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A law enforcement association dolled out the first police endorsement in the competitive race for Arizona’s Congressional District 1 on Wednesday. In a rare move, the group is endorsing the Democrat rather than the Trump-backed Republican.
The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Arizona told Phoenix New Times Tuesday that they are endorsing Democrat emergency room doctor and former state Rep. Amish Shah in the race instead of former Cardinals kicker Jay Feely, whom Donald Trump has endorsed.
The two men are running to replace longtime Rep. David Schweikert, who declined to seek reelection and instead embarked on a failed gubernatorial campaign. Nearly 820,000 people live in the district, which spans nearly 1,600 square miles from central Phoenix and south Scottsdale north toward the Tonto National Forest. It tilts rich and educated, especially in enclaves such as Paradise Valley and Fountain Hills.
Over the past two election cycles, this seat has drawn national attention. Both parties see it as in play, and a key to securing majority control of the U.S. House.
“In the Arizona State House, Amish Shah worked to keep our communities safe, support law enforcement officers, and to stop the flow of fentanyl into our communities,” Jason Winskey, the chairman of CLEAA, wrote in a statement to New Times. “We know he’ll continue to do the same in Congress.”
CLEAA represents more than 2,100 law enforcement officers statewide, including officers involved with the Maricopa County Probation Officers Association. The group is also a member of the Arizona Police Association, which describes itself on its website as “the largest and most powerful legislative voice in Arizona.” CLEAA provides its members with legal protection and lobbies on their behalf for better working conditions and improved public safety, said Jobe Dickinson, the association’s executive director.
“I’m honored to stand with our police officers and to have the endorsement of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Arizona,” Shah wrote in a statement to New Times. “In the legislature, I worked to Back the Blue and fully fund Arizona’s police and in Congress, I’ll continue to work closely with them to keep our communities safe.”
A four-person board of directors, elected by CLEAA members to conduct business, made the decision to endorse Shah, Dickinson said, as well as incumbent Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani. When discussing their CD1 endorsement, the directors didn’t discuss endorsing Feely.
“I don’t have anything against Jay Feely,” Dickinson added. “We just have a proven track record with Dr. Shah and his open-door willingness to meet with us and his voting record, and so we just made the decision to endorse Dr. Shah for this race.”
It’s not unheard of for CLEAA, which operates politically alongside its umbrella organization, the Arizona Police Association, to endorse a Democrat. But it is rare. In 2022, the group endorsed multiple Democratic state lawmakers, including Shah. Notably, the Arizona Police Association made headlines for endorsing then-Senate candidate Ruben Gallego over Republican Kari Lake. They endorsed Trump during the same cycle.
Katya Schwenk
‘Open door policy’
Shah’s willingness to meet with CLEAA leadership and his introduction of HB2336 in 2023 impressed Dickinson. The bill aimed to make family members of officers who died by suicide after being diagnosed with PTSD eligible for Arizona’s fallen officer tuition benefit to attend community college or university tuition-free. It didn’t pass that year, but CLEAA got it through the legislature the following year.
Shah also attracted police support with his “yes” vote in 2022 on a Republican-sponsored bill to lower the felony threshold for fentanyl trafficking to nine grams. The legislation, signed into law by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, imposed longer mandatory minimum sentences for people convicted of possessing smaller amounts of fentanyl. Other state Democrats argued it would penalize people in crisis rather than tackle the larger system-wide issue. Shah, the lone Democrat to vote for the measure, cited his work as an active emergency physician and claimed that nine grams could translate to roughly 4,500 lethal overdoses.
That same year, Shah also supported legislation to clarify the definition of armed robbery and a bill to double the protective order period to two years.
While in the legislature, Shah also voted for a 2024 state budget that included more than $200 million for border security, specialized law enforcement operations, drug task forces and local police grants. He also supported salary increases for Arizona Department of Public Safety officers to address staffing shortages and a budget payout directed toward the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. He has also rejected calls to defund the police.
Gage Skidmore/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
The Schweikert factor
Shah hasn’t always enjoyed the support of police unions.
When he last ran for Congress, CLEAA didn’t endorse him. The Arizona Police Association endorsed both Shah and Schweikert. CLEAA didn’t endorse a candidate in that race.
In attack ads, Schweikert’s campaign painted Shah as weak on crime and public safety. The ads focused on Shah’s “no” votes on legislation that banned public camping and required cities to order the removal of tents from homeless encampments within 24 hours’ notice. Shah also also voted against expanding mandatory sentencing for repeat shoplifters.
Schweikert defeated Shah with 51.9% of the vote. Shah was one of the few Democratic congressional candidates whose vote share was below that of then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Democrats in Washington, D.C., backed his primary opponent, Marlene Galán-Woods, in this year’s primary.
