We've spent the last two weeks trying to get Congressional candidate Jon Hulburd to respond to a few questions, to which voters might want to know the answers before heading to the voting booth. It's been two weeks and he hasn't given us one actual answer.
In the past, Hulburd's campaign's been quick to get back to us -- mainly because our previous questions have focused on his apparent campaign platform: bashing his opponent.
Now that the questions have shifted from being about Ben Quayle to being about Jon Hulburd, getting a response from his campaign is like pulling teeth. Sadly, we were even snubbed -- and shot a dirty look -- by Hulburd at a press conference following his debate with Republican candidate Ben Quayle.
Since Hulburd won't give us any real answers -- and because he's insisted on making morality the basis of his campaign -- we've created a list of five questions Jon Hulburd doesn't want you to ask. Check it out after the jump.
1) While in the Mexican knick-knack business -- before (as you claim) being muscled out by the Chinese -- did you send a letter to several of your competitor's customers saying his business was defunct even though it wasn't?
We already know the answer to this one but wanted to give Mr. Hulburd a chance to weigh in. He declined.
Hulburd sent the letter pictured below to his competitor's customers claiming -- among other things -- that his competitor's company was no longer in business and they should shift their accounts to his company, CD Sales Co.
The owner of the business Hulburd claimed was defunct later sued the Congressional candidate for -- among other things -- slander.
The plaintiff in the case, Matt Frazier, tells New Times the suggestion that his company was no longer in existence hurt his business.
The lawsuit was later dismissed but Frazier says it wasn't because of the merits of the case, it was because competition with Chinese import companies made it impossible to compete in the Mexican pottery import business and he didn't want to waste any more money on a lawyer.
2) Did you ever spread rumors that a female member of the Paradise Valley Country Club was a lesbian?
In yet another lawsuit filed against Hulburd, a female member of the Paradise Valley Country Club sued him for defamation of character, claiming he and other members of the club spread rumors that she was a lesbian. The plaintiff in the case was married with children at the time.
Hulburd describes the suit as a "nuisance lawsuit."
That suit also was dismissed because it was filed after the statute of limitations had run out. Just because lawsuits are dismissed doesn't mean the incident the suit is based upon never happened. So we asked Hulburd's campaign point-blank if Hulburd had ever spread such rumors. Nobody got back to us.
3) If elected, would you vote for Nancy Pelosi to remain as speaker of the House?
Nancy Pelosi isn't the most popular kid at the lunch table that is Washington D.C. these days, and recently, several Democratic Congressional candidates have said they wouldn't vote for her to be speaker again.
Pelosi endorsed Hulburd's candidacy, even though Hulburd is to the right of the aisle on many issues -- including his support of Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and prolonging the Bush Tax Cuts. Hulburd's running in a primarily Republican district, where Pelosi is despised, so we wanted to know if Hulburd would vote for Pelosi to be speaker again if he's elected.
We actually got a response.
"Jon is not an automatic vote on any issue and has said that the only way he'll support the Speaker is if she demonstrates that her priorities are this district's priorities: an immediate vote on taxes, additional resources to secure our border and a commitment to Arizona's solar industry," Hulburd's campaign spokesman, Josh Abner, told New Times in an e-mail.
While that's a lovely answer to a question, it's not the answer to our question.
If elected, the first vote would-be Congressman Hulburd would cast is for speaker of the house. Pelosi's record speaks for itself on these issues and not much is going to change between now and when Hulburd would be required to cast his vote for speaker -- if he's elected.
In other words, Abner's shuckin' and jivin' aside, it's a yes or no question, to which we got no answer.
4) Would you have voted for the healthcare reform bill?
This isn't actually our question, it's a question posed to the candidate during a recent meeting with the Arizona Republic's editorial board.
Hulburd, reportedly, just flat-out refused to answer the question, which is part of the reason the paper endorsed his opponent.
