Mesa Community College grad Olivia Cortes is a candidate in the recall election for the state Senate seat currently held by Senate President Russell Pearce -- and nobody seems to know why.
She's sure as shit hesitant to talk about it -- our colleague Stephen Lemons has contacted her several times and she always seems to be "gone to the store" whenever he calls her house. She finally kinda responded to questions in an email, which can be seen here.
It's no secret that Pearce plans to stack the ballot with hopeless candidates -- with the intention of diluting the pool of actual candidates, which would ultimately benefit Pearce. Other Republican state senators have told New Times they suspect this was Pearce's plan all along.
See Lemons' story on Cortes' "candidacy" here.
We want to know what you think thought: was Cortes planted by Pearce?
Cast your vote below.