Apr 12, 2011
It's easy to spot Fiesta Bowl conflicts of interest -- unless you're Tom Horne
PHOENIX -- This week, Arizona Republic publisher John Zidich resigned from the Fiesta Bowl Board of Directors, recognizing it was the right thing to do -- and the best way to instill public confidence in the newspaper's ongoing coverage of the scandal. Yet Attorney General Tom Horne sees no problem in leading the investigation of the illegal campaign contribution scheme, even though he's politically connected to the Fiesta Bowl and its GOP lobbyists.
Only two weeks ago, top Fiesta Bowl lobbyists Chuck Coughlin and Doug Cole hosted a fancy fundraiser for Horne. But when AZ Dem Chairman Andrei Cherny spoke up and said Horne should step aside from the investigation, the attorney general called this "idiotic."
Now that respected columnists like Bob Robb and Laurie Roberts are making similar calls, Horne is even telling journalists they are "out of line" for questioning his close ties to Fiesta Bowl lobbyists.
In reality, Horne is the one who is out of line. And it would be idiotic not to step aside. The public will never trust this attorney general to properly investigate his own inner circle of GOP powerbrokers.
