Legislator not getting award
Use of new law irks cities group
PHOENIX — The League of Arizona Cities and Towns has revoked an honor given to a state lawmaker after he asked for an investigation into an Arizona city.
The league originally recognized Republican Rep. Paul Boyer of Phoenix with its Champion of the Cities award, the Arizona Capitol Times reported.
The group chose Boyer because he was one of a handful of Republicans to oppose a bill allowing lawmakers to force the attorney general to investigate a local entity if a lawmaker says it broke state law or the Arizona Constitution.
The bill was approved this year. The league revoked Boyer’s award when the Phoenix lawmaker became the first to use the measure.
Boyer called for an investigation of Snowflake, which is more than 150 miles northeast of Phoenix. He said its leaders violated openmeeting and public-records laws when the town approved a large-scale marijuana cultivation facility.
The day before Boyer was scheduled to receive the award, the group canceled the honor and rescinded its invitation for him to speak at the event.
The group’s executive director, Ken Strobeck, said the organization didn’t immediately regret recognizing Boyer because he still voted against the bill. He said the board of directors disagreed.
“Our board had quite a discussion, and they feel very, very strongly (about the bill),” said Strobeck. “And the fact that he was the first legislator to actually use (it) on a town hundreds of miles from his district, they felt they couldn’t look the other way and give him an award.”
Boyer told the Capitol Times that one of the organization’s lobbyists informed him that he lost the award because it would send the wrong message.
“I’ll continue to vote for good policy, regardless of the source,” Boyer said. “But I told them, people are watching, and if this is how they treat their friends, I mean, it’s not how I would have done it.”