A short political ad being run by KFYI and two other Valley area stations has been banned by another outlet, raising concerns by a well-known Arizona businessman that political speech is under attack.
On Tuesday, Jim Clark was interviewed by KFYI’s James T. Harris about the decision by KTAR to reject a pro-Kari Lake for Governor political ad Clark created around the theme “Is Katie Hobbs a Racist?”
Clark, who is CEO of Republic Monetary Exchange, makes it clear in the political ad that he is paying as a private citizen to run the ad. And it is his personal opinion, Clark says in the ad, that Hobbs is a racist, based in part on the “millions of dollars in jury awards against Secretary of State Katie Hobbs for discriminatory practices.”
That comment stems from a $2.7 million verdict against Hobbs and the Arizona Senate involving discrimination experienced by Talonya Adams, a policy advisor fired in 2015 by Hobbs in her role as State Senate Minority Leader. The actual payout on the $2.7 million jury award was capped under federal law at $300,000 plus attorney’s fees.
Clark’s political ad also refers to Hobbs’ unwillingness “to explain herself” and her unprecedented decision to skip any open debate with Republican nominee Kari Lake. He then invites other voters to join Clark in supporting Lake.
According to Clark, KTAR rejected the ad last week and notified Clark it was being removed from their schedule unless it was revised. That revision, Clark told Harris during Tuesday’s interview, would have required removing words associated with racism.
Clark said KTAR officials proposed he “say some silly thing like did Katie Hobbs really believe in civil rights,” which he believes is a meaningless comment. “Get down to the point and say what it is,” Clark said.
And beyond free speech issues, Clark argues the word racism is “all over the court documents, there is no other word for it.”
Clark also addressed with Harris the growing sentiment among some liberals that a conservative male cannot mention racism when referring to a Democrat. But it is his personal belief that Hobbs “is absolutely a racist, no question about it,” Clark told Harris.