The man featured in a video of a confrontation between a political activist and suspected sign thieves has been identified as the husband of Heather Carter, former Arizona State Senator, and current Executive Vice President at Greater Phoenix Leadership.
Jay Carter, listed on his wife’s financial disclosure forms as a Phoenix-area realtor, has been identified as the man seen in the video as he is confronted by Eddy Jackson, a candidate for the Paradise Valley Unified School District Governing Board.
“We heard from a number of people who identified former State Senator Heather Carter’s husband, Jay, as the man who was in possession our stolen campaign signs,” Jackson told the Arizona Daily Independent. “It was disappointing to think that an individual, who should value the political process and our fundamental right to be heard on important political matters that affect our communities, would be involved in such a blatant violation of Arizona law and disregard for the public’s right to know about the ballot measures before them.”
A.R.S. 16-1019 makes knowingly removing, altering, defacing, or covering any political sign of any candidate for public office or in support of or opposition to any ballot measure, question or issue a Class 2 misdemeanor, carrying the punishment of a $750 fine and up to 4 months in jail for each infraction.
“Carter, who continues to identify as a Republican, has used that identity to scold her fellow party members for their “lack of civility.” So, it is especially offensive to conservatives that her husband would be involved in such uncivil behavior,” one Precinct Committee person told the Arizona Daily Independent.
According to the @nopinkschool Twitter account, Heather Carter made her Twitter account “private” shortly after the images of her husband surfaced.
Jackson intends to request that charges be brought against Jay Carter and the others involved in the alleged crime and is hoping that the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office will pursue justice for all of the voters in the Paradise Unified School District who have been denied what he believes is vital information needed before casting a ballot.
Carter made headlines during the 2022 election cycle when she endorsed Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, rather than Republican Kari Lake.
In 2020, she made headlines when she and then-Senators Kate Brophy McGee and Paul Boyer joined Democrats in prematurely ending the 2020 Legislative Session before legislation could be passed to protect small business owners from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.
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