The MeidasTouch Podcast - The Most High-Stakes County Attorney Election You Haven't Heard About (Julie Gunnigle)

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Starting point is 00:01:01 New episodes of the traditional Midas Touch podcast release every Tuesday and Friday morning. The rest of the traditional Midas Touch podcast release every Tuesday and Friday morning. The rest of the week, it's the mighty. It's easy to focus on the elections everyone is talking about. The House, the Senate, Governor. But it's often the elections we don't hear as much about that have an outsized impact on our lives. And at Midas Touch, we try to highlight these races and give them the attention that they deserve. I want you to meet Julie Gunigal. Julie is the Democratic nominee for Maricopa County Attorney in Arizona. And this race happens to be one of the most important county attorney races

Starting point is 00:01:37 in the entire country. Julie's MAGA opponent has not only promised to prosecute women for getting abortions, but for using contraception as well. This is what we are up against this election, against these Maga extremists. And it's why it's so important that we all pay attention. Midas Touch co-founder Ben Mycelis interviewed Julie Gunigal for this edition of The Mighty. And I can't wait for you to get to know this great candidate. Ben, take it away. And welcome to another episode of The Mighty. And I can't wait for you to get to know this great candidate. Ben, take it away. And welcome to another episode of The Mighty. We are joined by Julie Gunigal. Julie is running for Maricopa County Attorney. She's a Democrat and I think one of the most high stakes and most important elections that you may have never heard about. I'll let Julie explain why in a little bit, but Julie, welcome to The Mighty.

Starting point is 00:02:29 Thanks for having me. All right, Julie, I have to ask you first off, for those who are just listening on the audio, you got a bunch of medals in the background. So I'm already, my curiosity is piqued. What are all the medals that I'm looking at on my screen? So I'm a runner. I'm not a fast runner. Those are mostly finisher medals. But yeah, I like to run. I like to do triathlons. And you've got a ukulele back there too. I like it. And so if you can tell me a little bit about your background. We obviously know

Starting point is 00:02:58 you're a runner now. What led you to run for this specific office? Sure. So I'm a mom to three school-aged kids. I'm also a Notre Dame-trained attorney going on her 17th year of practice. And even though I was born and raised in Arizona, I left to go prosecute politicians in Chicago who were stealing public funds. And after spending about a decade in the Midwest, coming back to Arizona that I call home, I got to see firsthand what it's like when people are funneling our public dollars, our school children's dollars

Starting point is 00:03:30 into private prisons and not into our public schools or the other host of public priorities. So I got into this race to get it right, to take us down from being the fifth largest incarcerator in the country and eighth largest in the world to restore some fairness and to keep this office out of everyone's personal lives. And so tell us about the county generally. I mean, I think that one of the things people may remember, if I'm pronouncing the name right, Sheriff Arpaio and that kind of legacy of really authoritarianism and a type of real dangerous abuses of power, humiliating people, shaming people, bragging about it, all these kind of PR stunts. That's one of the things that I think when people think about Maricopa County, but can you speak to that and maybe just other aspects of this county, how big it is and

Starting point is 00:04:25 how important this location is nationally, locally, et cetera? Yeah, because first of all, this is the biggest prosecutor's office that is on anybody in the nation's November ballot. This is the third largest prosecutor's office in the entire country sitting here in Maricopa County. And it has been traditionally mired in scandal and abuses of power. So whether it be folks like Sheriff Joe, who were enabled by this office by Andrew Thomas, who ended up getting disbarred, or the more recent political prosecutions for which the City of Phoenix Police Department is now under federal investigation by the DOJ. It has been just a historic place of corruption and scandal. And I'd like to stop that legacy. And, you know,

Starting point is 00:05:13 that I also can't not mention that that scandal goes to the civil side as well, because this isn't just a criminal law office. This is the office that could have prevented that fraud it, where they took our Maricopa County ballots to a fairground and in a clown show run by the cyber ninjas, investigated them for bamboo and other weird abnormalities that made Maricopa County a laughingstock. So there's a lot to be done in this office. And ideally, when we get it right, it stays out of national news. Now, when I'm not doing these podcasts and I'm not acting as a newscaster for the Midas Touch Network, people may know this about me, but I am a litigator. And so I have cases from time to time that are in Maricopa County. And when I was there recently, about two months ago, I met with a lot of people there, lawyers on all different sides of the case and on issues, but people who were, it wasn't that

Starting point is 00:06:14 they were just Democrats. I mean, it was a lot of people who said they're independents and people who said they used to be Republicans who look at some of these candidates that are running in Arizona and just some of the environment and the tenor out there. And they're just like, you know, this MAGA stuff. And some of them even gave it a try back in 2016 and hoped that it would disrupt or change things. And they've said to me, like universally, like all different types of people would say like this MAGA extremism stuff here.

Starting point is 00:06:45 We're serious people here in Arizona and Maricopa County. We're not like that. And that's really a problem. And so on the topic of extremism, are you seeing that? Are you seeing people just enough of this MAGA stupidity and this weirdo cult stuff. I mean, that's exactly right. One of the things that my campaign does very well is we've always been out in the community, out there knocking doors on the phones, trying to connect with as many people as possible to make sure that everybody understands

Starting point is 00:07:16 the impact of this race and all of these other down ballot races that have been infiltrated by extremists, school board in particular. So yeah, what I hear almost every single day is that everyday Arizonans are sick of it. They're sick of our state being a national laughingstock. And it's why we need to kick extremism to the curb at every level of office, especially the county attorney, where I am running against Trump's handpicked prosecutor

Starting point is 00:07:43 from the Kavanaugh hearings that attacked a survivor on the national stage and installed a Supreme Court justice that stripped us of so many rights. What's so wild about Arizona? You know, Rusty Bowers, you know, they're calling him a rhino. They're saying Rusty Bowers is not Republican. Is a Republican in name only? He's once more archetypical Republican than Rusty Bowers because his reason why he's a rhino apparently is because

Starting point is 00:08:15 he followed the rules and said that we need to not overturn a free and fair election. And that type of retaliation is turned on him and his family and the threats and the violence. Anyway, I can go on and on and on, but let's focus on this race. But before doing so, the one part of your background I'd love to know a little more is before running, you're a lawyer, any specific cases that come to mind or type of practice that comes to your mind of certain areas that you, whether you taught or you prosecuted or you filed lawsuits on behalf of certain groups of people? Sure. I mean, I started out my career as a prosecutor and worked my way up to financial crime and public corruption prosecutions, which are near and dear to my heart because those are true crimes against democracy.

Starting point is 00:09:06 But no, as a professor, I taught a couple of different subjects, con law one and criminal law. And then my practice now as the legal director for the Arizona Poor People's Campaign has been organizing attorneys around the eviction crisis to make sure that every Arizonan who wants an attorney can get one in what is oftentimes the shortest and most important hearing that they might ever have, right? You're taking someone away from their housing. What do you think, and we'll get into the race, but while we're on that topic, and it

Starting point is 00:09:39 is your specialty, with Ron DeSantis sending individuals into Texas to literally kidnap asylum seekers, you know, lure them with like $10 McDonald's gift cards. And then once they gave him the food, they then gave him fake brochures. A civil lawsuit was filed, a class action against Ron DeSantis. I mean, is there a concern that you have that people are going to be doing that in Arizona? And what do you make of that whole situation? I mean, absolutely. When I saw that, my first thought was that Arizona Republicans are ashamed that they didn't think of it first. When I see that sort of cruelty, that is the status quo from

Starting point is 00:10:22 the extremists who are here in Arizona at all levels of government. And we've got to do better. And I hope that that is thoroughly investigated beyond just the civil suit, because that shocked my conscience, to be sure. Yeah. And it looks like the sheriff there in Bexar County is looking into it. There's a well-respected district attorney there as well. And so we'll see what happens there. But turning to your race, you're running against Trump's handpicked prosecutor, Rachel Mitchell, who currently is serving in an interim position there. What are the main issues that are confronting voters right now in this race of you

Starting point is 00:11:06 versus the MAGA Republican Rachel Mitchell? Sure. I mean, I think the biggest things that are on Arizona voters' minds are the legacy of corruption in that office and how we can get away from these huge taxpayer settlements, some of which just in the recent two years are based on the political prosecutions that Rachel Mitchell's predecessor engaged in, but all of which just in the recent two years are based on the political prosecutions that Rachel Mitchell's predecessor engaged in. But all of which are things that she's been part of in that office, having sat there for 30 years. I think Arizonans are frustrated watching how we spend our money in our criminal legal system. Last month, our county attorney doubled down on, get this, a 16-year sentence for a 21-year-old who was caught selling an ounce of weed, a substance that is now legal in our state. So when I talk to taxpayers and make sure that they understand, like, that is $330,000

Starting point is 00:11:57 we're going to be investing in incarcerating this person, that really hits home. Because as we look at people losing their homes, the cost of living rising, the government hasn't caught up and hasn't acknowledged all of this waste that happens in the criminal legal system. But the number one issue, as I'm talking to voters at the door especially, is whether or not they will be criminalized for their most basic and fundamental reproductive rights. Offer valid on standard browsers, U.S. only. is whether or not they will be criminalized for their most basic and fundamental reproductive rights. Offer valid on standard browsers, U.S. only.

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Starting point is 00:13:51 the dystopian vision under her. Can you speak to that? It is absolutely dystopian. And it speaks to an Arizona that doesn't trust or respect women. And my opponent is the avatar for all of that. So in our state, we still have a law that goes back to 1864, before women even had the right to vote, that criminalizes abortion and creates a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and a max of five. It criminalizes even the advertisement of contraceptives. And when you pair that with this 15-week bill that's going into effect in just a few days, and pair that with the fetal personhood law that gives a fertilized egg the same rights, privileges, and immunities as you or I, and sets up the very real possibility that obtaining an abortion could be criminal child neglect, could be felony murder, could be murder one with the possibility of the death penalty in our state, it's not a far cry to know what that really means on the ground, because we're dealing with a county attorney who showed us who she was.

Starting point is 00:14:52 She showed us who she was during the Kavanaugh hearing, that she is more than willing to attack victims on a national stage and to run cover for powerful people to make sure that they never face accountability. And that's something that's repeated itself through our system here. Even now in the city of Phoenix, we have a 9% rape clearance rate in our city, which means of the brave people who report that they have been sexually assaulted, in fewer than 9% of those cases, is there ever an arrest? And in fewer than 2% of those cases, is there ever a conviction? You know, we went a full five years on ASU's campus, our largest university, where there was not a single case of sexual assault that was arrested or anybody convicted or punished for sexual assault. So when I see these two incredibly contradictory positions both coming out of my

Starting point is 00:15:45 opponent's mouth, we know what this law means. And we know that it means that if someone is sexually assaulted inside Arizona today, that they are more likely to face prosecution for having an abortion as a result than their assailant would be for harming them. And that's how we know that we have an Arizona that doesn't trust or respect women and someone at the helm of the most powerful prosecutor's office in our state who feels the exact same way. And, you know, these aren't hypothetical issues. I mean, she's made it 100% clear. Rachel Mitchell says, if you elect her, she's a MAGA extremist and you elect her, she will begin launching all these investigations into women and their doctors, and there will be knocks on your door. And they will be looking through your Facebook messages and your phones

Starting point is 00:16:42 and subpoenaing your records and looking at period tracker apps and all of that, these are not hypothetical things. That will be what will happen in Maricopa County if the people happen to elect Rachel Mitchell, right? That's literally what's going to happen. Yeah. I mean, that is literally what's going to happen. Women will die if we have a prosecutor who wants to invade their private lives. And yeah, it may look like tracking down period apps. It may look like targeting doctors. We know for sure what it absolutely will look like because there were over 1,700 cases of people being prosecuted for pregnancy-related crimes even before Roe fell.

Starting point is 00:17:21 And they look like cases like Christine Taylor's out of Iowa, where she was a pregnant person who fell down the stairs, went immediately to the emergency room to get checked out, disclosed to the nurse that she was in a rocky relationship and didn't know how she was going to parent this new child in addition to the two that were already at home. And that nurse turned her over to the police to investigate whether it was actually a fall or an attempted abortion. That's the kind of intervention that we can expect the state to start if we go down this path of criminalizing abortion and reproductive health care choices in our state. And then here's the thing too, you You mentioned a few times the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing, which we now know also involved a MAGA Republican cover up of all of the tips that came in. The White House intervened and basically had, I believe, the FBI and Secret Service just cut off any investigation into any and all of the tips. And so maybe you can explain Rachel's role

Starting point is 00:18:28 for those who don't remember what her role was at that hearing, what she was brought in to do. And to me, as you tell it, I want people to think in the back of your minds, that confirmation hearing also represented one of the most, to put Brett Kavanaugh up there, to attack victims like that, it's one of the things that led to decisions like the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That's how we got the Dobbs decision through getting someone like him on the court and other illegitimate actions like that. But maybe you can speak to just what her role was there for people who may or may not remember that. Sure. I mean, her role was explicitly to run cover for 11 male Republican senators so that

Starting point is 00:19:19 she could do the cross-examination of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford instead of the optics of having males cross-examine her. So it was literally a cover-up from conception to the moment that she stepped up to that teeny tiny desk and ended up asking, in my opinion, monumentally ineffective lines of questioning. But that was only a part of it, right? Because during that time, there was also a weekend where the tips were supposed to be investigated. We were only just now finding out in the last months that Trump personally intervened into which tips were

Starting point is 00:19:55 investigated. And then after that, she authored a memo that said that no reasonable prosecutor would have pursued the case against Justice Kavanaugh. And that memo has been so thoroughly picked apart, not just by legal experts here in Arizona, but by national legal experts from the National District Attorneys Association, for example, one of their heads saying that no reasonable prosecutor would have cleared Justice Kavanaugh after a weekend investigation where that you don't have any control over whether tips are actually followed up on. So no, it's been a cover up from the beginning and my opponent is complicit. So tell me about you get elected. What are the first 100 days look like? Yeah. First 100 days, we need to clear all of the pending expungements

Starting point is 00:20:44 in our state. Arizona voters said loud and clear we don't want to see people criminalized for cannabis anymore let's make it universal and automatic we're going to ramp up our diversion program so that every person who is experiencing addiction has a real shot at going through rehab and treatment and not incarceration as a as a result we're going to bring down the average length of sentences down to the middle of our nation, states like Utah, which will be a savings of $250 million a year. And then last, and I think importantly in this moment where we still have a police force, our largest police force in the county under DOJ investigation for colluding with prosecutors and using force

Starting point is 00:21:26 against citizens, having an independent unit to field those police use of force cases so that you can trust that they're being evaluated free from the normal conflicts of interest in a prosecutor's office. And Julie, if people want to find out more about your platform or make a contribution, where could they go to find that out? You can find more at gunnigle2022.com. That's G-U-N-N-I-G-L-E 2022.com. Julie Gunnigle, thank you so much for joining us on this edition of The Mighty. Thanks for having me. Thanks, Ben. And thank you, Julie. And thank you for listening to this episode of The Mighty. So here's a quick but cool story about this interview I want to share with you.

Starting point is 00:22:07 So this interview was pitched to us by a member of our new Patreon account. This member sent us a private message on Patreon, set us up with Julie. And within 24 hours, we had this interview recorded and ready to go. This is just one example of the special things happening over on our new Patreon account. And if you want to support our independent media, consider joining today at patreon.com slash MidasTouch. In addition to being able to pitch us ideas, depending on your tier, you get exclusive bonus content, postcards from the brothers,

Starting point is 00:22:37 and you even have an opportunity to become a producer of the main MidasTouch podcast. So check it out today. That's patreon.com slash Midas Touch podcast. So check it out today. That's patreon.com slash Midas Touch. P-A-T-R-E-O-N dot com slash Midas Touch. Thanks for listening to this episode of The Mighty. And as always, shout out to the Midas Mighty.

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The MeidasTouch Podcast - The Most High-Stakes County Attorney Election You Haven't Heard About (Julie Gunnigle)

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