Rep. David Schweikert, allies sued over ads implying opponent is gay

Rep. David Schweikert and his campaign allies were sued Tuesday by a man featured in their ads implying the six-term Congress member's main opponent is gay and unsuited for office.

That case comes two days after CarGuard Administration, the vehicle-warranty company founded by Elijah Norton, who is challenging Schweikert, R-Ariz., also sued Schweikert over disparaging comments about the business.

The lawsuits filed in Maricopa County Superior Court open new fronts in the battle for the Republican nomination between Schweikert and Norton in Arizona’s new 1st Congressional District. Republican Josh Barnett is also running in the Aug. 2 GOP primary.

Leslie Hammon, a Phoenix resident whose face is pixelated in ads attacking Norton, said in legal papers he was never involved with Norton and he never gave permission for the use of a 2018 picture of he and Norton looking into the camera with arms around each other.

In mailers, Schweikert’s campaign captioned the picture, “Elijah Norton Isn’t Being Straight With You,” Hammon’s suit notes.

The ads are part of a bruising campaign from both candidates. The Schweikert camp also also cast Norton as a drunk whose vehicle-warranty business has irritated and fleeced the poor. Norton's team has locked in on Schweikert's 2020 House ethics violations for misspending by his office and campaign to portray him as a corrupt, career politician.

Chris Baker, a Schweikert campaign consultant, focused on their attacks on Norton's business record rather than the use of ads with sexual undertones.

"Elijah Norton is a con-artist with a disturbing and well-documented history of defrauding consumers and filling up their cell phones with his illegal car-warranty robocall scam," Baker said.

"A cursory review of courthouse dockets around the country makes that abundantly clear. We’re not surprised that Norton is orchestrating the filing of baseless lawsuits to try and resurrect his failing candidacy. It won’t work. The voters of Arizona’s 1st Congressional district have seen Elijah Norton for exactly who he is — a crook who preys upon the elderly and vulnerable."

Brian Seitchik, Norton's campaign spokesman, referred to a 2012 Schweikert mailer that suggested then-Rep. Ben Quayle, R-Ariz., was bisexual.

"It’s election season, so of course shady Schweikert is making up lies about his opponent. Schweikert traded in sexually fabricated innuendo 10 years ago when he ran against Ben Quayle so of course he’s dusting off his old playbook," Seitchik said.

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"It should come as no surprise that a politician who knowingly and willfully lied about committing bank fraud, money laundering and a host of other serious crimes is willing to do and say anything, no matter how despicable, to save his 30-year political career."

Hammon, with legal assistance from Norton, tried to defend himself.

“Although Hammon and Norton are friends, they are not and have never been in any romantic or sexual relationship,” the suit, filed with assistance from Norton, says.

Hammon, 34, said in an interview that his lawyer asked Schweikert and a political-action committee supporting him to stop using the image, or at least remove him from it.

"The letter said I'm a private citizen. Please leave me out of this," Hammon recalled. He said he met Norton through Norton's then-girlfriend and they were photographed outside a bar when Norton wasn't running for office.

"My mental health has taken a pretty rapid decline. I had to take a leave from work for a couple weeks," Hammon said.

Hammon argues that the ads, pushed out in mailers and in social media, suggest that he and Norton are in a same-sex relationship, and that someone who is gay is unfit for office.

Tim La Sota, a lawyer for the pro-Schweikert PAC Americans for Accountability in Leadership, said in a letter the organization was within its rights to use the picture, which was taken in a public setting.

"If your client ... is concerned about privacy, I would suggest he not pose for

photographs in public places such as bars. But my client will not be deprived of its First

Amendment rights," La Sota wrote, according to a copy of the letter included in the lawsuit.

Unsubtle sexual dog whistles are not new for Schweikert’s campaign.

In 2012, in his last competitive primary, Schweikert’s campaign sent a mailer featuring a picture of Quayle with the words “He goes both ways.”

In 2014, Schweikert faced additional criticism after an email event invitation to supporters included the subject line "Politics Is Not For 'Pansies'! Attend The Garden Party!"

Separately, CarGuard, a company Norton maintains a sizable ownership stake in, filed suit against Schweikert and Baker, saying they "have repeatedly and falsely characterized CarGuard as a 'scam' that engages in 'illegal robocalls.'"

Schweikert's campaign has sent mailers and created a website making those claims, the suit said.

In a statement about CarGuard’s lawsuit, the company’s CEO, Trevor Smith, hit Schweikert over the formal sanctions he received from the House of Representatives and the Federal Election Commission.

“David Schweikert — a two‐time certified corrupt politician is a disgrace and embarrassment to the people of Arizona,” Smith said. “CarGuard is headquartered in his district, and the fact that he would continue to make up lies about his own constituent (that employs numerous people in this district) after numerous warnings only reinforces the fact he is unfit to represent us.

“The most recent despicable mailer he sent out to thousands of households in this district making up lies about CarGuard was the final straw. He will now be on trial yet again for his lies, fraud, and desperate attempts to stay in office.”

Reach the reporter Ronald J. Hansen at [email protected] or 602-444-4493. Follow him on Twitter @ronaldjhansen.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rep. David Schweikert, allies sued over ads implying opponent is gay