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Voters recall Guadalupe mayor in food-stamp fraud case

  More of the old "Do as I say, not as I do" from our religious leaders, government masters and police???


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Voters recall Guadalupe mayor in food-stamp fraud case

Rafael Carranza, azcentral.com | lavozarizona.com 3:40 p.m. MST March 9, 2016

Voters have overwhelmingly recalled the embattled Guadalupe Mayor Rebecca Jimenez following her 2015 conviction in a food-stamp fraud case.

According to unofficial results from the Maricopa County Recorder's Office, 81 percent of voters in a special recall election Tuesday rejected Jimenez and elected Town Council member Angie Perez as her replacement.

Critics of Jimenez had asked her to step down ever since she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after being initially charged with four counts of fraud, theft, and unlawful use of food stamps. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge sentenced her to pay up $10,000 in restitution and court fees, and to serve unsupervised probation.

The conviction stems from an investigation by the Department of Economic Security that claims that Jimenez received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for two years as mayor. Investigators said she failed to disclose that she had been living with the father of her children, and his income had made her ineligible to receive SNAP benefits.

Jimenez pled guilty to criminal possession of a forgery device, a misdemeanor. Since her conviction, she rejected repeated calls to step down, setting up the recall effort against her.

Guadalupe is a 1-square-mile town of 6,000 mostly Latino and Native American residents, sandwiched between Tempe and Phoenix. Jimenez was first elected as mayor in 2007 and re-elected in 2013.

Representatives of Guadalupe said the town would not be releasing any comment regarding the election. Repeated efforts to contact Jimenez were unsuccessful.

 


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