From the Editor: Why Daniel Hernandez doesn’t deserve your vote
By Dan Shearer Sahuarita Sun
Daniel Hernandez is learning a couple of tough lessons about being a candidate for public office.
Hernandez, a Democrat, is running for state House in Legislative District 2, which includes Green Valley and Sahuarita. I spoke to him Monday as part of a series of columns on the 2016 election.
Most of us know Hernandez as the intern credited with saving Gabrielle Giffords’ life after she was shot Jan. 8, 2011. He’d been working in her office about a week when he found himself a minor player in a major international story. He’s the one walking alongside the gurney in that iconic photo of Giffords being taken to a med-evac copter.
The shooting put Hernandez in demand. He has given hundreds of media interviews, was President Obama’s guest at the State of the Union speech, rode as grand marshal in a Seattle parade, wrote a book, and has recounted Jan. 8 in scores of speeches across the country. He became equal parts activist and politician, even winning a seat on the Sunnyside Unified School District board where he helped dump a lousy superintendent. He has been appointed to commissions, received awards nationwide, writes opinion pieces for top-flight news organizations and knows how to pump up crowds at rallies. As a gay Latino, he is held up by dozens of organizations and makes the short list of emerging young leaders. One recent headline on his House race asked, “He saved Gabby Giffords. Can Daniel Hernandez save Arizona?”
At 26, Hernandez has quite a resume.
Unfortunately, it isn’t entirely true.
To read more – From the Editor: Why Daniel Hernandez doesn’t deserve your vote -click here