Arizona State Senator Justine Wadsack was caught driving 71 mph in a 35-mph zone, and now she’s claiming “political persecution” over the citation. In Arizona, if you’re caught driving 20 mph or more over the posted speed limit, it’s considered a Class 3 misdemeanor, punishable with up to 30 days in jail and up to a year of probation, a $500 fine, and three points on your license. Now she’s refusing to sign the citation, the Tucson Sentinel reports.
The incident actually took place in March, and Wadsack wasn’t actually ticketed at the time. That’s because, as a member of the Arizona legislature, she had immunity while the legislature was in session. Members can still be charged once the legislative session is over, though, and this year, it ended on June 15.
On June 27, when the Tucson Police Department contacted Wadsack’s office about having her come in to sign the citation, she “immediately became defensive and argued that she was in fact not speeding. I explained that there was probable cause to issue her a citation for criminal speeding and that she could present her arguments to the judge; however, she refused to meet to sign the citation and said she would not accept it,” the officer wrote.
They wrote that Wadsack “also was upset that she was being cited several months after the fact and I explained that was due to the legislative session was ongoing at the time of the traffic stop (thus legislative immunity to be issued a ticket on March 15) however it did not prevent her from receiving a ticket once the legislative session adjourned.” She then reportedly went on to demand to speak to the chief of police, claimed “political persecution” and abruptly ended the call.
“Citing someone – Ms. Wadsack or anyone else – for putting other people in danger by driving at speeds more than 20 miles per hour above the posted speed limit within city limits is not ‘persecution.’ It is prosecution,” city attorney Mike Rankin told the Tucson Sentinel. The TPD, to its credit, still plans to charge her. If she hasn’t been served already, it should happen in the next couple of days.
When asked why she was driving more than twice the speed limit, Wadsack told the officer she was in a hurry to get home because the battery in her 2015 Tesla Model S was low. Which, of course, makes no sense because EVs get less efficient at higher speeds, but that’s really beside the point here. Even if she had a more believable reason, like really needing to pee, that still doesn’t change the fact that she was caught driving 36 mph over the posted speed limit. That’s reckless and incredibly dangerous, especially so close to the University of Arizona where pedestrians are common.
Where Wadsack’s home is, exactly, is also an issue. The house she owns with her husband isn’t in the district she represents, but when she ran for office, she listed an apartment in the district as her address. She now allegedly lives in a different apartment, but at the time she was pulled over, she was about 10 blocks from the house, 17 miles away from the first apartment and 19 miles away from the second. So it sure sounds like she just admitted that she doesn’t live in her actual district.
Wadsack’s GOP primary rival, Vince Leach, doesn’t appear to have said anything about her living situation yet, but when asked for a comment, he told the Tucson Sentinel, “The law’s the law. There’s reasons we have speed limits.”