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(CNSNews.com) - Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake says she's being "attacked by the media," because "I'm speaking the truth" about topics that a leftist media has "prohibited."
"You know, you can't talk about vaccines. You can't talk about elections," Lake told Fox News's Tucker Carlson on Monday night:
"You can't talk about Paul Pelosi, now you can't talk about Nancy Pelosi, and you can't talk about the elections, and you can't talk about COVID. And I'm talking about all those things because I still believe we have a little bit of the First Amendment left."
Lake said another thing the media won't talk about is illegal immigration and its effect on Americans:
She noted that the man suspected of breaking into her opponent's campaign headquarters is an illegal alien, but "you can't say that now because you can't talk about that. It's insensitive. And the press won't report that.
"And I'm glad that you just said that, because that's right, he is currently in this country illegally, just like it sounds like we've had many other instances where people are here illegally and the reporters never even ask that.
"Because it proves the point that having a wide open border means more crime, higher incidents of crime for American citizens, and that's what we're seeing here in Arizona. And you talked about the homeless man that was found, you know, half naked in Pelosi's home. This is why Republicans have ideas to stop these problems. I have a homeless policy, the press doesn't want to talk about that.
"I have a policy to work to end chronic street homelessness, get people help, get them off the streets and return quality of life to the hard-working people of Arizona. But the press would rather act like there's been some Watergate break-in at my opponent's office. I don't even know where her office is, by the way.
"I assumed it was in a basement somewhere. They'd rather cover that and make up lies than cover our policies, which will actually help the people of Arizona, and make them safer. The press has gone bad, and the people are awake to it."
Kari Lake's policy on homelessness is spelled out in detail on her campaign website.
She defines the problem this way:
"Numerous factors are contributing to the rise in homelessness, including a lack of affordable housing, inadequate mental health, drug, and alcohol treatment services, the expanding fentanyl crisis, cities and towns that take a lackadaisical approach to this issue and – unfortunately – a homeless services industry that continues to spend increasing sums of money (in some areas truly staggering amounts) not merely without appreciable positive results, but rather serving to enable and increase the number of individuals living on the street."
Solutions
Lake proposes expanding temporary shelter facilities, including "semi-permanent tent facilities in strategic locations around the state.
She would make state funding contingent on requiring people who get housing to also accept social services, instead of the current housing first/treatment later policies.
Her other solutions:
-- Invest in Long Term Facilities: This means locating and building more permanent shelter facilities. However, it also encompasses an expansion of halfway houses, treatment centers, and supported long-term living facilities
-- Leading with Services: State funding and support will be contingent on service organizations adopting an approach of leading with services vs Housing First. Organizations that do not adopt this approach will no longer be eligible for state assistance or grants. Funding will be diverted to organizations that either support this approach, as well as new organizations willing to take on these challenges with innovative new models.
-- Ban Urban Camping Statewide: Once we have created enough shelter bed availability to meet the test outlined in Boise, we will immediately ban urban camping statewide. We will no longer accept the impacts of rampant chronic street homelessness in our neighborhoods. Individuals who violate this statute will be subject to immediate arrest and detention.
-- Enhanced Enforcement of Quality-of-Life Issues: To address issues created by chronic street homelessness in regards to blight, harassment, aggressive solicitation, intimidation, theft, public intoxication, public lewdness, and a host of other problems, we will direct DPS to engage in a “Broken Windows” approach to policing, and tie state funding for counties and municipalities to the same. Jurisdictions which refuse will not be eligible for state revenue sharing or assistance, except as required by the Arizona Constitution.
-- Arrest & Offer Treatment: We will aggressively arrest homeless individuals who break the law, but offer diversion and expungement of their record for individuals who are willing to accept treatment and services, or can demonstrate that they do not require such services and are only experiencing transitional homelessness.
-- Campaign Against Judges Who Refuse: Arizona has judicial referral, meaning judges in the state are periodically up for confirmation or removal from their posts at the will of the voters. These referrals often receive very few votes, and confirmation is historically nearly guaranteed. That is, it is exceedingly rare for Arizona voters to remove a sitting judge from the bench, largely because most people have no idea if they deserve to be returned to the bench or not, and don’t bother to vote on the question. We will lead a campaign from the Governor’s office, and using the full political power of that office, to remove any municipal, county, or state judges who refuse to support this approach.
-- Homelessness Prevention: Allocate new and divert existing resources to programs designed to assist people in avoiding homelessness in the first place. Since it is far cheaper to keep someone off the street than get them off the street, funding services to keep people in existing housing is the most cost-efficient way to reduce overall homelessness. This includes both permanent and temporary support programs to cover gaps for low-income individuals and especially for seniors and disabled people dependent on social security, disability, or government assistance.
-- Alternative Shelter & Housing: We will additionally invest in alternatives to traditional shelters for families, people with pets, seniors, veterans, those with special needs.
-- Funding & Coordination: We will initially seek to make an additional $50 to $100 million per year for the first three years available for these programs and services via combination of state, county and municipal funding…
Lake concludes that homelessness "can no longer be treated as something for only our major cities to address. Phoenix and Tucson, in particular, have historically borne the lion’s share of the burden for our entire state. Going forward, we will seek to create a statewide approach incorporating every jurisdiction within the state in a unified approach via a state working group."
Lake says her proposal "represents the most aggressive and forward-thinking plan to address chronic street homelessness and the impacts it is placing on quality of life for our citizens in the country.
“We can no longer accept the failed approaches of a homeless services industry that is more interested in enabling chronic street homelessness and maintaining their funding than in successfully treating and supporting individuals in a manner that serves both our homeless population and community at large.
“We do not accept that the negative impacts of chronic street homelessness must be borne in silence by hardworking citizens, parents and children.
"We will place the safety and quality-of-life of our citizens first, while giving homeless individuals better services and more options to help them permanently return to productive society..."