"Club For Growth" Fires May
Former Lawmaker Blames Gay Prejudice; Club Denies It
Arizona Capitol Times staff
The conservative national "Club for Growth" opened an office in Phoenix early in September with the express intention of defeating moderate and liberal Republican candidates for the Legislature, but its first victim turned out to be its brand-new Arizona executive director, former state Rep. Steve May.
Mr. May, who is gay, said he was fired for his homosexuality. He said he is disappointed that the club apparently has decided it cannot restrict itself to its original economics-only goal and feels constrained to make a social and cultural statement.
The club was founded in Washington D.C. in 1999 for the express purpose of electing fiscal conservatives to Congress, and the foray into Arizona was a first effort to reach down to the state legislative level.
The story of the firing was broken Sept. 18 by Associated Press reporter Paul Davenport, who quoted a club spokesman, Kevin McVicker, as saying the Republican Mr. May, who was chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee at the time he was defeated in last year's election, was fired because the club decided his legislative background showed insufficient attention to conservative economic causes.
But elsewhere the view seemed to be widespread that it was indeed Mr. May's sexual preference that cost him his job.
Several individuals who professed inside knowledge of the situation (but did not want to be identified by name) said the firing was engineered by prominent local conservative activist Tracy Thomas of Paradise Valley. They said Mr. Thomas is a significant contributor to the Club for Growth, is averse to the gay-rights agenda, and gave the club's director and founder, Steve Moore, an ultimatum to fire Mr. May or he would quit the club...