The Pima County Democratic Party has withdrawn its support for Kevin Kubitskey, one of two Democrats competing for the party's nomination in the Aug. 4 primary.
Earlier this week, Kubitskey's estranged daughter, Makyla Cleary, said on Facebook that she had been mentally, physically and sexually abused by him. Her post:
To all my friends and family on Facebook Kevin is my biological father and he is currently running for sheriff of Tucson Arizona. Kevin physically, sexually and mentally abused me from the age of 6 until I was 12 and finally had enough courage to tell someone about the horrendous things he was doing to me. An order of protection was placed on me and my mother and a court process started we went to court for a couple of years and when we were gathering people to testify on my behalf Kevin decided to give his rights up to me so that he would not face the backlash of the truth coming to the public. Kevin is a man who has severe anger issues and uses the badge as a shield of protection. I’m asking that everyone please take the time to go vote against him as it is not safe to have an abuser and predator as our sheriff.Kubitskey, who is divorced from Cleary's mother, denied the allegations on Facebook, saying he "would not do anything to my daughter to cause her harm" and that she had "mental health issues." He acknowledged a ] blamed his primary opponent, sheriff Chris Nanos, of orchestrating the post and dragging his daughter into the campaign. Nanos was a longtime Sheriff's Department officer who was appointed to the seat in 2015 but lost his bid to win it at the ballot box, losing to Republican Mark Napier. Napier is seeking reelection this year.
In a statement, the Pima County Democratic Party Executive Committee said it was withdrawing its support based on Kubitsky's response.
"Our decision to withdraw support is based on the manner by which his campaign responded to those allegations," the committee wrote in a prepared statement. "His response included the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive medical information about a family member and an accusation that a political opponent orchestrated the release of the allegations. Running as a Democrat is a privilege, and we hold all our candidates to the highest ethical standards."
The statement continued: "We condemn any candidate who exploits this decision, or the allegations that gave rise to it, for political gain. We support work to ensure women’s physical, economic and personal safety."
Kubitskey's full Facebook post:
First and foremost, I will start by saying that I am heartbroken that my daughter is dragged into a situation and manipulated by my opponent that had knowledge of the troubled custodial relationship between me and my ex-wife. My daughter did not and does not deserve this to go on. I could go into great detail about these personal matters, however, at the sake of my daughter and her mental well-being, I will point out only what is of importance. There were accusations made on both sides of a custody battle with court paperwork going in both directions. All allegations were investigated and vetted through two police agencies and CPS, and found to be false and unsubstantiated. I have not and would not do anything to my daughter to cause her harm. This is provable through court records. The final order encompassed reunification on both sides. When this failed for other reasons, I made the hardest decision I have had to ever do. I chose to keep joint custody and suspend my visitation to prevent furthered alienation. The laws and orders of the court were followed. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about my daughter.
That being said, I am proud of the successful and positive campaign that I am running in the Democratic Primary to become the youngest Pima County Sheriff in the last five decades. I have a progressive agenda that will reform the Department and bring true diversity and integrity to the community. I have served as a leader in the community for twenty years. As a United States Marine and a decorated law enforcement officer, I will never compromise on matters of honesty and public service.
In less than 24 hours since my opponent, Chris Nanos, was hit with a devastating report on corruption during his tenure as Pima County Sheriff, his proxy, Rick Kastigar, dragged my former family and specifically my daughter into a social media post. The challenges surrounding my daughter were well known in the department for years. For Nanos to bring it up now, just before the primary, is an example of how he led the department: through fear, intimidation and lies. I was warned previously that the Nanos campaign was planning something. My relationship with my ex-wife and her family was troubled for many reasons. When I chose to give space, maintaining joint custody, we continued with specific responsibilities assigned to both parties. To preempt further distractions from the election, let me disclose that, under her care, my former step-son and my daughter had difficult lives. My estranged daughter has mental health issues that my opponent Chris Nanos is now exploiting and trying to use to his political advantage. My campaign team knows this because of the evidence collected on him and his proxy, Rick Kastigar.
The desperation of Nanos is proof that my campaign is succeeding as his is failing. Rather than succeeding in debates and engaging with the public, Nanos is bringing this election into the gutter, with politics that exploit private family matters. I will remain focused on bringing a new day to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. I will bring true reform. This gutter level behavior is more of the same that fell under the leadership of Chris Nanos. I hope that local media will use professional and investigatory discretion and judgement moving forward.
Family and personal issues belong to all of us in some form or another and speaking out sooner would have been irresponsible towards my daughter. I refrain from details to protect her and her well-being. If Chris Nanos had children, he would have understood how wrong his actions are exploiting family matters for political gain.
