SAFFORD — The 2022 election season in the Gila Valley has officially started, with an appearance by a candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Jim Lamon spoke to Graham County Republicans at Chalos Restaurant Friday.
Lamon, the founder and chairman of the solar company DEPCOM Power, said the country has to help businesses that manufacture and produce domestically rather than outsource. That help should come in the form of tariffs on foreign-produced goods..
“When those products come to our shores, they must be levelized to the American way of life, what we have to comply with as an American business or an American worker. We cannot put ourselves at that disadvantage,” Lamon said.
He said with his business, he uses three criteria to determine which suppliers his company will use — does the company use American suppliers and producers, does the company hire veterans and does the company participate in charitable giving. In doing so, he said he believes his company is creating more jobs domestically.
He also said he’s proud to support the ongoing audit of Maricopa County ballots in the 2020 election as ordered by the state Senate; he wants to complete the border wall; and questioned the need for a U.S. Department of Education, saying education should be handled strictly at the state and local levels.
Lamon is one of 18 Republicans who have filed a statement of interest in running for U.S. Senate with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office. The incumbent is Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., who has not yet filed a statement of interest. Only one Democrat has filed thus far, Trista Di Genova-CHANG, of Tucson.
