Kirk Adams Responds to House Speaker Age-Gate; Matt Salmon Still Silent on Joe Arpaio Switcheroo

Kirk Adams: "now I feel darn right old."

​Since our earlier post about former Arizona House Speaker/current Congressional candidate Kirk Adams' debunked claim that he was the "youngest Speaker in Arizona history," the candidate's given New Times' his response.

"I am disappointed that my staff's research didn't go back to the 1940's before I made the claim," Adams says. "I guess I will just have to be content with being the youngest Speaker since President Truman held office. To echo his words, 'The buck stops here.' Sorry for the mistake. Now I feel darn right old."
In case you missed it, AZ Fact Check found that there have been several House Speakers younger than Adams. As the former Speaker says, though, he was the youngest in more than 60 years. More on that here.

Meanwhile, one of his GOP opponents in his bid to become the next congressman from Arizona's 6th District, former Congressman Matt Salmon, refuses to explain his recent switcheroo in regards to how he feels about Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The two have been rivals for years -- since Arpaio backed Janet Napolitano over Salmon in the 2002 gubernatorial race.

In 2005, when asked about Arpaio, Salmon told New Times "I don't respect him. I don't think he's playing with a full deck."

Now that he's running for Congress -- and could use a political heavyweight/immigration hawk like Arpaio in his corner -- Salmon's got nothin' but love for America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff."

From candidate Salmon:

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been a tireless advocate for the safety of Maricopa County citizens for almost two decades. He understands how important it is to protect our national borders against illegal immigration and he knows I will make that a top priority in Washington. I am grateful for his confidence in my ability to represent the best interests of our communities.

We've sent Salmon's staff multiple emails asking for an explanation of the switcheroo. We've been ignored each time.

If you'd also like an explanation as to why a Congressional candidate, who once said he had no respect for Joe Arpaio, would now refer to the sheriff as a "tireless advocate for the safety of Maricopa County citizens for almost two decades" now that he's running for Congress, email Salmon's campaign spokesman Adam Deguire at Adam@SalmonforCongress.com.