‘Act more gay’ remark still haunts Cajero Bedford

Two Democratic candidates locked horns again on Tuesday night during a debate — with state Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford again apologizing for telling a Democratic colleague to “act more gay” shortly after he disclosed his sexuality.

Cajero Bedford continues to say the comment was a poor attempt at a joke, not a passive-aggressive attack on one of her peers, Sen. Steve Gallardo.

Her rival, Sal Baldenegro, continues to remind voters of the incident, telling a small audience inside a Pima Community College classroom Tuesday night that her remarks have earned him Gallardo’s endorsement.

Gallardo, however, told the Arizona Capitol Times back in February, shortly after Baldenegro announced the endorsement, that he is not backing either candidate in the LD3 race. He said he is focused on defeating incumbent Republicans rather than weighing in on Democratic primaries.

Baldenegro contended after the debate that Gallardo was pressured into taking back his endorsement for political reasons but that Gallardo still supports his candidacy.

Gallardo did not return multiple calls seeking clarification.

An employee at Desert View High School, Baldenegro is the son of well-known Tucson civil-rights activists Salomón Baldenegro Sr. and Cecilia Cruz-Baldenegro.

Pressed for endorsements, Cajero Bedford listed a number of left-leaning groups that have backed her re-election campaign but found herself looking insensitive to the LGBT community when mentioning that she has the support of the Stonewall Democrats.

While trying to recognize a member of the Democratic gay activism group in the audience, the 75-year-old state senator said the gay man was there with his “wife” before correcting herself.

“I mean husband,” she said quickly.

Cajero Bedford has a long history associated with the state Legislature, reminding the audience that both her mother and father spent years representing Southern Arizona in the Statehouse.

District 3 covers much of Tucson’s west side. With no Republican candidate in the LD3 Senate race, the winner of the August Democratic primary is will essentially win the election — barring the emergence of a strong write-in candidate.