Heat City

How do you take on a sitting governor who’s beating you in the polls and also happens to be a woman? If you’re Buz Mills, the wealthy gun range owner and former Marine, you apparently tell voters it’s time to elect “a real man.”

The Arizona Guardian broke the story overnight. Mills recently sent voters a flier with big, bold text on the cover proclaiming: “It’s time to hire a real man to secure Arizona’s border.”

One of four Republicans challenging Gov. Jan Brewer in the primary, Mills then goes on to call himself “the man for the job” and “the man we can trust.” He also mentions he’s a pilot and a former Marine.

Buz Mills

Republican candidate for governor Buz Mills retreated on Sunday from his bizarre claim that Arizona’s public schools have as many administrators as they do teachers.

The wealthy gun range owner made the claim to Heat City two weeks ago in an exchange on Twitter. At the time, he was asked what he would like to see cut from the state budget to pay for his plan to beef up immigration enforcement.

“Education,” Mills tweeted. “1:1 ratio of administrators to teachers. Cut admin to appropriate level – improve education while freeing budget $$$”

But this weekend, Mills appeared on Sunday Square-Off, a weekly political news program that airs on the NBC-affiliated KPNX (Channel 12) in Phoenix.

Buz Mills

Buz Mills, the wealthy gun range owner running for governor, said on Monday he wants Arizona to eliminate educators so it can put more guards on the border and keep illegal immigrants in prison longer.

Becoming the latest to chime in on Arizona’s seething immigration debate, Mills released a campaign video that, among other things, laid out his plan to stop the flow of illegal immigrants across the southern border.

“If our border is a priority, we must prioritize accordingly,” Mills wrote on Twitter a short time later. “This will mean some currently funded programs will be eliminated.”