Candidate, RJ Navarro: Restraining order, parole violations, 6x jailed…

By Republican State Leadership Committee,

Democrat state House candidate R.J. Navarro — who recently defended hiring a convicted sex-offender on his campaign — is once again making the wrong kind of headlines. The Free Beacon revealed today that Navarro spent eighteen months in prison after he was arrested for dealing drugs with a firearm while his two-year old child was in the car.

As reported by the Free Beacon,

• Tina Kotek this year endorsed Ramiro Navarro Jr. after he entered the race for Oregon’s 21st House district.
• In 2011, Navarro pleaded guilty to dealing marijuana and to coercion after he threatened his wife that it was “the last time” she would see their son before abducting the child, court records show.
• Police later found a rifle and drug paraphernalia in Navarro’s car.
• He served 18 months in prison and was charged with first-degree child neglect.
• Navarro is the latest Oregon Democrat revealed to have a criminal record.
• Last week, Navarro himself defended knowingly hiring a convicted pedophile as a field director for his campaign.
• Navarro, who has called himself the “second-chance candidate,” violated parole after his release by showing up at a family birthday party, apparently stealing his wife’s car afterward. 
• Police found Navarro’s prison ID card inside the stolen car later, but no charges were filed.
• His wife took out a restraining order on him after his first conviction, which he also violated in attending the party.
• Navarro has made no attempt to hide his criminal past, even noting on his campaign website he has been jailed five or six times since his release.
• Kotek and Navarro did not respond to requests for comment.
• The pedophile Navarro hired was sentenced to six years in prison in 2007 for abusing a child younger than 14.
• He did not inform other campaign staffers of the man’s criminal record when the man was brought onboard.
• Navarro defended the decision in a statement to the Statesman Journal, saying the sex offender had “paid his debt to society and deserved a chance at meaningful employment.”
• As recently as March, Navarro failed to appear for a court hearing at which he was found guilty of driving on a suspended license. Curry County Circuit Court fined him $440.

Tina Kotek and every legislative Democrat should be asked if they support hiring a sex-offender and dealing drugs with children in the car.

“Navarro’s criminal record and continued efforts to surround himself with criminals show extremely poor judgement,” said RSLC Spokesman Zach Kraft. “With Oregon facing an unprecedented crime surge, we need leaders with good judgement focused on cracking down on crime and supporting law enforcement. Navarro is unfit to lead.”