凤凰城：市议员候选人 Matt Evans 自曝毒贩过往 称制药公司才是真正的罪犯
位于亚利桑那州马里科帕县的凤凰城，距离11月3日选举约两周，第2选区市议员候选人 Matt Evans 向《亚利桑那共和报》坦承了自己曾是毒贩、深陷阿片类药物成瘾的过往。
38岁的 Evans 是一名软件工程师，竞选的是一个开放席位，对手是律师 Danny Mazza 和企业主 Julie Read。现任议员 Jim Waring 自2012年起担任该区议员，因任期届满不再连任。Evans 曾在2024年竞选市长、挑战 Kate Gallego，未能成功。保守派组织 Turning Point Action 已为第2选区的全部三名候选人背书。
法庭记录显示，Evans 在2011年 Scottsdale 警方调查后被捕；他20岁出头时曾因持有大麻获得延期起诉，相关刑事指控后来被撤销。Evans 年轻时与凤凰城一个名为『40 Block』的帮派成员来往，其中一名成员曾枪杀一名17岁少年。警方当时认为 Evans 是该帮派的成员或关联人员，Evans 则表示自己从未是正式成员。
Evans 表示，他后来皈依信仰、戒掉毒品并努力照顾孩子，对年轻时的许多决定深感后悔。他称自己是制药公司的受害者，并说：『它们才是真正的罪犯。』他自称将成为市议会中的『急先锋』，为选区居民争取更多资源。
（GSM 据《亚利桑那共和报》azcentral.com 报道）
Phoenix: Council Candidate Matt Evans Opens Up About Drug-Dealer Past Ahead of the November 3 Election
In Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, with the November 3 election about two weeks away, District 2 city council candidate Matt Evans has spoken openly to The Arizona Republic about his past as a drug dealer and his addiction to opioids.
Evans, a 38-year-old software engineer, is running for an open seat against lawyer Danny Mazza and business owner Julie Read. Councilman Jim Waring, who has held the seat since 2012, is term-limited. Evans ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Kate Gallego in 2024. The conservative group Turning Point Action has endorsed all three candidates for the District 2 seat.
Court records detail Evans's 2011 arrest after a Scottsdale police investigation and his deferred prosecution for marijuana possession when he was in his early 20s; the criminal counts were later dismissed. As a young man, Evans ran with members of a Phoenix gang called 40 Block, one of whose members fatally shot a 17-year-old boy. Police believed Evans was a member or associate of the gang; Evans says he was never an official member.
Evans said he regrets many of the decisions he made when he was younger, found religion and stopped using drugs years ago to take care of his children. He said he is a victim of pharmaceutical companies: 'They're the real criminals, man.' He says he plans to be a 'firebrand' on the council who will do more for the district's people.
(GSM, based on reporting by The Arizona Republic, azcentral.com)
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图片来源：凤凰城市中心天际线（资料图）/ Phoenix skyline (file photo), Alan Stark, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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