{"id":1859,"date":"2026-06-11T09:03:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1859"},"modified":"2026-06-11T09:03:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:03:41","slug":"senators-chicken-complaint-sparks-chickengate-controversy-at-arizona-capitol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1859","title":{"rendered":"Senator\u2019s chicken complaint sparks \u2018Chickengate\u2019 controversy at Arizona Capitol"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 A complaint over catered fried chicken has become a controversy at the state Capitol as lawmakers prepare for final budget votes.<\/p>\n

Read more Pima County homeowners receive erroneous property tax delinquency notices<\/a><\/p>\n

The incident centers on Gus\u2019s World Famous Fried Chicken, a restaurant hired by lobbyists to cater an event last week at the Capitol. The lobbyists paid for enough food to feed over 100 people, and by most accounts, the chicken was a hit.<\/p>\n

But Sen. Kiana Sears, a Democrat from Mesa, was not happy, according to emails between the company\u2019s management, lawmakers and lobbyists.<\/p>\n

Senator complained about meal quality<\/h2>\n

According to the restaurant\u2019s manager, Sears called to complain. Sears, who did not pay for the food or organize the event, claimed the meal was \u201covercooked, dry and not enjoyed by most.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lobbyists were then blindsided by what happened next. The manager said Sears \u201cwould like the order remade on June 27 at 5:30 p.m.\u201d<\/p>\n

The request raised questions about whether Sears was trying to score a free meal, who would be at the event on a Saturday, and how bad the chicken actually was.<\/p>\n

Read more Tucson food bank sees surge in visitors as inflation rises<\/a><\/p>\n

Sears did not respond to requests for comment. Lawmakers at the Capitol declined to speak publicly about the incident, though many had opinions about it privately.<\/p>\n

The controversy comes as state lawmakers prepare to make their final votes on the budget deal Tuesday.<\/p>\n

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? <\/i>Please click here to report it<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send <\/i>it to us here<\/i> with a brief description.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Producer: Kari Lake never won a Billboard award<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A fried chicken complaint at the Arizona Capitol has exploded into \u201cChickengate\u201d just as lawmakers prepare for final budget votes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nSenator\u2019s chicken complaint sparks \u2018Chickengate\u2019 controversy at Arizona Capitol - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1859\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Senator\u2019s chicken complaint sparks \u2018Chickengate\u2019 controversy at Arizona Capitol - 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