Ed Buck

Ed Buck
Born Edward Bernard Peter Buckmelter
August 24/25, 1954
Steubenville, Ohio, U.S.
Residence West Hollywood, California, U.S.
Education North High School
Alma mater Phoenix College
Occupation Political activist, donor

Edward Bernard Peter Buck (born Edward Bernard Peter Buckmelter, August 24 or 25, 1954), known as Ed Buck, is an American political activist and donor to the Democratic Party. As the founder of the Mecham Watchdog Committee, he led the campaign to impeach Arizona Republican Governor Evan Mecham in 1987, and became a "household name" in Arizona according to The Arizona Republic. In 2007, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for the city council of West Hollywood, California.

Early life

Ed Buck was born as Edward Bernard Peter Buckmelter on August 24 or 25, 1954, in Steubenville, Ohio.[1][2] He grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was educated at North High School and graduated from Phoenix College.[1][2]

Career

Buck began his career as a fashion model in Europe,[2][3] where he also acted in television commercials and two movies.[1] He purchased Gopher Courier, a company based on giving "driver's license information to insurance companies", for $250,000, and became a millionaire upon selling it.[2]

Buck led the campaign impeach Arizona Republican Governor Evan Mecham in 1987 by founding the "Mecham Watchdog Committee".[1][3][4] He announced the campaign on December 21, 1986, before Mecham had even been sworn in,[5] and was the "leader" of a protest on the day he was sworn in.[6] In particular, he highlighted "his opposition to a King holiday, his proposal for voluntary drug testing and his plan to reduce the state police force by up to 300 officers".[7] Buck distributed bumper stickers that read "Mecham for Ex-Governor", and Arizona Attorney General Robert K. Corbin ruled that state employees were allowed to use them on their cars.[4] The anti-Mecham campaign "made Buck a household name in Arizona" according to The Arizona Republic,[3] Arizona's largest newspaper by circulation. In retaliation, Buck was attacked by Julian Sanders, the chairman of Arizonans for Traditional Family Values, over his homosexuality.[8][9] Buck switched his registration from Republican to Democrat because of homophobia in 1988.[2]

Buck ran for city council in 2007, but lost the race.[2] He formerly served on the steering committee of the Stonewall Democratic Club.[2][10][11] He has donated "nearly $30,000" to Democratic candidates like Hillary Clinton, Ted Lieu, Pete Aguilar and Raja Krishnamoorthi as well as the Getting Things Done PAC.[2]

Personal life

Buck came out as a gay man at the age of 16.[2] He changed his surname from Buckmelter to Buck in 1981[1] or 1983.[2] He was the Grand Marshal of the 1989 International Gay Rodeo.[2] He was influenced by Ayn Rand.[3] Buck formerly lived near Piestewa Peak in Phoenix, Arizona.[3] He has lived in West Hollywood, California, since 1991.[2]

On July 27, 2017, an escort named Gemmell Moore died in his apartment.[10][11][12] Paramedics found Moore naked on a mattress in the living room with a "male pornography movie playing on the television," according to a Los Angeles County coroner's report.[13] A spokesman for the coroner's office, Ed Winter, said Buck was inside his Laurel Avenue home at the time of Moore's death and that drug paraphernalia was recovered from the scene.[14] Police found sex toys, syringes and "clear plastic bags with suspected methamphetamine in a tool box roll-cabinet in the living room," 24 syringes with brown residue, five glass pipes with white residue and burn marks, a plastic straw with possible white residue, clear plastic bags with white powdery residue and a clear plastic bag with a "piece of crystal-like substance." [13] The death was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and prosecutors declined to charge Buck on July 26, 2018.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Recall drive. Bucking the system: unlikely figure leads challenge to Mecham". Arizona Republic. June 28, 1987. p. 10. Retrieved November 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Who Is Ed Buck?". WEHOVille. August 16, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017. But it has attracted a lot of attention from the right-wing media here and abroad, including publications such as the Drudge Report; TruNews, a Christian news site; Political VelCraft, a right-wing conspiracy site, and Voat.com, a website that promotes conspiracy theories such as PizzaGate.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Van Der Werf, Martin (November 29, 1987). "Buck mirror image of Mecham, critics say". Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. pp. 9–10. Retrieved November 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 Stanton, Sam (February 13, 1987). "Recall-Mecham stickers OK'd for state workers' cars". The Arizona Republic. p. 16. Retrieved November 25, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Stanton, Sam (December 21, 1986). "Recall bid on Mecham a bit early". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved November 25, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Mecham begins term as 17th governor of Arizona with call for 'new beginning'". Arizona Daily Star. January 6, 1987. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved November 25, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Harris, Don; Stanton, Sam (January 6, 1987). "Special budget session to be called by Mecham". The Arizona Republic. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved November 25, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Carson, Susan R. (March 15, 1987). "Opponent of Mecham lambasted". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. pp. 11, 12. Retrieved November 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Phoenix man seeks to recall Mecham". Arizona Daily Star. December 22, 1986. p. 32. Retrieved November 25, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. 1 2 Cullen, Terence (August 22, 2017). "Los Angeles investigators probing death of male escort at home of prominent Democratic donor". The New York Daily News. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Investigation Underway Into Fatal Drug Overdose At Democratic Donor's WeHo Home". CBS Los Angeles. August 15, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  12. ↑ Branson-Potts, Hailey; Winton, Richard (November 18, 2017). "Democratic donor's home was littered with drug paraphernalia after man died, coroner says". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 21, 2017. Moore, who was black, had been homeless and had worked as an escort.
  13. 1 2 Winton, Hailey Branson-Potts, Richard. "Democratic donor's home was littered with drug paraphernalia after man died, coroner says". latimes.com.
  14. ↑ Branson-Potts, Richard Winton, Alene Tchekmedyian, Hailey. "Homicide detectives probe man's overdose death at the home of prominent L.A. Democratic donor Ed Buck". latimes.com.
  15. ↑ "LA County DA Declines to Charge Ed Buck in Death of Gemmel Moore". WEHOville. July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
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