🎙️ "I'm Going to Run for Mayor in Oro Valley": Wake Up Live Host Makes Surprise Announcement
Chris DeSimone plans political move while championing "faith, family, schools" on conservative network
This is based on Wake Up Live with Chris DeSimone, a maga-conservative podcast in Southern Arizona, which was cast by Live The Dream Media on 4/1/25.
Their conversation revealed expansion plans focused on "faith, family, and schools" content—the holy trinity of conservative code words.
"We believe that Marana, Oro Valley is the future," DeSimone declared, referring to Tucson's more affluent, predominantly white suburbs, before casually dropping, "I am going to run for mayor in Oro Valley."
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🎙️ A podcast called "Wake Up Live" was recording from GAP Ministries, a place that helps people who lack food 🍽️ or safe housing 🏠. The host, Chris DeSimone, was encouraging donations 💵 to support GAP's mission. Various guests discussed topics like aiding foster kids 👶, teaching job skills to formerly incarcerated individuals 👔, and providing meals to hundreds daily 🍲. While everyone agreed on the importance of helping others 🤝, they overlooked addressing the root causes of poverty 🚫💸. It's like mopping up water 💦 from a leaky roof while ignoring the hole 🕳️ that causes the leak!
🗝️ Takeaways
🙏 GAP Ministries serves over 200,000 meals annually and provides crucial foster care, job training, and food distribution services to Tucson's vulnerable populations
👮 City Council candidate Jesse Lugo focuses on fear-based messaging about public safety while offering little in the way of addressing root causes of crime
🏘️ The "faith, family, schools" rhetoric throughout the podcast reveals the conservative media's coded language for traditional values
🔄 The podcast highlights the contradiction of conservative approaches: championing charitable solutions while opposing systemic changes that would reduce the need for charity
📻 Host Chris DeSimone announced plans to run for mayor of Oro Valley
Behind the Mic: The Conservative Contradictions of "Wake Up Live"
In the shadow of the Santa Catalina Mountains, where the morning light bathes Tucson in golden hues, Tuesday's "Wake Up Live with Chris DeSimone" remote podcast from GAP Ministries offered a window into Tucson's competing narratives. The podcast, equal parts charity fundraiser and conservative talk show, revealed the profound disconnect between compassionate action and political ideology that defines much of America's right-wing approach to social issues.
The Power Hour: Fundraising Amid the Conservative Echo Chamber
The bustling backdrop of GAP Ministries—where volunteers serve over 200,000 meals annually—created an atmosphere of genuine community service as DeSimone rallied his audience for Arizona Gives Day donations.
"Remember, I need you to go to GapMin.com right now between now and 7:59 and 58 seconds," DeSimone urged throughout the podcast, his voice carrying the practiced cadence of a veteran fundraiser. "And go to GapMin.com right now and please hit the little yellow circle on the bottom and say, give right there and let's make it happen."
The energy was palpable as they aimed for $100 donations during the 7-8am "power hour," followed by $50 donations for the Miracle Center in the following hour. By broadcast's end, the triumphant announcement came through: both organizations had secured their bonus funding, marking GAP's 14th consecutive year of "power hour" success.
Yet as I listen to the enthusiastic fundraising pitches, I can't help but wonder: Why do we celebrate these band-aid solutions while simultaneously supporting political movements that create the very wounds these organizations are desperately trying to bandage?
The Political Player: Jesse Lugo's Council Candidacy and the MAGA Playbook
Perhaps the most revealing segment featured Jesse Lugo, currently campaigning for Tucson's Ward 5 City Council seat. Endorsed by retiring Council Member Richard Fimbres, Lugo presented himself as a man of the people, proudly displaying worn-out shoes from walking neighborhoods to collect signatures.
"It's show and tell because after five weeks of personally walking door to door, seven days a week, meeting all the hyper-density voters, I got to speak to many people and they told me what their priorities are," Lugo explained, leaning into the folksy, man-of-the-people persona that has become a staple of conservative campaigns.
When pressed about voters' concerns, Lugo immediately pivoted to public safety: "The number one issue that has been for quite some time is public service, police and firefighters. Tucson Police Department, I understand, only has 720 commissioned officers. These senior citizens are very concerned because once it gets dark, they lock their doors."
His narrative painted a frightening picture of a city under siege, with seniors afraid to leave their homes after dark—the classic conservative fearmongering about crime that conveniently ignores how decades of Republican tax policies have gutted public services.
"They need more police officers with badges and guns in a holster," Lugo emphasized, offering the standard conservative solution that addresses symptoms rather than causes.
Ah, the timeless conservative solution to complex social problems: more guns, more cops, more fear. Never mind addressing poverty, mental health, education, or any of the root causes that might actually reduce crime in the first place.
When asked about a resident he'd spoken with, Lugo shared: "She's very concerned about her safety, who knocks on her door. In fact, this is the official uniform that I wore," he said, pointing to his campaign attire, "because most of them thought I was a salesperson trying to sell solar. When she saw that, and of course then she saw my bicycle in the front and said, 'Young man, what are you doing?'"
The anecdote was meant to highlight his grassroots approach but instead revealed the climate of fear that conservative politicians both exploit and foster.
The Ministry's Mission: Breaking Cycles of Poverty and Abuse in a System That Creates Them
GAP Ministries representatives provided compelling insights into their programming aimed at breaking cycles of poverty and abuse. Jason Ayers described their "Splash Houses" group foster homes, which provide stability for children from turbulent backgrounds.
"One of the challenges when you come from a family maybe of brokenness is when you live in a life of chaos. Structure, while you push back against it, starts bringing some consistency in your life," Ayers explained. "I don't have to be worried about where my next meal is coming from. I don't have to worry that I'm actually going to get taken to school today."
Matt and Mac from GAP's O5 Market described their work distributing food and essential supplies to approximately 400 people daily. Mac, a retired railroad worker who volunteers six days weekly, shared a poignant observation: "A lot of people don't get that. And when they come over there, they see, they get love. And that's the most important thing because a lot of people don't get that."
The broadcast's most powerful testimony came from Guillermo, a Career Plus graduate who served seven years in federal prison. He described how the program transformed his outlook after incarceration:
"When I was when I got out, I was afraid of talking to anybody. It was just weird to me. I didn't want to bother anybody, I didn't want to approach anybody. But with Career Plus, they show me how to talk, how to [do] interviews, how to talk to people, how to respect people."
Guillermo now works as a butcher at Food City, a job he secured through the program—a genuine success story that demonstrates the transformative power of support systems and second chances.
These stories are genuinely moving, yet they exist within a painful irony: conservatives champion these band-aid solutions while actively fighting against the systemic changes that would make such programs less necessary. They'll donate $100 to feed a hungry family but vote against a $15 minimum wage that would allow that family to feed themselves.
The Media Evolution: Live the Dream Media Network's Conservative Rebrand
DeSimone welcomed Clint Peake, co-founder of Live the Dream Media Network, to discuss their five-year journey building this platform after DeSimone's 15 years in radio. Their conversation revealed expansion plans focused on "faith, family, and schools" content—the holy trinity of conservative code words.
"We believe that Marana, Oro Valley is the future," DeSimone declared, referring to Tucson's more affluent, predominantly white suburbs, before casually dropping, "I am going to run for mayor in Oro Valley."
The seamless transition between media personality and political aspirant illustrated the conservative media-to-politics pipeline that has become increasingly common in the MAGA era.
The Patagonia Perspective: Joe Higgins on "Real America"
Via video call, longtime co-host Joe Higgins joined from Patagonia, where he now splits his time with Tucson. His comparison between different communities revealed classic conservative nostalgia for a mythical "real America":
"We took the kids on a big West Coast driving trip a couple years ago. We had planned on a couple days in Portland. And after one night and seeing the zombies and the drugs and just the derangement that's happening in that community, we moved on."
In contrast, he praised communities in the "Bible Belt," explaining: "I'm watching a state like North Carolina growing, Florida, spend some time there, Texas as well. They're growing so fast... You start seeing them wrestling with people that want to live there because they want to live in an environment that focuses on your families and your faith and your schools."
The segment perfectly captured the conservative idealization of the small-town America that, ironically, often depends heavily on the government services and subsidies that conservatives routinely denounce.
This romanticized version of "real America" always conveniently ignores who gets excluded from these communities, the inequities that persist within them, and how their survival often depends on the very "big government" programs conservatives claim to despise. Patagonia may be charming, but its post office, roads, and Medicare-covered seniors wouldn't exist without federal funding.
Beyond the Broadcast: The Deeper Disconnect
Throughout the three-hour broadcast, the disconnect between conservative rhetoric and reality was impossible to miss. While celebrating charitable organizations that address symptoms of poverty, the show never acknowledged how conservative policies create and perpetuate the very conditions necessitating these charities.
This is the essence of the MAGA conservative approach: privatize compassion while publicly dismantling systems designed to create more equitable societies. The result? A cycle where charitable organizations struggle to meet ever-growing needs while their conservative supporters fight against the structural changes that would reduce those needs.
Greg Ayers, GAP's founder, came closest to acknowledging this contradiction when discussing the future of the organization: "I was so naive. I thought 25 years later that maybe we'd be out of poverty cycles in Tucson. I thought, really thought we could just make a difference and things would change."
The moment was revealing—after 25 years of providing emergency services, even Ayers recognized that charity alone cannot solve systemic problems. Yet the broadcast never connected those dots to the political policies that have exacerbated inequality during those same 25 years.
The Path Forward: Combining Compassion with Justice
Despite these contradictions, the dedication of GAP Ministries' staff and volunteers offers genuine hope. Their commitment to seeing the humanity in each person they serve demonstrates the compassion that exists in our community—a compassion that, if directed toward both immediate relief AND systemic change, could transform Tucson.
Organizations like GAP Ministries provide essential services that save lives today. We should absolutely support them. But we must simultaneously fight for the political changes that would reduce the need for such services tomorrow: living wages, affordable housing, universal healthcare, educational equity, and a justice system focused on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
Want to make a difference? Consider these actions:
Support direct service organizations like GAP Ministries (gapmin.com) through donations or volunteering
Join advocacy groups fighting for systemic change, such as LUCHA Arizona or the Tucson Tenants Union
Hold candidates like Jesse Lugo accountable by asking how they'll address root causes, not just symptoms
Vote for candidates who understand that charity and justice must work hand in hand
Only by embracing both charity and justice can we create the community we all deserve—one where organizations like GAP Ministries can focus on exceptional cases rather than the everyday crises created by failed economic policies.
What do you think? Is it enough to support charitable organizations, or must we also work toward systemic change? Have you experienced the disconnect between conservative rhetoric and the realities of poverty in Tucson? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Quotes
Jesse Lugo (City Council candidate): "These senior citizens are very concerned because once it gets dark, they lock their doors... We need more police officers with badges and guns in a holster and not just a citizen to take care when you call 911."
Chris DeSimone (Host): "I am going to run for mayor in Oro Valley. That's happening. So it's next year. I'll probably do an official announcement cocktail party in the next 60 days or so."
Joe Higgins (Co-host): "We took the kids on a big West Coast driving trip... We had planned on a couple days in Portland. And after one night and seeing the zombies and the drugs and just the derangement that's happening in that community, we moved on."
Greg Ayers (GAP Ministries founder): "I was so naive. I thought 25 years later that maybe we'd be out of poverty cycles in Tucson. I thought, really thought we could just make a difference and things would change."
Guillermo (Career Plus graduate): "When I got out [of prison] I was afraid of talking to anybody... with Career Plus, they show me how to talk, how to [do] interviews, how to talk to people, how to respect people."
People Mentioned and Memorable Quotes
Christopher DeSimone - Host of Wake Up Live: "I am going to run for mayor in Oro Valley. That's happening."
Jesse Lugo - City Council candidate for Ward 5: "Council Member Richard Fimbres, 16 years for Ward 5, has publicly endorsed me for the Ward 5 city election."
Joe Higgins - Co-host joining remotely from Patagonia: "If we're going to fix this place, the country, the city... it starts with faith, family, and schools."
Greg Ayers - Founder of GAP Ministries: "I was so naive. I thought 25 years later that maybe we'd be out of poverty cycles in Tucson."
Mac - O5 Market volunteer: "A lot of single mother that come, they need diapers. And just struggling because the way things are right now."
Guillermo - Career Plus graduate: "I did seven years of prison and fed prison and when I got out I was at the halfway house and we received some paperwork about Career Plus."
T.N. Kennedy - GAP Ministries representative: "The career plus, what we're doing in the career plus. Just bringing people in... that have kind of gotten discouraged to feel like, how am I going to ever live the American dream?"
Clint Peake - Co-founder of Live the Dream Media Network: "It's been pretty cool. Hey, and for the record, we do 30 hours of live broadcasting. Chris is not the only game over there."
Matt - GAP Ministries representative: "We're doing matching funds with the city of Tucson. So once we obtain 200 of city residents... Ten dollar donations."
Richard Fimbres - Retiring Ward 5 Council Member mentioned as endorsing Jesse Lugo: "Council Member Richard Fimbres, 16 year for Ward five has publicly endorsed me for the Ward five city election."
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