"Edward Peter Buck">Buckmelter?Edward Bernard Peter Buck (
born Buckmelter, August 24, 1954) is an American businessman, LGBTQ political activist and Democratic political fundraiser. A former model and actor, he made a significant amount of money running and selling the data service company
Gopher Courier. He became involved in politics after the election of Evan Mecham as Governor of Arizona in 1986;
Buck, an
Arizona native, led the effort to recall him from office due to Mecham's perceived racism and corruption, which ended in Mecham's impeachment by the Arizona Senate in 1988 on the basis of various charges, including misusing government funds, before a recall election could occur. The experience led Buck to change his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, and he has since donated heavily to Democratic politicians. In 2007, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for the city council of West Hollywood, California.
Two African-American men have been discovered dead in Buck's West Hollywood home since 2017 due to drug overdoses. Several reports indicated that Buck had a history of bringing African-American men to his house, where he would reportedly inject them with crystal methamphetamine for sexual gratification. In January 2019, a coalition of 50 civil rights organizations called for law enforcement to investigate the matter. On September 17, 2019, Buck was arrested and charged with three counts of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house.
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]
Buck began his career as a fashion model in Europe,[2][3] where he also acted in television commercials and two movies.[1] He worked for a friend's company, Rapid Information Services, before buying it out of bankruptcy for US$250,000 and renaming it Gopher Courier. Buck became a millionaire upon selling it after five years.[2]
Buck led the campaign to 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 of Mecham's inauguration.[6] In particular, Buck highlighted Mecham's "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] 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]
After moving to West Hollywood, California, Buck ran unsuccessfully for city council in 2007.[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, Adam B. Schiff, and Raja Krishnamoorthi as well as the Getting Things Done PAC.[2][12]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Buck