By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Daily Star
The margarita may be the drink of the Southwest. But state senators rejected a bid to have it declared the “official” Arizona drink, in favor of something with a little less kick: lemonade.
The vote Wednesday is a victory for Gilbert teen Garrett Glover, who convinced his hometown Republican Rep. Warren Petersen to sponsor legislation adding a state drink to a host of other official items. These range from neckwear and gemstones to mammals and butterflies.
But Sen. Victoria Steele, D-Tucson, suggested to colleagues that if they were going to make such a declaration they were headed down the wrong path.
“What is a great Mexican dinner in Arizona without a margarita?” she asked. “Why, it’s a shame.”
Steele also said her colleagues were ignoring the fact that the world margarita championships are held in Tucson. And she noted that the annual “margarita crawl” is set for this weekend, also in Tucson.
Finally, Steele suggested that opponents of her proposal were taking the whole issue way too seriously.
