All of one member of the public showed up to speak about a specific judge. It was kind of disheartening.
Hope the turnout is better at the upcoming meetings in Pima and Pinal counties -
March 14, 2012 - Tucson
4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
West Side Police Service Center
1310 West Miracle Mile
Rillito Room
March 21, 2012 – Florence
4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Pinal County Justice Center
971 Jason Lopez Circle
Building A
...Since the meeting was "noticed" as being an hour long, by law, the commissioners had to remain there for an hours. When the one speaker from the public was done, the commissioners and a few members of the general public who showed up simply to observe spent the rest of the time talking about some general issues involving judges and the judiciary.
One of the people who showed up to observe did speak briefly. She's associated with a campaign (SOS filer ID 201200392) to vote out the two members of the AZ Supreme Court who are up for retention this cycle.
Her main specific objection seemed to be over the decision in the case of the governor's move to fire the independent chair of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, Colleen Mathis. Mathis' biggest offense? She was and is actually independent, just as the voters intended when we created the independent redistricting process.
The AZ Supreme Court overturned Brewer's move and reinstated Mathis.
While the person who appeared at the meeting appeared to be a member of the lemming branch of the GOP (or the parrot branch, if you prefer), and this all appears to a continuation of the GOP's temper tantrum over a redistricting process that they didn't have absolute control over, it's worth keeping an eye on.
...In another example of "it's not what you know, it's who you know", the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the nomination of Paul Senseman to the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments.
In case you've forgotten (or just weren't paying attention in the first place), Senseman was and is one of the private prison industry's primary lobbyists in AZ and used to be a senior staffer/handler for Governor Jan Brewer.
It'll be "Senseman Family Car Pool Day" at the lege - his wife Kathy's nomination to the State Board for Charter Schools will be heard at the same time in the meeting of the Senate Education Committee.
Like her husband, Kathryn Senseman is a professional industry lobbyist.
Note: this nomination was scheduled for committee consideration a couple of weeks ago. Not sure why it was delayed.
...If Tempeans need yet another reason to vote for Mark Mitchell for mayor, they need look no further than the endorsement of Michael Monti by Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane. Lane has turned Scottsdale City government into an ideological petri dish for the lobbyists at the Goldwater Institute. After three-plus years of Lane's administration, Scottsdale's hallmarks are a senior city staff whose job security depends more blind loyalty to Lane than on professionalism, a heavy concentration of liquor licenses near residential areas, and development standards that cater to the whims of deep-pocketed developers while ignoring the concerns of residents.
And Lane thinks Monti is a chip off of the ol' Lane/GI block. 'Nuff said.
...On the other hand, instead of seeking the endorsement of *mayor* Jim Lane, Monti should seek the help of *accountant* Jim Lane when filling out and filing his campaign finance reports. Monti *really* seems to have issues with campaign finance reporting. As the now-former lieutenant governor in South Carolina learned this week, campaign finance rules can be annoying, especially when they aren't followed.
...Wendy who? Wendy Rogers, failed 2010 candidate for state senate and a soon-to-be failed candidate for the R nomination in the new CD9, is claiming that "the Left" vandalized her house on the day she made her official announcement that she is a candidate for Congress.
Not to rain on her parade, but while *I* know who she is because of blogging, most of the Ds that I know, and for that matter, most of the Rs that I know, heard about the announcement and responded with "Wendy who?"
Which may be the entire point of her cries about "vandalism". She already an afterthought in the primary race, and it's still early enough for other candidates to jump in.
That's gotta rankle...
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