...The Democratic candidates for the new Ninth Congressional District all attended, spoke, and took questions at Tuesday's meeting of the LD26 Democrats. Because I support State Sen. David Schapira in that particular race, I won't comment on the event other than to say that he did well.
Note the lack of comparative words (i.e. - "best", "better than", etc.) favoring Schapira. They aren't appropriate for this forum (not going to denigrate other Ds...unless they start acting like Rs), and they aren't needed. His words and actions in office and on the campaign trail speak for themselves.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (MCBOS) appointed Kyle Jones, a former member of the Mesa City Council, to serve out the term of Lester Pearce as the North Mesa Justice of the Peace. Pearce resigned to pursue a run at a seat on the MCBOS.
Jones on his appointment:
“I am honored by this opportunity to serve my constituents in this new role. I grew up in Mesa, and raised my five children in Mesa. My four grandchildren are now growing up in Mesa. I am thrilled I can continue to serve this great community.”
Jones filed to run for the office in late 2011. Given that he and Cecil Ash, a state legislator, are the only candidates for the office with significant name recognition in the area, this appointment may give him a leg up in the primary.
...I received an email touting a candidate training school taking place next Thursday. It is a little late in the cycle, but it's not an unusual occurence during an even-numbered year.
The training session is being sponsored by an organization called the American Federation for Children (awwww...).
It sounded all well and good, other than being a little late in the cycle, until I noticed a few things about the flyer announcing the session -
- It talked about helping "pro-education reform candidates" (as the phrase is currently used "education reform" is a euphemism for "privatize public education and siphon tax money from public purposes to line the pockets of the corporate benefactors of certain legislators")
- The session is scheduled for all day on a week day (not the kind of scheduling if the target audience is Joe and Jane Average Citizen)
- It's being held at the Phoenix Corporate Center ('nuff said right there)
Hmmm...
A quick check found that the American Federation for Children is actually an ALEC-affiliated front group dedicated to undermining the public education system for fun and profit.
HmmmmClarified...
...In lege-related developments, the Arizona Capitol Times is reporting that State Sen. Frank "Don't Make Me Mad" Antenori is strongly considering dropping his run for Congress and instead running for reelection to the state senate (subscription required)
Coming in fourth in a four-way primary in a special election can cause anyone to rethink their plans, even someone as ego-drive as Antenori.
Also reported by the Capitol Times (and also requiring a subscription to access the full article), Republican state senator Lori Klein had been considering a move to a different legislative district due to redistricting because her home in Anthem (just a little north of Phoenix) is now in a district dominated by Prescott (more than just a little north of Phoenix). Her new district is also home to Steve Pierce, the president of the state senate. The Cap Times' article talks about how she is now mulling a run for the House, setting up a possible three-way primary with current state reps Andy Tobin and Karen Fann.
Tobin is the speaker of the House, so it would be something of a surprise if Klein defeating him in the primary, but Klein is trying to make the case that Fann is vulnerable.
I don't know that district well enough to even speculate on what would happen in a primary there, but I'd love to find out. :)
...And in case you haven't heard (OK, it's the biggest political story of the day), President Barack Obama expressed his support for the right of same-sex couples to get married.
Most of his detractors (and likely a few of his supporters, too) believe that the move is a political ploy designed to attract more votes, but since the opponents of same-sex marriage were already unlikely to vote for him (and the supporters were already likely to vote for him), this seems to be more the maturation of his thoughts and beliefs on the issue.
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