Committees update

...From the "familiar names not going away/trying to make a comeback" department:

- Republican former state rep. Terri Proud, fresh off getting fired from a state job even before she started the job, has formed a committee for another run for the legislature (House, LD11).  She actually lives in LD9, but that area is too Democratic-leaning, so she is picking up her carpetbags and sliding over to LD11, where there is a distinct R advantage.  There *will* be an R primary there, but the winners of that

- Republican Shawnna Bolick, a 2010 legislative candidate and wife of Goldwater Institute muckety-muck Clint Bolick, has formed a committee for another run at the lege (House LD28).  Apparently, this time around she's trying to humanize her campaign, in an "aww, shucks" sort of way - her campaign's listed email address is "forphoenixkids@yahoo.com".  

Awwww...


From the "it's early, but it's already getting crowded" department:

- Republican state rep. Justin Pierce, son of former legislator, current corporation commissioner and possible future candidate for governor Gary Pierce, has formed a committee to "explore" a 2014 run for Secretary of State.  He joins fellow Republican legislators Rep. Steve Montenegro and Sen. Michele Reagan in the race.


From the "speaking of Michele Reagan" department:

The supporters of the voter-suppression legislation in HB2305, led by Reagan, have formed a committee to fight efforts to refer that measure to the ballot.

Steve at Arizona Eagletarian has some background on the people behind the committee here and here.  They include the notorious Republican operative Nathan Sproul, who is well-known for his voter suppression/fraud efforts.

Steve quotes a passage from the Arizona Capitol Times' Yellow Sheet Report where Reagan expresses reservations about Sproul's involvement and speculates that Reagan may be trying to establish "plausible deniability" or something similar if the committee's activities go south (and given Sproul's involvement, that's probably more of a "when" than an "if") and she sees a need to distance herself from the committee.

I can't state definitively that the speculation is accurate, but it seems to fit with her setting up to be on both sides of any controversial issue (see: her voting *for* Medicaid restoration before she voted *against* Medicaid restoration).

What I find interesting is the working name of the committee, "Save Our Secret Ballot".

It's the same name as a 2010 committee that was formed to support an anti-union measure that year.

Now, it is possible that Reagan et. al. have short memories.

Or it's possible that they are lazy and uncreative.

Or it's possible that they plan to confuse their base into supporting the anti-voter measure by conflating it with 2010's anti-union measure.

Maybe I'm being totally cynical here, but I don't think that Reagan et. al. have memory issues or are lazy.