School board candidates have until Wednesday at 5 p.m to turn in their signatures, so there is still time, but it doesn't look like there will even be enough candidates to fill all of the seats up for election, much less enough for the elections to be contested.
Note: The Arizona School Boards Association has information on school boards and members here.
Per the Maricopa County Education Service Agency (a watered-down name for the county school department, much like public education has been watered in Arizona), there are 170 school board seats up for election in Maricopa County this year.
However, as of Friday, only 74 candidates had even submitted nominating petitions.
One race worth keeping an eye on is that for Mesa Unified #4. It has three seats up for election and only two people have submitted sigs.
And one of them is Jerry Walker.
Walker was once a member of the governing board of the Maricopa County Community College District, where he was most noted for his use of his office to at a platform for pushing his bigotry upon the College community, and for using his office to intimidate and harass any student, staff, or faculty member who dared to disagree with him.
He makes Russell Pearce look like a cuddly "puddy tat".
I haven't had a chance to look at the other candidates yet and won't do so until the ballots are set, but some of the candidates/potential candidates in the southeast valley area of Maricopa County look to be more than a little sketchy.
Later...
Showing posts with label 2012 campaign. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012 campaign. Show all posts
Sunday, August 05, 2012
Saturday, August 04, 2012
Primary Ballot Time - 2012
Well, for those who vote by mail, this week was a big week - ballots for the August primary election have started hitting mailboxes across the state.
Here's mine -
In the contested races that are visible in the pic, I voted for David Schapira for Congress (more on that below), Katie Hobbs for State Senate, and Chad Campbell and Lela Alston for State House. On the other side of the ballot, it was Paul Penzone for Maricopa County Sheriff, John Washington for Mayor of Scottsdale, and Denny Brown for Scottsdale City Council (so far, I'm single-shotting Brown, but we can vote for up to three candidates in that race.)
As for the race for Congress -
While all three candidates have their good points, and all are basically on the right side of the "big issues", only one will do the best job of representing the Ninth Congressional District. That one is David Schapira. He is a "what you see is what you get" kind of candidate - honest, direct, and straightforward. His primary concern is working to make this a better community, by supporting education, health care opportunity, small business, and all of the things that help make a community a *home*. I'm proud to call him my state senator and prouder still to call him a friend.
He will be Arizona's next great Congressman.
Here's mine -
In the contested races that are visible in the pic, I voted for David Schapira for Congress (more on that below), Katie Hobbs for State Senate, and Chad Campbell and Lela Alston for State House. On the other side of the ballot, it was Paul Penzone for Maricopa County Sheriff, John Washington for Mayor of Scottsdale, and Denny Brown for Scottsdale City Council (so far, I'm single-shotting Brown, but we can vote for up to three candidates in that race.)
As for the race for Congress -
While all three candidates have their good points, and all are basically on the right side of the "big issues", only one will do the best job of representing the Ninth Congressional District. That one is David Schapira. He is a "what you see is what you get" kind of candidate - honest, direct, and straightforward. His primary concern is working to make this a better community, by supporting education, health care opportunity, small business, and all of the things that help make a community a *home*. I'm proud to call him my state senator and prouder still to call him a friend.
He will be Arizona's next great Congressman.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
It should be an active third party expenditure year
...I don't mean that the Libertarians, Greens, or some other party will experience significant electoral success, but that there will be a *lot* of "third party" spending to influence elections (meaning spending from non-candidate and non-political party groups). And not just at the federal level, either (which is what this post is about).
There have been a large number of new state-level committees formed this year to serve as conduits for election-influencing money. A sampling, with filer ID number (for now, I'm only looking at committees with filer IDs issued in 2012, and leaning toward those that have reported accepting/expending money, though there will be exceptions to that) -
PACs -
Arizona Entrepreneurs, 201200147, chaired by Meredith Munger, who appears to be an operative for the AZGOP. No candidate-focused expenditures reported as yet.
Arizona Leadership Fund, 201200486, chaired by Doug Ducey, Arizona's state treasurer. Just speculating here, but it looks like something set up to provide cover for him to dole out money to GOP candidates/buy supporters for a 2014 reelection run/possible run for governor. Not illegal (so far as I know); not even terribly unethical. Just not terribly subtle, either. No non-operational expenditures/disbursements reported as yet.
Arizona Liberty Project LLC, 201200104, chaired by Mark Spinks, a former Congressional candidate and indecent exposer. Has already given money to candidates Steve Smith, Steve Montenegro, and Russell Pearce, R wingers one and all.
Arizona Project PC, 201200242, chaired by Debra McGrew, who appears to be a tea party-type. No non-operational expenditures/disbursements reported as yet.
arizona teachers association, 201200416, chaired by John Jay Hedgepath. No expenditures reported as yet, but already infamous - it turns out this "teachers association" doesn't include people who are "teachers" by the normal definition of the word (you know, the definition that includes a classroom). Possibly formed to serve as a front group for Russell Pearce.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Arizona PAC, 201200148. It's a law firm's PAC, chaired by Janna Day, an attorney with the firm, and "treasurered" (is that even a word? :) ) by Michael Preston Green, a widely-known AZ lobbyist/legal hired gun. They've already doled out thousands of dollars in contributions to office holders and candidates. The recipients of their largesse are mostly Republicans, though a few corpora-Dems are on the list, too.
Healthcare Professionals for American Rights, 201200415. No expenditures reported as yet, but it was created on the same day as the "arizona teachers association" above, by the same two people. Don't expect authentic "healthcare professionals" to be involved with this; do expect pro-Russell Pearce snipes and press releases.
People's Rights, 201200459, chaired by Peter Bayardi, who apparently is a tea-party type. No expenditures reported as yet.
Southern Arizona Conservative PAC, 201200522, chaired by Donald Woolley. Some activity, but the most interesting is a two-step where the committee accepted money from State Sen. Frank Antenori's constituent services account and then turned around and made contributions to Antenori's failed campaign for Congress (June 30th report). There was also a transfer from Antenori's federal committee to the state-level PAC.
There may be a couple of "oopsies" here.
1. None of the available reports from Antenori's constituent services account shows the expenditures. They should. If a nickel is spent on a piece of penny candy (what can I say? Inflation has taken its toll :), it must be tracked and reported.
2. State law covering officeholder accounts.
From ARS 41-133 -
Not a lot of wiggle room with "shall not transfer".
There are also questions about the transfers of funds between a state-level PAC and a federal campaign committee. It is allowable under certain, limited, circumstances, but I'm not sure if this is one of them or not. I have an email out to the FEC, and will update when/if they reply.
Update on 30 July -
Christian Hilland, a spokesperson for the FEC, replied to my emailed inquiry by pointing out some possibly applicable areas of the FEC's rules:
I'm not sure, and perhaps one of the attorneys in the AZ blogosphere, will add their knowledge and experience to this discussion, but these sections don't seem to apply directly to the situation here, at least not entirely. They do seem to allow the transfer of federal money to state-level committees under certain circumstances, but I don't think that this situation is quite covered by these sections.
However, the transfer of $295.44, with a memo "date of contribution" of March 6, 2012, was not reported on his Congressional committee's "pre-special election" report which covered that period of time, or in the "July Quarterly" report, which covered the period including May 17, 2012, the date of the entry in the receiving PAC's report. The two contributions *from* the state-level PAC *to* the Congressional campaign were reported, however.
This stuff doesn't actually clear up much, but it's a start.
In the event the above two links don't work to bring up the reports, go to this FEC search page, and input the name "Antenori". On the next page, select C00500926. After that, select the appropriate report.
End update...
Southwest Solutions, 201200457, formed by the same people on the same as "People's Rights", above. No expenditures reported as yet.
Veterans Against Losing Our Republic (V.A.L.O.R.), 201200538. The organizers are a tea-party type and a Republican former candidate for the lege. No expenditures reported as yet.
Vote No Arizona, 201200392. Not sure what they want us to vote "no" on, but since one of the organizers is a tea-party type, they're probably against anything that would benefit Arizona. No expenditures reported as yet.
Independent expenditure committees -
Arizona Deserves The Best, 201200063. This one was formed by GOP "consultant" Constantin Querard to funnel money to Russell Pearce during the recall election last year. Through May 31 of this year, they don't report any expenditures on 2012 races, but it's still early. And Pearce is in some desperate straits in his campaign to return to the legislature.
Arizona Voter Education Fund, 201200584. Chaired by Max Fose, a GOP operative/former McCain staffer. Just guessing here, but something tells me that this would be better named the "Arizona Voter Mis-education Fund". The committee is so new that no reports have been filed yet.
Arizonans for An Honest Government, 201200583. Chaired by one Floyd Brown, who the guiding light behind a faux journalism (and stridently anti-Obama and anti-Democratic) website. No reports filed as yet.
Coalition for Freedom and Prosperity, 201200152. Chaired by one Jeff Smith of Gilbert, who I think is the same Jeff Smith who has tried to mount a primary challenge to Jeff Flake, attacking Flake from the right (not exact a lot of room to work with to the right of Flake). I'm not sure because his name serves as spectacularly poor search terms. :)
Look for many more such committees to spring up between now and the elections.
Later...
There have been a large number of new state-level committees formed this year to serve as conduits for election-influencing money. A sampling, with filer ID number (for now, I'm only looking at committees with filer IDs issued in 2012, and leaning toward those that have reported accepting/expending money, though there will be exceptions to that) -
PACs -
Arizona Entrepreneurs, 201200147, chaired by Meredith Munger, who appears to be an operative for the AZGOP. No candidate-focused expenditures reported as yet.
Arizona Leadership Fund, 201200486, chaired by Doug Ducey, Arizona's state treasurer. Just speculating here, but it looks like something set up to provide cover for him to dole out money to GOP candidates/buy supporters for a 2014 reelection run/possible run for governor. Not illegal (so far as I know); not even terribly unethical. Just not terribly subtle, either. No non-operational expenditures/disbursements reported as yet.
Arizona Liberty Project LLC, 201200104, chaired by Mark Spinks, a former Congressional candidate and indecent exposer. Has already given money to candidates Steve Smith, Steve Montenegro, and Russell Pearce, R wingers one and all.
Arizona Project PC, 201200242, chaired by Debra McGrew, who appears to be a tea party-type. No non-operational expenditures/disbursements reported as yet.
arizona teachers association, 201200416, chaired by John Jay Hedgepath. No expenditures reported as yet, but already infamous - it turns out this "teachers association" doesn't include people who are "teachers" by the normal definition of the word (you know, the definition that includes a classroom). Possibly formed to serve as a front group for Russell Pearce.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Arizona PAC, 201200148. It's a law firm's PAC, chaired by Janna Day, an attorney with the firm, and "treasurered" (is that even a word? :) ) by Michael Preston Green, a widely-known AZ lobbyist/legal hired gun. They've already doled out thousands of dollars in contributions to office holders and candidates. The recipients of their largesse are mostly Republicans, though a few corpora-Dems are on the list, too.
Healthcare Professionals for American Rights, 201200415. No expenditures reported as yet, but it was created on the same day as the "arizona teachers association" above, by the same two people. Don't expect authentic "healthcare professionals" to be involved with this; do expect pro-Russell Pearce snipes and press releases.
People's Rights, 201200459, chaired by Peter Bayardi, who apparently is a tea-party type. No expenditures reported as yet.
Southern Arizona Conservative PAC, 201200522, chaired by Donald Woolley. Some activity, but the most interesting is a two-step where the committee accepted money from State Sen. Frank Antenori's constituent services account and then turned around and made contributions to Antenori's failed campaign for Congress (June 30th report). There was also a transfer from Antenori's federal committee to the state-level PAC.
There may be a couple of "oopsies" here.
1. None of the available reports from Antenori's constituent services account shows the expenditures. They should. If a nickel is spent on a piece of penny candy (what can I say? Inflation has taken its toll :), it must be tracked and reported.
2. State law covering officeholder accounts.
From ARS 41-133 -
F. An officeholder shall not transfer officeholder account monies to any other account or committee except for another officeholder account for that same officeholder.
Not a lot of wiggle room with "shall not transfer".
There are also questions about the transfers of funds between a state-level PAC and a federal campaign committee. It is allowable under certain, limited, circumstances, but I'm not sure if this is one of them or not. I have an email out to the FEC, and will update when/if they reply.
Update on 30 July -
Christian Hilland, a spokesperson for the FEC, replied to my emailed inquiry by pointing out some possibly applicable areas of the FEC's rules:
Page 52 of the FEC's Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees: http://www.fec.gov/pdf/candgui.pdf
Non-Campaign Related Expenses
Campaign funds may be used for the following purposes that are not related to the candidate’s campaign for federal office:
• Unlimited transfers to any national, state or local party committee. 113.2(c).
• Donations to state and local candidates, subject to the provisions of state law.
Page 61 of the FEC's Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees: http://www.fec.gov/pdf/candgui.pdf
Transfers from Candidate’s Nonfederal Committee Are Prohibited
A candidate’s authorized (federal) committee may not accept funds or assets transferred from a committee established by the same candidate for a nonfederal election campaign. At its option, however, a nonfederal committee of the same candidate may refund its leftover funds to its contributors and may coordinate arrangements with the federal campaign for a solicitation of those same persons. The full cost of this solicitation must be paid by the federal committee. 110.3(d). See also AO 1996-33.
Non-Campaign Related Expenses
Campaign funds may be used for the following purposes that are not related to the candidate’s campaign for federal office:
• Unlimited transfers to any national, state or local party committee. 113.2(c).
• Donations to state and local candidates, subject to the provisions of state law.
Page 61 of the FEC's Campaign Guide for Congressional Candidates and Committees: http://www.fec.gov/pdf/candgui.pdf
Transfers from Candidate’s Nonfederal Committee Are Prohibited
A candidate’s authorized (federal) committee may not accept funds or assets transferred from a committee established by the same candidate for a nonfederal election campaign. At its option, however, a nonfederal committee of the same candidate may refund its leftover funds to its contributors and may coordinate arrangements with the federal campaign for a solicitation of those same persons. The full cost of this solicitation must be paid by the federal committee. 110.3(d). See also AO 1996-33.
I'm not sure, and perhaps one of the attorneys in the AZ blogosphere, will add their knowledge and experience to this discussion, but these sections don't seem to apply directly to the situation here, at least not entirely. They do seem to allow the transfer of federal money to state-level committees under certain circumstances, but I don't think that this situation is quite covered by these sections.
However, the transfer of $295.44, with a memo "date of contribution" of March 6, 2012, was not reported on his Congressional committee's "pre-special election" report which covered that period of time, or in the "July Quarterly" report, which covered the period including May 17, 2012, the date of the entry in the receiving PAC's report. The two contributions *from* the state-level PAC *to* the Congressional campaign were reported, however.
This stuff doesn't actually clear up much, but it's a start.
In the event the above two links don't work to bring up the reports, go to this FEC search page, and input the name "Antenori". On the next page, select C00500926. After that, select the appropriate report.
End update...
Southwest Solutions, 201200457, formed by the same people on the same as "People's Rights", above. No expenditures reported as yet.
Veterans Against Losing Our Republic (V.A.L.O.R.), 201200538. The organizers are a tea-party type and a Republican former candidate for the lege. No expenditures reported as yet.
Vote No Arizona, 201200392. Not sure what they want us to vote "no" on, but since one of the organizers is a tea-party type, they're probably against anything that would benefit Arizona. No expenditures reported as yet.
Independent expenditure committees -
Arizona Deserves The Best, 201200063. This one was formed by GOP "consultant" Constantin Querard to funnel money to Russell Pearce during the recall election last year. Through May 31 of this year, they don't report any expenditures on 2012 races, but it's still early. And Pearce is in some desperate straits in his campaign to return to the legislature.
Arizona Voter Education Fund, 201200584. Chaired by Max Fose, a GOP operative/former McCain staffer. Just guessing here, but something tells me that this would be better named the "Arizona Voter Mis-education Fund". The committee is so new that no reports have been filed yet.
Arizonans for An Honest Government, 201200583. Chaired by one Floyd Brown, who the guiding light behind a faux journalism (and stridently anti-Obama and anti-Democratic) website. No reports filed as yet.
Coalition for Freedom and Prosperity, 201200152. Chaired by one Jeff Smith of Gilbert, who I think is the same Jeff Smith who has tried to mount a primary challenge to Jeff Flake, attacking Flake from the right (not exact a lot of room to work with to the right of Flake). I'm not sure because his name serves as spectacularly poor search terms. :)
Look for many more such committees to spring up between now and the elections.
Later...
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Dear UK, we're not all rude boors.
...OK, we can be boorish, and a little rude, but that's part of being an American, and we are a little proud of that.
However, even we draw the line at treating our best friends with contempt. Loud shirts and loud voices are one thing; gratuitous insults are quite another.
I mean, we might argue that baseball is a far superior game to cricket, and that the Three Stooges are funnier than Benny Hill ever was (we will grant that Monty Python was just sublime). However, we would never claim that the UK is incapable of putting on a fine Olympics.
I know Mitt Romney insulted the UK, and people in the UK are justifiably upset.
For what it's worth, many, perhaps a majority, of us here in the United States have a similarly low opinion of him. He's insulted us many times (and keep him away from your dogs).
We won't object if you mock him as much as we do. We would offer to let you keep him for a while (a country that's been around as long as the UK *must* have some law about insulting the head of state or something like that), but we want to send him to the dustbin of electoral history during this autumn's elections, and need his presence here.
So mock him and demand an apology, but please send him back.
Then you can have him back. The wait will give you time to make the darkest and dankest prison in your country, well, darker and danker.
Thank you for your patience.
In friendship,
A wiseass American blogger
However, even we draw the line at treating our best friends with contempt. Loud shirts and loud voices are one thing; gratuitous insults are quite another.
I mean, we might argue that baseball is a far superior game to cricket, and that the Three Stooges are funnier than Benny Hill ever was (we will grant that Monty Python was just sublime). However, we would never claim that the UK is incapable of putting on a fine Olympics.
I know Mitt Romney insulted the UK, and people in the UK are justifiably upset.
For what it's worth, many, perhaps a majority, of us here in the United States have a similarly low opinion of him. He's insulted us many times (and keep him away from your dogs).
We won't object if you mock him as much as we do. We would offer to let you keep him for a while (a country that's been around as long as the UK *must* have some law about insulting the head of state or something like that), but we want to send him to the dustbin of electoral history during this autumn's elections, and need his presence here.
So mock him and demand an apology, but please send him back.
Then you can have him back. The wait will give you time to make the darkest and dankest prison in your country, well, darker and danker.
Thank you for your patience.
In friendship,
A wiseass American blogger
Harry Mitchell endorses David Schapira in the CD9 primary
I haven't written much about endorsements in the CD9 primary. Generally, endorsement competitions degenerate into a "tit for tat" fight. Most people and organizations that issue endorsements have their own agendas, agendas that may not synch up with the needs of a particular constituency or district. That's not necessarily a bad thing; it's just the way it is.
Most politically active people don't pay attention to them - we like it when our favorite candidate receives an endorsement, but most endorsements aren't deal-makers or deal-breakers for activists.
However, there are a few endorsements that rise above the crowd.
Harry Mitchell's endorsement is one such that stands out.
He's been a part of Arizona as a public servant, friend, and mentor for more than four decades.
He is a former high school teacher, city council member, mayor, state senator, and member of Congress.
And during all of that, he has been a husband, father, and grandfather.
In short, when Harry talks, people listen (sorry EF Hutton)
The respect for him is so widely held, and the affection for him is so deeply felt, people who don't care about endorsements care about *his* endorsement.
Well, in the CD9 primary, he has endorsed David Schapira, a state senator, school board member, father and husband himself. From an email -
Later...
Most politically active people don't pay attention to them - we like it when our favorite candidate receives an endorsement, but most endorsements aren't deal-makers or deal-breakers for activists.
However, there are a few endorsements that rise above the crowd.
Harry Mitchell's endorsement is one such that stands out.
He's been a part of Arizona as a public servant, friend, and mentor for more than four decades.
He is a former high school teacher, city council member, mayor, state senator, and member of Congress.
And during all of that, he has been a husband, father, and grandfather.
In short, when Harry talks, people listen (sorry EF Hutton)
The respect for him is so widely held, and the affection for him is so deeply felt, people who don't care about endorsements care about *his* endorsement.
Well, in the CD9 primary, he has endorsed David Schapira, a state senator, school board member, father and husband himself. From an email -
The primary in Congressional District 9 has pitted three of the brightest members of the Democratic Party in Arizona against each other. All three candidates are leaders in our state and I am honored to call them friends. I believe that each of them would serve admirably – and the creation of this new Tempe-centered district has presented a great opportunity to send a strong community-based representative to Congress.
Tempe has always been different than other cities, especially when it comes to elections. Yes, we’ve disagreed on issues and done so passionately. Yes, we’ve debated and we’ve fought hard. But the nature of our politics has become increasingly polarized and divisive. We witnessed it in the last mayoral race. It was discouraging, to say the least. This is also why I didn’t wade into endorsing a candidate in this race lightly.
I believe it is important that we elect someone who understands and values our community – and will work hard to represent it. This is why I’ve decided to cast my primary vote for Tempe’s State Senator, David Schapira.
I’ve often said that you can’t be successful unless other people want you to be. For the better part of 40 years, I’ve held the titles of teacher, councilman, mayor, senator and Congressman. I’ve been blessed to have so many people in our community be supportive of me. This is why I hope you will join me in supporting David Schapira for Congress.
Harry Mitchell
Later...
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Romney: No new gun laws because they won't prevent all 'bad things'
Interesting. Mitt Romney's response to calls for discussion of possible new gun laws, calls stemming from last week's massacre in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado is that we shouldn't do so because no laws will remove all "bad things" from society.
From Yahoo! News, written by Holly Bailey -
Under that line of reasoning, we wouldn't have drug laws (it's not like drug use has decreased under those laws, much to the immense joy and profit of the prison industrial complex), we wouldn't have traffic laws (people still do unsafe things with motor vehicles, no matter what the law says), or, for that matter, we wouldn't have most criminal laws (murder, rape, robbery, etc, still happen even though all of those things are "illegal").
The attitude exhibited by Romney in this matter is almost Libertarian.
I know that Romney changes his policy positions almost as often as the rest of us change our socks, but does anything about Romney scream "Libertarian", except when laissez-faire policies benefit him personally?
From Yahoo! News, written by Holly Bailey -
Mitt Romney suggested new gun control legislation likely wouldn't stop a massacre like last week's movie theater shooting in Colorado, but "changing the heart of the American people" possibly would.
Romney made the comment during an interview with NBC's Brian Williams in London, the first stop of the presumptive Republican nominee's seven-day overseas tour.
{snip}
[Quoting Romney in the interview] And so we can sometimes hope that just changing the law will make all bad things go away. It won't.
Under that line of reasoning, we wouldn't have drug laws (it's not like drug use has decreased under those laws, much to the immense joy and profit of the prison industrial complex), we wouldn't have traffic laws (people still do unsafe things with motor vehicles, no matter what the law says), or, for that matter, we wouldn't have most criminal laws (murder, rape, robbery, etc, still happen even though all of those things are "illegal").
The attitude exhibited by Romney in this matter is almost Libertarian.
I know that Romney changes his policy positions almost as often as the rest of us change our socks, but does anything about Romney scream "Libertarian", except when laissez-faire policies benefit him personally?
Presidential Debate Schedule Set
The schedule for this fall's series of presidential debates has been announced, and while only one of them will be held west of the Mississippi, at least that one will be in a state in the Mountain West region.
From the Commission on Presidential Debates -
From the Commission on Presidential Debates -
Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., and Michael D. McCurry, co-chairmen of the
non-partisan, non-profit Commission on Presidential Debates ("CPD") today
announced sites and dates for three presidential and one vice presidential
debates during the 2012 general election. The dates and sites are:
First presidential debate:
Wednesday, October 3
University of Denver, Denver, CO
Vice presidential debate:
Thursday, October 11
Centre College, Danville, KY
Second presidential debate (town meeting format):
Tuesday, October 16
Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
Third presidential debate:
Monday, October 22
Lynn University, Boca Raton, FL
Washington University in St. Louis, MO will serve as the backup site. The
CPD has asked Dominican University to lead an international project which will
be announced early in 2012.
The Commission also released the 2012 Candidate Selection
Criteria, which will be used to determine who is invited to participate in
the general election debates. In addition to being Constitutionally eligible,
candidates must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to have a
mathematical chance of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College, and
have a level of support of at least 15% (fifteen percent) of the national
electorate as determined by five selected national public opinion polling
organizations, using the average of those organizations' most recent
publicly-reported results at the time of the determination. The Gallup
Organization will advise the CPD in the application of its Criteria to polling
data as it did in 2000, 2004, and 2008.
Candidate forums tonight and tomorrow
After ranting last night about how too many voters just don't pay attention, it probably would be a good idea to remind folks of upcoming opportunities to get to know some of their candidates.
...Tonight, Wednesday, July 25, from KJZZ.com -
Wednesday, July 25 at 6 p.m.
Arizona Historical Society Museum
1300 N. College Ave.
Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 929-9499
Admittance is free but reservations are required. Please reserve your seats by contacting Claire Kerrigan at (480) 774-8444 or ckerrigan@rioradio.org.
What do you want to know about the candidates? Share your questions in advance.
The three candidates are Andrei Cherny, David Schapira and Kyrsten Sinema.
The newly formed district will serve the Ahwatukee Foothills, west Chandler, west Mesa, Tempe, parts of Paradise Valley, south Scottsdale and north-central Phoenix.
...It may be a little late to RSVP to tonight's forum, but there will be another tomorrow on KAET's Horizon, live at 5:30 p.m. on channel 8. No RSVP required. In fact, no driving required - just tune in to channel 8 on your TV.
...Also tomorrow night (Thursday, July 26), the Coalition of Greater Scottsdale is hosting a forum for mayoral candidates at the Mountain View Community Center, 8526 E. Mountain View (between Pima and Hayden, south of Shea Blvd) from 6:30 p.m until 8 p.m. All three candidates for mayor of Scottsdale were invited; John Washington and Drew Bernhardt will attend while incumbent Jim Lane won't attend, protesting the political arm of COGS' endorsement of Washington.
...Tonight, Wednesday, July 25, from KJZZ.com -
Residents of Arizona’s newly
formed 9th Congressional District will have an opportunity to meet the
Democratic candidates running for this office during a community forum hosted by
KJZZ Managing Editor Al Macias and Politics and Government Reporter Mark
Brodie.
Wednesday, July 25 at 6 p.m.
Arizona Historical Society Museum
1300 N. College Ave.
Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 929-9499
Admittance is free but reservations are required. Please reserve your seats by contacting Claire Kerrigan at (480) 774-8444 or ckerrigan@rioradio.org.
What do you want to know about the candidates? Share your questions in advance.
The three candidates are Andrei Cherny, David Schapira and Kyrsten Sinema.
The newly formed district will serve the Ahwatukee Foothills, west Chandler, west Mesa, Tempe, parts of Paradise Valley, south Scottsdale and north-central Phoenix.
KJZZ will broadcast the open question/answer session with the Democratic
candidates on Thu., July 26 at 11 a.m. Audio of the entire forum will be posted
on KJZZ.org.
KJZZ hosted a forum with the Republican candidates on June 25. You can listen to the entire forum at KJZZ.org.
KJZZ hosted a forum with the Republican candidates on June 25. You can listen to the entire forum at KJZZ.org.
...It may be a little late to RSVP to tonight's forum, but there will be another tomorrow on KAET's Horizon, live at 5:30 p.m. on channel 8. No RSVP required. In fact, no driving required - just tune in to channel 8 on your TV.
...Also tomorrow night (Thursday, July 26), the Coalition of Greater Scottsdale is hosting a forum for mayoral candidates at the Mountain View Community Center, 8526 E. Mountain View (between Pima and Hayden, south of Shea Blvd) from 6:30 p.m until 8 p.m. All three candidates for mayor of Scottsdale were invited; John Washington and Drew Bernhardt will attend while incumbent Jim Lane won't attend, protesting the political arm of COGS' endorsement of Washington.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Reminder: CD9 Forum for Democratic Candidates Tuesday
Tuesday, July 17 at 7 p.m., the David Schapira, Kyrsten Sinema, and Andrei Cherny, the three candidates for the Democratic nomination in the new Ninth Congressional District, will gather at a forum at Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 S. McClintock Drive, Tempe, AZ 85283 (SE corner of McClintock and Guadalupe) at 7 p.m.
Seating is limited, so arrive early (it's a great bookstore, so arriving early won't exactly be a burden).
For a preview, the video of this weekend's Sunday Square Off, with all three candidates, is here.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Lester Pearce the subject of an ethics investigation
Lester Pearce, a former Justice of the Peace in North Mesa and current candidate for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, is best-known as the older brother of ethically-challenged nativist blatherer Russell Pearce.
Like his brother, he tends to hold some rather extreme political views.
Like his brother, he is quite willing to use his position of public trust to promulgate those views.
Now, like his brother, he is facing an ethics investigation.
Perhaps it's only fitting that (alleged) ethical transgressions are related to his brother.
During his brother's recall election last fall, Lester Pearce allegedly campaigned for Russell Pearce, including helping to put a sham Latina candidate on the ballot in order to split the anti-Pearce vote, and publicly endorsed his brother.
Things that judges are specifically barred from doing (actually, the whole sham candidate thing goes beyond a violation of standards of judicial conduct; that sort of behavior is frowned upon for all of us).
From Canon 4 of the Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct -
Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times has an article here regarding Lester's apparent violations of all of the above.
Now, the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct is investigating a complaint against Pearce. They won't post the complaint on their website until the matter is resolved.
The ethics investigation may not be the worst thing facing Lester and the Pearce clan -
I wonder if the ethics investigation will be a topic of conversation at the Pearce family fundraiser scheduled for Saturday, July 21 in Fountain Hills?
It will be that, or talk about how desperately poor the Pearces have been at fundraising this year.
During the five months between January 1 and May 31, Russell raised ~$2800 in his race for the LD25 Senate seat.
During the same period, big brother Lester raised $100,223.87.
Sounds good, even great...until you notice that $100,000 came from a loan from the candidate himself. Meaning he actually raised $223.87.
Many words will probably be written about the fundraiser, both before and after the event (it's possible my post-event write-up will include the words "klavern meeting". Just sayin' :) ).
I'm just guessing here, but the Pearces won't care what anyone writes about the event so long as one of the words used after the event is "lucrative".
Like his brother, he tends to hold some rather extreme political views.
Like his brother, he is quite willing to use his position of public trust to promulgate those views.
Now, like his brother, he is facing an ethics investigation.
Perhaps it's only fitting that (alleged) ethical transgressions are related to his brother.
During his brother's recall election last fall, Lester Pearce allegedly campaigned for Russell Pearce, including helping to put a sham Latina candidate on the ballot in order to split the anti-Pearce vote, and publicly endorsed his brother.
Things that judges are specifically barred from doing (actually, the whole sham candidate thing goes beyond a violation of standards of judicial conduct; that sort of behavior is frowned upon for all of us).
From Canon 4 of the Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct -
RULE 4.1. Political and Campaign Activities of Judges and Judicial Candidates in General
(A) A judge or a judicial candidate shall not do any of the following:
{snip}
(2) make speeches on behalf of a political organization or another candidate for public office;
(3) publicly endorse or oppose another candidate for any public office;
{snip}
(5) actively take part in any political campaign other than his or her own campaign for election, reelection or retention in office;
Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times has an article here regarding Lester's apparent violations of all of the above.
Now, the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct is investigating a complaint against Pearce. They won't post the complaint on their website until the matter is resolved.
The ethics investigation may not be the worst thing facing Lester and the Pearce clan -
I wonder if the ethics investigation will be a topic of conversation at the Pearce family fundraiser scheduled for Saturday, July 21 in Fountain Hills?
It will be that, or talk about how desperately poor the Pearces have been at fundraising this year.
During the five months between January 1 and May 31, Russell raised ~$2800 in his race for the LD25 Senate seat.
During the same period, big brother Lester raised $100,223.87.
Sounds good, even great...until you notice that $100,000 came from a loan from the candidate himself. Meaning he actually raised $223.87.
Many words will probably be written about the fundraiser, both before and after the event (it's possible my post-event write-up will include the words "klavern meeting". Just sayin' :) ).
I'm just guessing here, but the Pearces won't care what anyone writes about the event so long as one of the words used after the event is "lucrative".
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Fun with campaign signs; part 1
One of the traditions of campaign season is campaign signs.
One of the traditions with campaign signs is that there are mistakes, mishaps, and just plain game-playing with campaign signs.
And one of my traditions? Writing about the mistakes, mishaps, and game-playing with signs. :)
It's early still, generally the "fun with campaign signs" period starts after the primary, but occasionally there are some enterprising folks who like to get a head start on things, like -
Yes, underneath that gang tagging (at least, I think it is gang-related), is a sign from the rather infamous Lester Pearce, a candidate for county supervisor in District 2 (most of Mesa, Scottsdale, and northeastern Maricopa County).
This sign was on the SE corner of Pima Road and McDowell Road, at the border of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) and the City of Scottsdale.
I say "was" because the sign is gone now, not because of the tagging but because the sign was placed on SRPMIC land.
A call to the Community Relations office of the SRPMIC confirmed what I already suspected was true - they don't allow signs of any kind to simply be thrown up anywhere on their land. They don't discriminate; all of them come down.
For instance, signs have gone up on the NE corner of the same intersection and were gone so quickly that I didn't have a chance to take a pic of them (Jeff Flake for Senate most recently, and [I think] Travis Grantham in the CD9 race).
One of the basics of a campaign is that the person responsible for sign placement learns the sign rules in the different jurisdictions where the campaign plans to put up signs.
Obviously, there is some on-the-job training going on right now. :)
...On the west side, however, things are more deliberate in the race for mayor of Glendale -
Courtesy Jeff Stana, a loyal reader in Glendale
And in case you are familiar with the name of Jerry Weiers, a long-time Republican state legislator (not "career" but definitely was there for far too long), this isn't the doing of a Democrat -
Courtesy the same reader
In case you can't read the fine print, the sign was paid for by the campaign of Walt Opaska, a tea party type who is also running for mayor of Glendale.
It shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Opaska is going after Weiers.
It's become obvious that neither one will get 50% plus one vote or even can catch Manny Cruz in the race...in the August election. They just need to come in second (and hence, not be eliminated) and hope to win over the votes of the other's supporters in the November election.
More to come...
One of the traditions with campaign signs is that there are mistakes, mishaps, and just plain game-playing with campaign signs.
And one of my traditions? Writing about the mistakes, mishaps, and game-playing with signs. :)
It's early still, generally the "fun with campaign signs" period starts after the primary, but occasionally there are some enterprising folks who like to get a head start on things, like -
This sign was on the SE corner of Pima Road and McDowell Road, at the border of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) and the City of Scottsdale.
I say "was" because the sign is gone now, not because of the tagging but because the sign was placed on SRPMIC land.
A call to the Community Relations office of the SRPMIC confirmed what I already suspected was true - they don't allow signs of any kind to simply be thrown up anywhere on their land. They don't discriminate; all of them come down.
For instance, signs have gone up on the NE corner of the same intersection and were gone so quickly that I didn't have a chance to take a pic of them (Jeff Flake for Senate most recently, and [I think] Travis Grantham in the CD9 race).
One of the basics of a campaign is that the person responsible for sign placement learns the sign rules in the different jurisdictions where the campaign plans to put up signs.
Obviously, there is some on-the-job training going on right now. :)
...On the west side, however, things are more deliberate in the race for mayor of Glendale -
Courtesy Jeff Stana, a loyal reader in Glendale
And in case you are familiar with the name of Jerry Weiers, a long-time Republican state legislator (not "career" but definitely was there for far too long), this isn't the doing of a Democrat -
Courtesy the same reader
In case you can't read the fine print, the sign was paid for by the campaign of Walt Opaska, a tea party type who is also running for mayor of Glendale.
It shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Opaska is going after Weiers.
It's become obvious that neither one will get 50% plus one vote or even can catch Manny Cruz in the race...in the August election. They just need to come in second (and hence, not be eliminated) and hope to win over the votes of the other's supporters in the November election.
More to come...
Monday, July 09, 2012
Romney crashes the Antoinette family reunion
OK, not really, but he spent the weekend partying with his friends in the Hamptons, and charging the "friends" $50K a head for that rather dubious privilege.
But at least he wasn't gauche enough to make the party "BYOB"...
h/t to Taegan Goddard's Political Wire for the heads-up on this
From the LA Times, written by Maeve Reston -
The "Antoinette" quote came a little later in the story -
"They don't understand"?? WTF?!?
People understand that while the economy has grown over the last few decades, the vast majority of the benefits of that have helped only the wealthiest 1%.
And we understand that Romney will work only to widen the economic disparity that is devastating America.
Romney is widely viewed as aloof, dismissive and out of touch with the average American (if "average" means 99% of us).
It seems that his plan to remedy that, if there is a plan at all, is to hang out people who may actually be more contemptuous of America and Americans than him, and hope that he looks good by comparison.
Given that he pulled this stunt on the weekend before President Obama proposed helping America's middle class by extending the Bush-era tax cuts on income under $250K, I think he needs a new plan.
But at least he wasn't gauche enough to make the party "BYOB"...
h/t to Taegan Goddard's Political Wire for the heads-up on this
From the LA Times, written by Maeve Reston -
As protesters assembled on a beach in advance of Mitt Romney's evening event at the home of conservative billionaire David Koch, the candidate slipped to East Hampton for his first of three fundraisers on this tony stretch of Long Island.
The line of Range Rovers, BMWs, Porsche roadsters and one gleaming cherry red Ferrari began queuing outside of Revlon Chairman Ronald Perelman's estate off Montauk Highway long before Romney arrived, as campaign aides and staffers in white polo shirts emblazoned with the logo of Perelman's property -- the Creeks -- checked off names under tight security.
The "Antoinette" quote came a little later in the story -
A New York City donor a few cars back, who also would not give her name, said
Romney needed to do a better job connecting. "I don't think the common person is
getting it," she said from the passenger seat of a Range Rover stamped with East
Hampton beach permits. "Nobody understands why Obama is hurting
them.
"We've got the message," she added. "But my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies -- everybody who's got the right to vote -- they don't understand what's going on. I just think if you're lower income -- one, you're not as educated, two, they don't understand how it works, they don't understand how the systems work, they don't understand the impact."
"We've got the message," she added. "But my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies -- everybody who's got the right to vote -- they don't understand what's going on. I just think if you're lower income -- one, you're not as educated, two, they don't understand how it works, they don't understand how the systems work, they don't understand the impact."
"They don't understand"?? WTF?!?
People understand that while the economy has grown over the last few decades, the vast majority of the benefits of that have helped only the wealthiest 1%.
And we understand that Romney will work only to widen the economic disparity that is devastating America.
Romney is widely viewed as aloof, dismissive and out of touch with the average American (if "average" means 99% of us).
It seems that his plan to remedy that, if there is a plan at all, is to hang out people who may actually be more contemptuous of America and Americans than him, and hope that he looks good by comparison.
Given that he pulled this stunt on the weekend before President Obama proposed helping America's middle class by extending the Bush-era tax cuts on income under $250K, I think he needs a new plan.
Saturday, July 07, 2012
Cha-ching! Campaign finance report time...
Mary Jo Pitzl of the Arizona Republic has a story up on the most recent round of campaign finance reports for state legislative candidates, covering the period from the beginning of the year thru the end of May.
That inspired a look at some specific races and candidates -
This will tend to focus on races of note in Maricopa County. If you are interested in a race that isn't covered this post, the AZSOS' campaign finance search page is here.
Note: the complete list of candidates who are running under Clean Elections financing and how much they have received to date is here.
In LD24 (my new district):
House candidates -
State Rep. Lela Alston (D) (traditional financing) - raised more than $19K; nearly $25K cash on hand
State Rep. Chad Campbell (D) (traditional) - raised nearly $12K; more than $19K on hand
Tom Nerini (D) (Clean Elections financing) - raised slightly more than $3K; slightly less than $100 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
Jean Cheuvront McDermott (D) (traditional) - raised nearly $1900; approximately $750 on hand. Note: she had been ordered off of the ballot over discrepancies with her name but appealed the ruling and has been restored to the ballot. The only significant change ordered by the court was that instead of appearing on the ballot as "Cheuvront-McDermott, Jean", she will be listed as "McDermott, Jean Cheuvront".
Brian Kaufman (R) (CE) - raised $575; a little more than $500 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
Senate candidates -
State Rep. Katie Hobbs (D) (traditional) - raised nearly $14K; nearly $17K on hand
Ken Cheuvront (D) (traditional) - raised $21K; a little more than $18K on hand
Augustine Bartning (R) (CE) - raised $550; $478 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
LD25 State Senate:
Russell Pearce (R) (traditional) - raised $2800; more than $31K on hand. This is an amended report, as noted by Laurie Roberts of the AZ Republic here.
Bob Worsley (R) (traditional) - raised nearly $67K; more than $17K on hand
Greg Gadek (D) (CE) - raised $2500; a little more than $2200 on hand. Gadek has received his CE funding, but it is not reflected in this report.
LD26:
Senate candidates -
State Rep. Ed Ableser (D) (CE) - raised almost $1900; nearly $2900 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
State Sen. Jerry Lewis (R) (traditional) - raised nearly $9200; $6200 on hand. While Lewis is leading the money race in this district, his numbers are a far cry from the $84K he raised in the 2011 recall election against Russell Pearce. It seems that the "anti-Pearce" donors outnumber the "pro-Lewis" donors (just check out the numbers for Bob Worsley, above. Worsley is Pearce's opponent this time around.)
House candidates -
Buckley Merrill (R) (traditional) - raised I don't know how much. He hasn't filed a report, which is a big no-no.
Raymond Speakman (R) (CE) - raised $185; $157 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
Mary Lou Taylor (R) (traditional) - raised $0; $0 on hand. At least she filed a report, but it could be a problem - even if no other expeditures were made, *somebody* had to pay for the petitions she circulated. Either she (or her campaign) paid for them and it should be reported, or somebody else, in which case it was an "in-kind" contribution, which must also be reported Not submitting a report is bad, but generally only gets a committee fined. Submitting a report with false information is far worse.
Jason Youn (R) (CE) - raised more than $1800; nearly $800 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
LD28 State House:
State Rep. Kate Brophy McGee (R) (traditional) - raised nearly $9500; more than $25K on hand.
State Rep. Eric Meyer (D) (traditional) - raised $39K; more than $38K on hand
State Rep. Amanda Reeve (R) (traditional) - raised $9400; almost $28K on hand
This district is definitely Republican-leaning in terms of voter registration, but as the fundraising numbers show, this race is going to be a close one.
Look for a post on the financial reports of Congressional candidates later this month, after the reporting deadline.
That inspired a look at some specific races and candidates -
This will tend to focus on races of note in Maricopa County. If you are interested in a race that isn't covered this post, the AZSOS' campaign finance search page is here.
Note: the complete list of candidates who are running under Clean Elections financing and how much they have received to date is here.
In LD24 (my new district):
House candidates -
State Rep. Lela Alston (D) (traditional financing) - raised more than $19K; nearly $25K cash on hand
State Rep. Chad Campbell (D) (traditional) - raised nearly $12K; more than $19K on hand
Tom Nerini (D) (Clean Elections financing) - raised slightly more than $3K; slightly less than $100 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
Jean Cheuvront McDermott (D) (traditional) - raised nearly $1900; approximately $750 on hand. Note: she had been ordered off of the ballot over discrepancies with her name but appealed the ruling and has been restored to the ballot. The only significant change ordered by the court was that instead of appearing on the ballot as "Cheuvront-McDermott, Jean", she will be listed as "McDermott, Jean Cheuvront".
Brian Kaufman (R) (CE) - raised $575; a little more than $500 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
Senate candidates -
State Rep. Katie Hobbs (D) (traditional) - raised nearly $14K; nearly $17K on hand
Ken Cheuvront (D) (traditional) - raised $21K; a little more than $18K on hand
Augustine Bartning (R) (CE) - raised $550; $478 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
LD25 State Senate:
Russell Pearce (R) (traditional) - raised $2800; more than $31K on hand. This is an amended report, as noted by Laurie Roberts of the AZ Republic here.
Bob Worsley (R) (traditional) - raised nearly $67K; more than $17K on hand
Greg Gadek (D) (CE) - raised $2500; a little more than $2200 on hand. Gadek has received his CE funding, but it is not reflected in this report.
LD26:
Senate candidates -
State Rep. Ed Ableser (D) (CE) - raised almost $1900; nearly $2900 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
State Sen. Jerry Lewis (R) (traditional) - raised nearly $9200; $6200 on hand. While Lewis is leading the money race in this district, his numbers are a far cry from the $84K he raised in the 2011 recall election against Russell Pearce. It seems that the "anti-Pearce" donors outnumber the "pro-Lewis" donors (just check out the numbers for Bob Worsley, above. Worsley is Pearce's opponent this time around.)
House candidates -
Buckley Merrill (R) (traditional) - raised I don't know how much. He hasn't filed a report, which is a big no-no.
Raymond Speakman (R) (CE) - raised $185; $157 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
Mary Lou Taylor (R) (traditional) - raised $0; $0 on hand. At least she filed a report, but it could be a problem - even if no other expeditures were made, *somebody* had to pay for the petitions she circulated. Either she (or her campaign) paid for them and it should be reported, or somebody else, in which case it was an "in-kind" contribution, which must also be reported Not submitting a report is bad, but generally only gets a committee fined. Submitting a report with false information is far worse.
Jason Youn (R) (CE) - raised more than $1800; nearly $800 on hand. Has not received any CE funding as yet.
LD28 State House:
State Rep. Kate Brophy McGee (R) (traditional) - raised nearly $9500; more than $25K on hand.
State Rep. Eric Meyer (D) (traditional) - raised $39K; more than $38K on hand
State Rep. Amanda Reeve (R) (traditional) - raised $9400; almost $28K on hand
This district is definitely Republican-leaning in terms of voter registration, but as the fundraising numbers show, this race is going to be a close one.
Look for a post on the financial reports of Congressional candidates later this month, after the reporting deadline.
In case you missed it...
There have been a few developments of note over the last few days...
...State Senator John Nelson (R-Litchfield Park) has dropped his reelection bid, leaving a clear path to the seat for State Senator Don Shooter (R-Yuma) (no Democrat is running in the district). The primary battle was set up when Shooter moved into Nelson's R-leaning district to avoid having to face a strong Democrat in the general election in his former district. That district became a D-friendly one as a result of redistricting.
Nelson, while a die-hard conservative R, would do things that the tea party types frowned upon. Like on those occasions when he would vote in the best interests of his constituents.
At age 76, Nelson has been in public office for nearly three decades, starting with the Phoenix City Council and continuing in the state lege.
Shooter, on the other hand, is a tea party type who never held public office prior to winning a seat in the state senate in 2010. The highlights of his political career thus far: as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he refused to take public comment on the state budget, and at a special session of the lege in 2011, he appeared in costume, in a serape and with a half-empty bottle of tequila in a holster. He chose to use his position not to work for his constituents but instead chose to use it to mock a large percentage of them.
...In a non-Arizona development, but one that is so bizarre that it could be an AZ development, Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter resigned from office.
He's gone from running for president to botching his nominating petitions and ending his reelection campaign in a safe R district to resigning office for reasons that are unknown, thus far.
If that isn't bizarre enough to make him an honorary member of the AZ lege's Republican caucus, consider this - in his farewell statement, he declared that he is becoming a "sovereign citizen."
Ummm...the "sovereign citizen" movement is growing in notoriety, if not numbers. Its ideology is anti-society, anti-government, and violent.
Something tells me that we haven't heard the last of McCotter, and that when he makes national news again, it will be in the police log and there may just be a body count associated with the events that bring him back into public notice.
...Something you may have missed unless you are on all the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) email lists is the launch of an apparently Republican-sponsored effort to suppress the under-30 vote. It's called "Beers Not Ballots"
Its website (Google it; I'm not going to link to it) is dedicated to urging eligible voters to *not* vote in order to "take direct action" to "delegitimize" the political class.
What they don't say on their website is that the message would be "damn, are we stupid, or what?"
Their scheme for "fixing" our dysfunctional political system is not work to fix it. They want people to believe that not paying attention to and not supporting/opposing particular candidates/officials is the most effective way to convince those particular candidates/officials to do a better job.
Really.
It's a shadowy group. I say "apparently Republican" because while the "movement" is supposedly non-partisan, most of the rhetoric on the website is anti-Obama, anti-health care reform, etc. However, so far I have been unable to find out who is behind it.
The website' "WhoIs" info -
There aren't any names of the people behind this listed on the website or in the emailed press release.
In addition, while the group seems to be most active in AZ and WA, I cannot find any corporate or campaign finance records in either state under that name, nor is there anything on the FEC's website.
The Arizona (East Valley) phone number above tracks back to Mesa, to a likely Republican (didn't check his voter registration, but on his Facebook page, he gloated over Scott Walker's victory in the Wisconsin recall election in June).
Note: I'm not naming him here, not yet, until I can confirm his association with the website and organization. Phone numbers change.
Until more info becomes available...
...State Senator John Nelson (R-Litchfield Park) has dropped his reelection bid, leaving a clear path to the seat for State Senator Don Shooter (R-Yuma) (no Democrat is running in the district). The primary battle was set up when Shooter moved into Nelson's R-leaning district to avoid having to face a strong Democrat in the general election in his former district. That district became a D-friendly one as a result of redistricting.
Nelson, while a die-hard conservative R, would do things that the tea party types frowned upon. Like on those occasions when he would vote in the best interests of his constituents.
At age 76, Nelson has been in public office for nearly three decades, starting with the Phoenix City Council and continuing in the state lege.
Shooter, on the other hand, is a tea party type who never held public office prior to winning a seat in the state senate in 2010. The highlights of his political career thus far: as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he refused to take public comment on the state budget, and at a special session of the lege in 2011, he appeared in costume, in a serape and with a half-empty bottle of tequila in a holster. He chose to use his position not to work for his constituents but instead chose to use it to mock a large percentage of them.
...In a non-Arizona development, but one that is so bizarre that it could be an AZ development, Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter resigned from office.
He's gone from running for president to botching his nominating petitions and ending his reelection campaign in a safe R district to resigning office for reasons that are unknown, thus far.
If that isn't bizarre enough to make him an honorary member of the AZ lege's Republican caucus, consider this - in his farewell statement, he declared that he is becoming a "sovereign citizen."
Ummm...the "sovereign citizen" movement is growing in notoriety, if not numbers. Its ideology is anti-society, anti-government, and violent.
Something tells me that we haven't heard the last of McCotter, and that when he makes national news again, it will be in the police log and there may just be a body count associated with the events that bring him back into public notice.
...Something you may have missed unless you are on all the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) email lists is the launch of an apparently Republican-sponsored effort to suppress the under-30 vote. It's called "Beers Not Ballots"
Its website (Google it; I'm not going to link to it) is dedicated to urging eligible voters to *not* vote in order to "take direct action" to "delegitimize" the political class.
What they don't say on their website is that the message would be "damn, are we stupid, or what?"
Their scheme for "fixing" our dysfunctional political system is not work to fix it. They want people to believe that not paying attention to and not supporting/opposing particular candidates/officials is the most effective way to convince those particular candidates/officials to do a better job.
Really.
It's a shadowy group. I say "apparently Republican" because while the "movement" is supposedly non-partisan, most of the rhetoric on the website is anti-Obama, anti-health care reform, etc. However, so far I have been unable to find out who is behind it.
The website' "WhoIs" info -
There aren't any names of the people behind this listed on the website or in the emailed press release.
In addition, while the group seems to be most active in AZ and WA, I cannot find any corporate or campaign finance records in either state under that name, nor is there anything on the FEC's website.
The Arizona (East Valley) phone number above tracks back to Mesa, to a likely Republican (didn't check his voter registration, but on his Facebook page, he gloated over Scott Walker's victory in the Wisconsin recall election in June).
Note: I'm not naming him here, not yet, until I can confirm his association with the website and organization. Phone numbers change.
Until more info becomes available...
Monday, July 02, 2012
CD9 Forum at Changing Hands on July 17
The candidates for the Democratic nomination in the new Ninth Congressional District, David Schapira, Kyrsten Sinema, and Andrei Cherny, will meet at a forum held at Changing Hands Bookstore on Tuesday, July 17 at 7 p.m.
The forum will be moderated by John D'Anna, editor of the Mesa Republic.
Changing Hands is located at 6428 S McClintock Dr., Tempe, Arizona 85283 (SWC of McClintock and Guadalupe).
Arrive early, for two reasons -
1. To get a good seat.
2. To have time to browse the coolest bookstore in the Phoenix area.
See you there!
The forum will be moderated by John D'Anna, editor of the Mesa Republic.
Changing Hands is located at 6428 S McClintock Dr., Tempe, Arizona 85283 (SWC of McClintock and Guadalupe).
Arrive early, for two reasons -
1. To get a good seat.
2. To have time to browse the coolest bookstore in the Phoenix area.
See you there!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
The gloves are coming off: Primary Edition
As the Arizona weather heats up so are some of the primary campaigns, and it's not just between candidates.
...The AZGOP succeeded in knocking (subscription required) some Libertarian candidates off of the ballot in races that are expected to be close, figuring that any votes would have gone to the Libertarian candidates will now go to the Republican candidates in the affected races. The Libertarian Party is most assuredly not amused. Expect more moves, but for now, they've turned around and upgraded their outreach efforts to non-affiliated voters, opening up their August primary to all voters who aren't otherwise registered in a ballot-eligible party.
...A former leader of the AZGOP is calling for the head of the current communications director of the AZGOP because he suggested that there it may be best for the Republican Party to consider a policy toward immigrants that is milder than "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out." It's not a primary campaign issue per se, but an internal party rift could impact the results of August's primaries (and there are more than a few on the R ballot)
...Freshman GOP Congressmen David Schweikert and Ben Quayle are running against each other in CD6, a safe R district that encompasses north Scottsdale and other areas of northeastern Maricopa County. They've turned what had been a campaign of intermittent sniping from the two camps into withering artillery barrages.
The latest, from the Arizona Capitol Times, written by Jeremy Duda -
...In the GOP primary to nominate a candidate to fill the US Senate seat currently filled by the soon-to-be retired Jon Kyl, Congressman Jeff Flake and businessman Wil Cardon are the leading candidates. Flake is considered to be the presumptive front-runner but Cardon is well- (and self-) funded. Both candidates have access to large amounts of money and have turned the campaign into a raft of "I'm more conservative than thou" TV spots.
...In CD9, the new Congressional District that is based on the Phoenix area, the race for the Democratic nomination has seen the uncovering of a number of interesting tidbits about candidate Andrei Cherny and his past campaigns.
The latest: videos of him speaking to a tea party group during his 2010 run for Arizona State Treasurer.
In the videos, it appears that Cherny caters his message, his positions on issues, to suit his audience.
Not the best publicity, coming ~five weeks before early ballots hit mail boxes across the district, but the Cherny campaign may have reached the point where any publicity is good publicity. There's a strong rumor going around that more than one poll has shown Cherny with support in the single digits. The measures of his name recognition among Democratic voters are higher, but still lags behind the other candidates in the primary.
To be sure, the campaign isn't over. Cherny has raised the most money, and has the cash to run a ton of TV spots and to fill mail boxes across the district with his literature. However, that won't do more than raise his name recognition unless he goes very negative in an attempt to reduce the support for his two opponents, David Schapira and Kyrsten Sinema, who are considerably better known than Cherny.
Look for "elevated mud level" in CD9's air quality reports over the next couple of months; it's going to start flying.
Later...
...The AZGOP succeeded in knocking (subscription required) some Libertarian candidates off of the ballot in races that are expected to be close, figuring that any votes would have gone to the Libertarian candidates will now go to the Republican candidates in the affected races. The Libertarian Party is most assuredly not amused. Expect more moves, but for now, they've turned around and upgraded their outreach efforts to non-affiliated voters, opening up their August primary to all voters who aren't otherwise registered in a ballot-eligible party.
...A former leader of the AZGOP is calling for the head of the current communications director of the AZGOP because he suggested that there it may be best for the Republican Party to consider a policy toward immigrants that is milder than "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out." It's not a primary campaign issue per se, but an internal party rift could impact the results of August's primaries (and there are more than a few on the R ballot)
...Freshman GOP Congressmen David Schweikert and Ben Quayle are running against each other in CD6, a safe R district that encompasses north Scottsdale and other areas of northeastern Maricopa County. They've turned what had been a campaign of intermittent sniping from the two camps into withering artillery barrages.
The latest, from the Arizona Capitol Times, written by Jeremy Duda -
A long-anticipated shoe dropped in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, escalating the intraparty battle between U.S. Reps. Ben Quayle and David Schweikert.
After Quayle dubbed his opponent “Dishonest Dave” and accused him of distorting Quayle’s position on President Barack Obama’s recently announced deportation policy, Schweikert fired back by dredging up the scandal that roiled Quayle’s campaign in 2010.
...In the GOP primary to nominate a candidate to fill the US Senate seat currently filled by the soon-to-be retired Jon Kyl, Congressman Jeff Flake and businessman Wil Cardon are the leading candidates. Flake is considered to be the presumptive front-runner but Cardon is well- (and self-) funded. Both candidates have access to large amounts of money and have turned the campaign into a raft of "I'm more conservative than thou" TV spots.
...In CD9, the new Congressional District that is based on the Phoenix area, the race for the Democratic nomination has seen the uncovering of a number of interesting tidbits about candidate Andrei Cherny and his past campaigns.
The latest: videos of him speaking to a tea party group during his 2010 run for Arizona State Treasurer.
In the videos, it appears that Cherny caters his message, his positions on issues, to suit his audience.
Not the best publicity, coming ~five weeks before early ballots hit mail boxes across the district, but the Cherny campaign may have reached the point where any publicity is good publicity. There's a strong rumor going around that more than one poll has shown Cherny with support in the single digits. The measures of his name recognition among Democratic voters are higher, but still lags behind the other candidates in the primary.
To be sure, the campaign isn't over. Cherny has raised the most money, and has the cash to run a ton of TV spots and to fill mail boxes across the district with his literature. However, that won't do more than raise his name recognition unless he goes very negative in an attempt to reduce the support for his two opponents, David Schapira and Kyrsten Sinema, who are considerably better known than Cherny.
Look for "elevated mud level" in CD9's air quality reports over the next couple of months; it's going to start flying.
Later...
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Arizona politics is like New England weather - don't blink or you might miss something
Damn. Miss a few days due to technical difficulties, and all kinds of crazy-@$$ $#!t goes down in Arizona's political realm...OK, so it wasn't all that crazy, by AZ standards anyway. I just wanted to use the phrase. :)
Oh, and the "technical difficulties" weren't all bad - I finally finished the Gabby Giffords book (finally!), read Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (pretty good. That Steinbeck guy has some potential. :) ), watched the final season of the Battlestar Galactica reboot on DVD (good, but a little too mystical for this fan of hard SF), and re-read Pearls Sells Out, a Pearls Before Swine treasury (not quite as literary as Steinbeck, but more likely to induce audible laughter. :) )
...On Thursday, Russell Pearce, Arizona's leading nativist demogogue, experienced a PR and fundraising nightmare.
First, a Pearce campaign fundraising event was booted from one Mexican restaurant, Macayo's, after the corporate office found out that there were going to be protests of the event and that efforts were underway to organize a boycott of the chain by Latino customers.
Second, the Pearce campaign tried to move the event to another Mexican restaurant, Oaxaca Restaurante y Cantina, which also put the kibosh on the event, for much the same reasons.
Third, when the Pearce campaign tried to move his event to the library of a public high school with a heavily Latino student population, they (and he) were rebuffed by the school district .because of the short notice.
...On Friday, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio showed both his solidarity with his fellow traveler on the nativist railroad AND his peevish self-righteous outrage at President Obama's new DREAM-like policy on immigration by arresting a six-year old girl. Wonder how that helps his self-publicized rep as "America's Toughest Sheriff"?
...Speaking of the new policy, Arizona Congressmen David Schweikert and Ben Quayle, Republicans both and facing each other in the August primary in CD6, responded to the new policy by trying to out-redneck each other with duelling bills to overturn the policy.
...News broke that a grand jury is looking into alleged campaign finance violations committed by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne. I don't expect it to go far though.
The FBI is handling the investigation, but the Maricopa County Attorney's Office is shepherding the grand jury itself.
...Candidate challenges have been dropped or adjudicated or candidates have withdrawn. The list from the AZ Secretary of State is here. Highlights:
- Jonathan Paton had to drop his challenge to the candidacy of one of his opponents in the CD1 Republican primary. He had filed suit, to great fanfare, challenging the signatures of Gaither Martin. It must have been embarrassing to Paton to have to back off, so the Arizona Democratic Party did its part to help Paton move past the pain of his humiliation over the failed challenge by launching a website to help publicize Paton's past. Awfully considerate of them, doncha' think? :)
- Jean Cheuvront-McDermott was removed from the Democratic primary ballot in LD24 because "Cheuvront-McDermott" isn't the name she has been using, just "McDermott." She's the mother of former state senator Ken Cheuvront, who is running for a return to the senate. Rumor has it that because the current electeds in LD24 wouldn't step aside for him, Ken got his mom to run as payback. That plan seems to have gone by the wayside.
...Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, not coincidentally Arizona co-chair for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, is continuing to ramp up his 2014 campaign for governor. First, he threatened to keep President Obama off of the November ballot unless the state of Hawaii provided a copy of Obama's birth certificate that met Bennett's standards. He backed off of that after bringing a load of national ridicule down upon Arizona.
Now he has taken the next step to sew up the wingnut vote in the R primary. Now he is saying that the President was actually born in Hawaii, but lied and said he was born in Kenya to help him get into college.
...And finally, in response to a poll that shows Democrat Richard Carmona within 2 points of him in the race for US Senate, Republican Jeff Flake went to Facebook to brag about his "real world" experience as a lobbyist for foreign corporations and the Goldwater Institute.
Flake is almost as out of touch with the "real world" as Mitt Romney. Probably not a coincidence there.
Oh, and the "technical difficulties" weren't all bad - I finally finished the Gabby Giffords book (finally!), read Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (pretty good. That Steinbeck guy has some potential. :) ), watched the final season of the Battlestar Galactica reboot on DVD (good, but a little too mystical for this fan of hard SF), and re-read Pearls Sells Out, a Pearls Before Swine treasury (not quite as literary as Steinbeck, but more likely to induce audible laughter. :) )
...On Thursday, Russell Pearce, Arizona's leading nativist demogogue, experienced a PR and fundraising nightmare.
First, a Pearce campaign fundraising event was booted from one Mexican restaurant, Macayo's, after the corporate office found out that there were going to be protests of the event and that efforts were underway to organize a boycott of the chain by Latino customers.
Second, the Pearce campaign tried to move the event to another Mexican restaurant, Oaxaca Restaurante y Cantina, which also put the kibosh on the event, for much the same reasons.
Third, when the Pearce campaign tried to move his event to the library of a public high school with a heavily Latino student population, they (and he) were rebuffed by the school district .because of the short notice.
...On Friday, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio showed both his solidarity with his fellow traveler on the nativist railroad AND his peevish self-righteous outrage at President Obama's new DREAM-like policy on immigration by arresting a six-year old girl. Wonder how that helps his self-publicized rep as "America's Toughest Sheriff"?
...Speaking of the new policy, Arizona Congressmen David Schweikert and Ben Quayle, Republicans both and facing each other in the August primary in CD6, responded to the new policy by trying to out-redneck each other with duelling bills to overturn the policy.
...News broke that a grand jury is looking into alleged campaign finance violations committed by Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne. I don't expect it to go far though.
The FBI is handling the investigation, but the Maricopa County Attorney's Office is shepherding the grand jury itself.
...Candidate challenges have been dropped or adjudicated or candidates have withdrawn. The list from the AZ Secretary of State is here. Highlights:
- Jonathan Paton had to drop his challenge to the candidacy of one of his opponents in the CD1 Republican primary. He had filed suit, to great fanfare, challenging the signatures of Gaither Martin. It must have been embarrassing to Paton to have to back off, so the Arizona Democratic Party did its part to help Paton move past the pain of his humiliation over the failed challenge by launching a website to help publicize Paton's past. Awfully considerate of them, doncha' think? :)
- Jean Cheuvront-McDermott was removed from the Democratic primary ballot in LD24 because "Cheuvront-McDermott" isn't the name she has been using, just "McDermott." She's the mother of former state senator Ken Cheuvront, who is running for a return to the senate. Rumor has it that because the current electeds in LD24 wouldn't step aside for him, Ken got his mom to run as payback. That plan seems to have gone by the wayside.
...Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, not coincidentally Arizona co-chair for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, is continuing to ramp up his 2014 campaign for governor. First, he threatened to keep President Obama off of the November ballot unless the state of Hawaii provided a copy of Obama's birth certificate that met Bennett's standards. He backed off of that after bringing a load of national ridicule down upon Arizona.
Now he has taken the next step to sew up the wingnut vote in the R primary. Now he is saying that the President was actually born in Hawaii, but lied and said he was born in Kenya to help him get into college.
...And finally, in response to a poll that shows Democrat Richard Carmona within 2 points of him in the race for US Senate, Republican Jeff Flake went to Facebook to brag about his "real world" experience as a lobbyist for foreign corporations and the Goldwater Institute.
Flake is almost as out of touch with the "real world" as Mitt Romney. Probably not a coincidence there.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Candidate withdrawals and challenges
Still have technical issues, but I'm visiting a friend right now. Should be back fully online Monday afternoon...
Even though it has been only a couple of weeks since nominating petition were due, but there are already a number of withdrawals and challenges to report.
The full list of Congressional and state-level primary candidate challenges, from the AZ Secretary of State, is here; the list of candidates who have already withdrawn is here.
One name of a challenged candidate that is not on the list is that of Doug Quelland, because he is facing a challenge that is based on alleged campaign finance violations, not alleged nomination irregularities. Quelland was removed from the state legislature because of Clean Elections-related campaign finance. The Republican-turned-Independent is running for state senate in the new LD20, and the Republican establishment there is not amused. Hence the challenge.
Note: all challenges will be heard in Maricopa County Superior Court.
The nomination challenges include:
Raquel Teran State Senate LD 30: Democratic Nomination
The list of Maricopa County candidates, including withdrawals/removals, is here. A few candidates have already withdrawn
I can't find a list of challenges on the county recorder's website, but the highest-profile challenge is the one challenging Mike Stauffer. He is a former Republican who is running as an Independent for Maricopa County Sheriff.
More as the cases are decided...
Even though it has been only a couple of weeks since nominating petition were due, but there are already a number of withdrawals and challenges to report.
The full list of Congressional and state-level primary candidate challenges, from the AZ Secretary of State, is here; the list of candidates who have already withdrawn is here.
One name of a challenged candidate that is not on the list is that of Doug Quelland, because he is facing a challenge that is based on alleged campaign finance violations, not alleged nomination irregularities. Quelland was removed from the state legislature because of Clean Elections-related campaign finance. The Republican-turned-Independent is running for state senate in the new LD20, and the Republican establishment there is not amused. Hence the challenge.
Note: all challenges will be heard in Maricopa County Superior Court.
The nomination challenges include:
John Allen State House LD 15: Republican Nomination
Kim Allen State Senate LD 11: Libertarian Nomination
George H. Benavides Sr. State House LD 20: Republican Nomination
Sheila Bilyeu U.S. Senate: Libertarian Nomination
Jean Cheuvront-McDermott State House LD 24: Democratic Nomination
Joe Cobb U.S. House CD 7: Libertarian Nomination
Doug Coleman State House LD 16: Republican Nomination
Rich Crandall State Senate LD 16: Republican Nomination
Jeff Davis State House LD 16: Republican Nomination
Rebecca DeWitt U.S. House CD 7: Democratic Nomination
Dean Dill State House LD 8: Libertarian Nomination
Toby Farmer State House LD 13: Republican Nomination
James Iannuzo State Senate LD 28: Libertarian Nomination
Gaither Martin U.S. House CD 1: Republican Nomination
Anthony Prowell U.S. House CD 1: Libertarian Nomination
Raquel Teran State Senate LD 30: Democratic Nomination
The list of Maricopa County candidates, including withdrawals/removals, is here. A few candidates have already withdrawn
I can't find a list of challenges on the county recorder's website, but the highest-profile challenge is the one challenging Mike Stauffer. He is a former Republican who is running as an Independent for Maricopa County Sheriff.
More as the cases are decided...
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
AZ Political round-up
It's not really a comprehensive look, but it sounds more professional than "killing time until the results start coming in from the special election in CD8"...
...Quartzsite: Making Arizonans of all political stripes wish that the AIRC had "accidently" drawn the new district maps with Quartzsite on the California side of the lines...
From the AZ Republic, written by Dennis Wagner -
Wonder if the electeds in Maricopa County say a prayer every night, thanking God for the existence of Quartzsite to make Maricopa County look functional and civil?
...And so it begins...
From AP, via KTAR.com -
Paton should probably be careful here. Considering that to him, CD1 is a set of lines on a map, not "home".
Having said that, this only the first of what will probably be many challenges. Look for a one to two...dozen.
...The current list of withdrawn/removed candidates for legislative, statewide, or Congressional offices is here.
On the list so far:
Democratic US Senate candidate David Ruben, or the guy best known to most Democrats as "who?"
Republican LD24 State Senate candidate Scott Fistler
Republican LD25 State Representative candidate Christoper Montijo
...The schedule of legislative primary debates sponsored by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission is here. As near as I can tell, this will be it for the CCEC debates because I didn't see any districts where both the Democratic and the Republican candidates for the same office are running with CCEC funding (if I'm in error, leave a comment and I'll update the post).
...There will be a general election debate between the candidates for Arizona Corporation Commission because they are all running as CCEC candidates, but the schedule for that debate hasn't been posted yet.
...Quartzsite: Making Arizonans of all political stripes wish that the AIRC had "accidently" drawn the new district maps with Quartzsite on the California side of the lines...
From the AZ Republic, written by Dennis Wagner -
Quartzsite residents who thought they voted in new municipal leadership found out otherwise last week when the Town Council decided not to seat Mayor-elect Ed Foster and Councilman-elect Mark Orgeron, claiming the two men are not eligible to hold office.
{snip}
{snip}
The election hullabaloo is just the latest political clash in the dusty desert town along Interstate 10, the freeway to California. Years of feuding have resulted in numerous criminal and civil investigations.
Foster and about a dozen other critics of the establishment who have been jailed repeatedly say they are victims of false arrest and civil-rights violations. A town attorney was replaced last year after he refused to prosecute cases that he described as politically motivated.
Wonder if the electeds in Maricopa County say a prayer every night, thanking God for the existence of Quartzsite to make Maricopa County look functional and civil?
...And so it begins...
From AP, via KTAR.com -
A Marana man is seeking to have one of his Republican contenders in the 1st Congressional District race removed from the ballot.
Jonathan Paton filed a lawsuit Monday in Maricopa County Superior Court, alleging that signatures gathered by Gaither Martin are invalid. More than half of Martin's 1,099 signatures either were fraudulently collected or gathered under a petition sheet that did not list Martin's actual address in Eagar, the lawsuit contends. Striking those signatures would put Martin below the 568 he needed to join the race, Paton said.
``Running for public office and gaining the trust of voters means following the rules,'' Paton said in a statement. ``Gaither Martin failed a candidate's most basic test: earn the support of residents in the district to qualify for the ballot.''
Paton should probably be careful here. Considering that to him, CD1 is a set of lines on a map, not "home".
Having said that, this only the first of what will probably be many challenges. Look for a one to two...dozen.
...The current list of withdrawn/removed candidates for legislative, statewide, or Congressional offices is here.
On the list so far:
Democratic US Senate candidate David Ruben, or the guy best known to most Democrats as "who?"
Republican LD24 State Senate candidate Scott Fistler
Republican LD25 State Representative candidate Christoper Montijo
...The schedule of legislative primary debates sponsored by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission is here. As near as I can tell, this will be it for the CCEC debates because I didn't see any districts where both the Democratic and the Republican candidates for the same office are running with CCEC funding (if I'm in error, leave a comment and I'll update the post).
...There will be a general election debate between the candidates for Arizona Corporation Commission because they are all running as CCEC candidates, but the schedule for that debate hasn't been posted yet.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Short Attention Span Musing
...It's nice to know that even in my own small way, I make an impact...
- Last week, I put up a post on soon-to-be former state legislator Jack Harper's Twitter feed.
Before the post, the feed displayed gems like this one -
After the post, the feed displays this message -
It may qualify as a "little victory" but in a week that saw unfortunate ends to both the season of the Boston Celtics and the Wisconsin recall, even a little victory is welcome...
...Speaking of Wisconsin, and speaking with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it seems obvious now that a couple of major mistakes were made, one strategic, one tactical.
The strategic mistake was in going after Scott Walker mainly on the policies he pushed while in office. The recall of Russell Pearce here in AZ was successful because it targeted his arrogant and abusive conduct in office - ordering the arrest of people who disagreed with him, taking "gifts" from the Fiesta Bowl and then going into "lie and deny" mode when he was caught, declaring that one of his colleagues who assaulted his girlfriend by the side of a Phoenix freeway was actually the victim in the incident, etc. - and not the anti-immigrant policies that Pearce has pushed.
Walker's anti-worker policies may be just as despicable as Pearce's nativism, but thus far, in his conduct in office, he hasn't made the kind of missteps that Pearce did.
The tactical error was one that may have been unavoidable. Going after someone like Pearce who, while loud, is relatively unimportant in the larger picture, and wasn't ever going to bring out the big guns (financially speaking).
Going after the likes of Walker, who is a big part of the effort to marginalize the working and middle classes for the benefit of the 1%, brought out the "big gun" in the form of millions of dollars of PAC and third-party expenditures on behalf of Walker.
Turns out that even the best "ground game" can be beaten by enough money. It's not the first election that was bought by deep-pocketed special interests, but it may be the first one where it was done so brazenly.
...Remember high school yearbook superlatives like "best looking", "class clown", and "most likely to succeed"? Time to start the nomination process for this year's election cycle.
The first nominee for the category of "most likely to commit a campaign finance violation" is Sylvia Allen. She's currently a state senator, but is running for a spot on the Navajo County Board of Supervisors.
To bankroll that run, she transferred $10,359.90 from her state senate campaign committee to her county supervisor committee (documented on page 7 of this report). Her senate committee is designated filer ID "201200086" (remember the "2012" part of that filer ID; it'll be important).
To be clear, that move, in and of itself, is allowed.
However, things get interesting when one reads the relevent sections of ARS 16-905, covering elections and campaign finance -
Hmm...
Now Allen is known as someone who isn't shy about accepting money from PACs and other political committees - she's taken more than $10K from them in each of her campaigns for the state senate.
The current contribution limits, as set by the Arizona Secretary of State:
So to sum up:
1. Allen transferred $10359.90 from one 2012 committee to another.
2. Because the contributing committee and the receiving committee are both 2012 committees, campaign finance limits apply.
3. That leaves Allen $520.10 from reaching the political committee limit.
Anybody want to speculate on how much she will exceed that limit by?
Navajo County campaign finance reports can be found here. Should make for interesting reading.
- Last week, I put up a post on soon-to-be former state legislator Jack Harper's Twitter feed.
Before the post, the feed displayed gems like this one -
After the post, the feed displays this message -
It may qualify as a "little victory" but in a week that saw unfortunate ends to both the season of the Boston Celtics and the Wisconsin recall, even a little victory is welcome...
...Speaking of Wisconsin, and speaking with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it seems obvious now that a couple of major mistakes were made, one strategic, one tactical.
The strategic mistake was in going after Scott Walker mainly on the policies he pushed while in office. The recall of Russell Pearce here in AZ was successful because it targeted his arrogant and abusive conduct in office - ordering the arrest of people who disagreed with him, taking "gifts" from the Fiesta Bowl and then going into "lie and deny" mode when he was caught, declaring that one of his colleagues who assaulted his girlfriend by the side of a Phoenix freeway was actually the victim in the incident, etc. - and not the anti-immigrant policies that Pearce has pushed.
Walker's anti-worker policies may be just as despicable as Pearce's nativism, but thus far, in his conduct in office, he hasn't made the kind of missteps that Pearce did.
The tactical error was one that may have been unavoidable. Going after someone like Pearce who, while loud, is relatively unimportant in the larger picture, and wasn't ever going to bring out the big guns (financially speaking).
Going after the likes of Walker, who is a big part of the effort to marginalize the working and middle classes for the benefit of the 1%, brought out the "big gun" in the form of millions of dollars of PAC and third-party expenditures on behalf of Walker.
Turns out that even the best "ground game" can be beaten by enough money. It's not the first election that was bought by deep-pocketed special interests, but it may be the first one where it was done so brazenly.
...Remember high school yearbook superlatives like "best looking", "class clown", and "most likely to succeed"? Time to start the nomination process for this year's election cycle.
The first nominee for the category of "most likely to commit a campaign finance violation" is Sylvia Allen. She's currently a state senator, but is running for a spot on the Navajo County Board of Supervisors.
To bankroll that run, she transferred $10,359.90 from her state senate campaign committee to her county supervisor committee (documented on page 7 of this report). Her senate committee is designated filer ID "201200086" (remember the "2012" part of that filer ID; it'll be important).
To be clear, that move, in and of itself, is allowed.
However, things get interesting when one reads the relevent sections of ARS 16-905, covering elections and campaign finance -
F. A candidate's campaign committee or an individual's exploratory committee
shall not make a loan and shall not transfer or contribute money to any other
campaign or exploratory committee that is designated pursuant to this chapter or
2 United States Code section 431 except as follows:
{snip}
2. A candidate's campaign committee may transfer or contribute monies to
another campaign committee designated by the same candidate as follows:
(a) Subject to the contribution limits of this section, transfer or
contribute monies from one committee to another if both committees have been
designated for an election in the same year.
Hmm...
Now Allen is known as someone who isn't shy about accepting money from PACs and other political committees - she's taken more than $10K from them in each of her campaigns for the state senate.
The current contribution limits, as set by the Arizona Secretary of State:
Combined total from all Political Committees other than political parties: $10,880
So to sum up:
1. Allen transferred $10359.90 from one 2012 committee to another.
2. Because the contributing committee and the receiving committee are both 2012 committees, campaign finance limits apply.
3. That leaves Allen $520.10 from reaching the political committee limit.
Anybody want to speculate on how much she will exceed that limit by?
Navajo County campaign finance reports can be found here. Should make for interesting reading.
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