Know what the two election-denying counties in AZ have in common? Republican former legislators in significant elected offices.

Not that there are any insignificant ones...though Katie Hobbs might argue that some are more significant than others. :)

Two Arizona counties, Cochise and Mohave, have proclaimed that they won't certify their election results until the last minute, if even then.

The two counties are located in diametrically opposite parts of the state, with Cochise being in the southeast corner of the state while Mohave is in the northwest corner. 

From the University of Arizona -

While the counties are in opposite parts of the state, they do share something in common....aside from being dusty and rural Republican strongholds.

In Cochise County, the elected Recorder is David Stevens, a former state representative.  He was in the lege from 2009 thru 2016.  He regularly earned failing grades from organizations like the Sierra Club and laudatory grades from organizations like the Goldwater Institute and the Arizona Small Business Association when there.  He also regularly sponsored or cosponsored a litany of anti-voter and anti-choice bills.

In Mohave County, one member of the board of supervisors there is Ron Gould, a former state senator, one who makes Attila the Hun look like a bleeding heart liberal.

To be sure, the election-denying extremism in Arizona isn't limited to *former* legislators:

Outgoing state senator Kelly Townsend has issued a baseless subpoena to Maricopa County over the 2022 election.

Returning state senator Ken Bennett was the face of the "fraudit."

Newby state representative Alexander Kolodin is an attorney who has not only represented Anthony Kern in a January 6th-related lawsuit, he's repping Cochise County in this matter.

While I expect the two counties to certify their election results (else the votes wouldn't count and a number of races would flip and become Democratic wins), I also expect that there will be a lot of self-righteous pearl clutching and foot stamping before that happens.

Apparently Ken Bennett has had his fill of Kool-Aid

 From Newsweek -

Arizona GOP Audit Director Barred From Recount After Sharing Data Supporting Trump Loss

The Republican overseeing the controversial GOP-backed election audit in Arizona has 

reportedly been banned from entering the building where the recount process is ongoing, 

after he shared some data with experts that showed the results match the officially 

certified numbers in Maricopa County.

The Arizona Republic reported on Friday evening that Ken Bennett, Arizona's former 

Secretary of State who has been described as the audit's "director," was barred from 

entering the building on the state fairgrounds where the audit is moving forward. The 

newspaper reported that Bennett had shared some of the audit data with outside 

experts showing that the ballot recount was tracking "very closely" with Maricopa 

County's certified results.

With the fraudit's barring of Ken Bennett, a former AZSOS and president of the Arizona Senate, this particular threat to Arizona's democracy is now all on Karen Fann, the current president of the Arizona Senate.

Ken Bennett: The man who would be governor already on the Koch brothers' payroll

Turns out that AZ Secretary of State Ken Bennett, a likely candidate for governor in 2014, is already "supplementing" his income like someone who is ready for the 9th floor.

...For the record, to the best of my knowledge, everything Bennett is doing is allowed under Arizona law.

...For the record2, everything Bennett is doing is definitive evidence supporting the idea that the last people who should be allowed to write or enforce ethics laws covering public officials are the public officials themselves.  That's kind of like trusting the Mob with the writing and enforcement of racketeering laws.

From AZFamily.com (Phoenix channel 3), written by Dennis Welch (emphasis added) -

He's the state's top election official, but Secretary of State Ken Bennett is on the payroll of a political activist who spent millions of dollars last year trying to influence campaigns throughout the country.

Since taking office in 2009, Bennett has been paid tens of thousands of dollars by Richard Stephenson, a wealthy businessman and a key player for the political group, FreedomWorks.

Bennett, who had worked for his family owned oil business in the past, draws a monthly $2,000 salary for his work as a board member for the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, a for-profit company Stephenson started in the 1980s.

FreedomWorks is closely tied to the Koch brothers.  FreedomWorks is the result of a merger of two right wing groups, one of which was founded by the Kochs.

Bennett isn't the first candidate for governor paid off by the Kochs and/or their allies - witness Scott Walker (R-WI),  John Kasich (R-OH), Rick Snyder (R-MI) and Rick Scott (R-FL).

Bennett disclosed the directorship on his most recent financial disclosure forms (for years 2010, 2011, and 2012) without disclosing the amount of his compensation.  Which isn't required under the ethics laws that cover the behavior of elected officials in Arizona.

Additionally, on his 2012 form, he disclosed a gift from Stephenson that was greater than $500.  Which is as specific as he was required to be under the ethics laws that cover the behavior of elected officials in Arizona.

Which begs the question -

Why do we have ethics laws for public officials when they are watered down to the point of ineffectiveness by public officials?


Anyway, this may go a long way toward helping Bennett secure the Republican nomination for governor next year - he's now shown that he can be bought, and that his benefactors have even deeper pockets than Chuck Coughlin, the current governor's "benefactor".

Update on 5/8:  Regular reader Thane added a comment suggesting that I add the word "ally" to the title of this post.  I won't do that, but I will acknowledge the possibility of what I think Thane is trying to point out.  

Stephenson, who is clearly a Koch ally, may be trying to form his own herd of pet governors to supplement the herd of Koch bought-and-paid-for governors.

Either way, Bennett (and the others) are clearly on the payroll of people who place their personal interests before those of the interests of the people of the United States.

Which isn't a big deal, except that Bennett (and the others) all took oaths of office, picking up the burden of public trust.

Hugh Hallman, former mayor of Tempe, "pondering" a 2014 run for governor

From the Phoenix Business Journal, written by Mike Sunnucks -

Former Tempe mayor Hugh Hallman is looking at running for Arizona governor in 2014.

 

The Republican said on his website today he is pondering a run.

 

“Over the next few months, I will be traveling the state of Arizona to speak with and listen to people from all walks of life about what’s really important to them in their state government, and how we can address our priorities successfully,” Hallman said. “At that time, I will make a final decision about pursuing elected office. I have one particular elected office very clearly in mind — the office of governor of Arizona.”

If he runs and gains the R nomination next year, he could suffer the embarrassment of losing Tempe, his hometown, in the general election.  As mayor of Tempe, he kept a lid on the anti-constituent craziness that permeates internal Republican politics these days, but to get through the Republican primary, he'll need to cut loose with the nihilist rhetoric of the Rs' social and fiscal agendas.

That will cost him votes in Tempe. 

Lots of votes.

Sunnucks' piece went on to list a few other rumored candidates -

On the Democratic side:  Dr. Richard Carmona, former US Surgeon General and 2012 Democratic nominee for US Senate; Fred Duval, businessman, author, and former President of the Arizona Board of Regents; and Greg Stanton, mayor of Phoenix.

On the Republican side:  State Treasurer Doug Ducey and AZ Secretary of State Ken Bennett.


Possible additions/subtractions to that list:

Greg Stanton has stated that he is not running for governor in 2014 (that doesn't mean he won't change his mind at some point, but 2014 really might be too early for him to go for the governor's job.)

State Representative Chad Campbell, the Democratic leader in the AZ House, is also eyeing a run.  Like the others mentioned here, he may end up not running for governor (right now, they're all "pondering"), but he is probably more likely to run than Carmona is, at this point.

Felecia Rotellini, the impressive Democratic nominee for AZ Attorney General in 2010, is being talked up as a potential candidate.  I think that she is more likely to mount another run at AG, but it's still early - anything could happen.

Scott Smith, the Republican mayor of Mesa.  Has had success during his administration (Mesa is no longer the political, social, economic, intellectual, and cultural laughingstock of Arizona) and is young enough (mid to late 50s) that he could wait until 2018.  On the other hand, the wheels could fall off in Mesa at any time (or, more likely, the Arizona legislature could slash Mesa's tires at any time), so he may be best served by running in 2014.

Steve Pierce, former president of the AZ state senate (he won reelection to the Senate, but lost the R caucus vote for a return to the senate presidency) and rancher in Yavapai County, is rumored to be eyeing the race, but a candidate who isn't from Maricopa or Pima counties has an uphill path.  Add in the fact that while former legislators *have* made it to the 9th Floor (Jan Brewer, Jane Hull), they didn't get there directly, going through other offices first, and he may be least likely to run of anyone mentioned in this post.

Gary Pierce (no relation to Steve), member and former chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission, is also rumored to be interested in the governor's office.  Those rumors received a boost when fellow R Bob Stump was elected as chair of the ACC, presumably to allow Gary Pierce the time to explore a run.


In other 2014 news, maybe we should rename the office of the Arizona Attorney General as the office of Arizona Eternal Optimist:

Tom Horne has formed a reelection committee.

Good God, this is going to be fun.  :)

Ken Bennett learning lessons at Mitt Romney's knee

...And so crappie season begins...

Mitt Romney is renowned for his penchant to change his position on an issue, any issue, when he thinks it may be politically expedient.

He may be the consummate flip-flopper in American politics today.

Now Ken Bennett, Arizona's Secretary of State and Romney's campaign co-chair in AZ, is flip-flopping on a fundamental issue for his own political expediency.

From the Arizona Republic, written by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez -

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, who oversees state elections, reversed his stance on endorsing candidates this election cycle, saying detractors would still criticize him based on endorsements he made years ago.

During a televised debate with his Democratic opponent in 2010, Bennett, a Republican, told the audience it was improper for elections officials to weigh in on partisan issues.

Bennett is now co-chairman for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's Arizona campaign.

"I do not feel it's appropriate that I take a position on either the propositions that the voters will be voting on, or endorsing candidates in elections," Bennett said.

Bennett has gone far beyond merely flip-flopping on the issue by endorsing Romney; he has crossed a serious ethical line by using his office to attempt to remove President Obama from the Arizona ballot to ensure that his candidate, Romney, has a clear path to Arizona's 10 electoral votes.

He truly deserves to be removed from office for abusing it so, but that is beyond my power as an individual.  That will be up to the voters in 2014 (maybe sooner if his arrogance in office inspires a recall drive).

Still, I can only award him the first Crappie Award of 2012 for the flip-flop.

For his shamelessly acrobatic flip-flop, Ken Bennett wins the most (not) cherished award of the election season - The Crappie...

Hey, at least Bennett and the rest of the birthers shouldn't have reason to whine about this particular type of crappie - this particular breed of crappie is called the "white crappie."

Ken Bennett sews up wingnut vote in 2014 R primary by jumping on the birther bandwagon

From AZCentral.com, written by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez -

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett has asked government officials in Hawaii to verify that Barack Obama was born in the island state for the president's name to appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Bennett, who is exploring a 2014 gubernatorial run, told The Republic on Friday that he made the request on behalf of a constituent who was unable to make the request himself. Bennett said Hawaii statute provides for out-of-state government officials to request such information, but prohibits residents from obtaining it.

Bennett, who is Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's Arizona campaign co-chairman, asked that Hawaii officials provide "verification" of Obama's birth in lieu of a certified copy of the president's birth certificate.

Bennett is "exploring" a run for governor in 2014 (Jan Brewer will be termed out as governor and Bennett will be termed out as SOS).

Looks like he has learned the lesson from Brewer's 2010  campaign.  Bennett may not have an "SB1070" up his sleeve to use to clear the GOP field for him, but a little birther-motivated election rigging should go a long way toward accomplishing that goal.

Yes, it's election-rigging.  What else can it be called when one candidate's campaign co-chair abuses his position of public trust to try to knock his candidate's opponent off of the ballot?

If this doesn't work well enough, maybe Bennett can see a UFO or become a 9-11 "truther".  That should get him the votes of former governor Fife Symington and former state senate Karen Johnson.

For the record:

2014 speculation already starting...

Hot on the heels of Jan Brewer's floating of the "term limits don't apply to me" trial balloon, announcing her interest in a third term as governor, Mike Sunnucks of the Phoenix Business Journal put out a 2014 speculation piece.

As should probably should have been expected, it was mostly filler of the  "I'm a political reporter and the legislature is out of session, so I have to come up with *something* to keep my editor happy" variety.

Well, if a trained, experienced, professional journalist gets to do that, so can a lowly amateur blogger (that's my way of saying that it's time for a little filler here :) ).

In his article, Sunnucks mentioned a few names.  Here's my take on those names, plus a few more added for good measure -

Jan Brewer - she may want it, but she is unlikely to get it.  Those pesky term limits will get in the way.

Ken Bennett - as Secretary of State, he's the heir apparent on the R side.  Formed an "exploratory" committee this past week, so should have a large campaign warchest by the time 2014 rolls around.  The presumptive frontrunner in the general election, with the caveat:  it's three years out.

Tom Horne - current AG and has had his eye on the 9th floor for years.  Best shot may be if a D wins in 2014 and he can challenge as the R frontrunner in 2018.  May be too old after that.

Paul Babeu - current Pinal County Sheriff.  I think this one is just pure filler on Sunnucks' part, but given the state of R politics anything could happen.  Still, seems more likely to pursue a Congressional run rather than a statewide run to take advantage of fame/notoriety in a single area of the state.

John Shadegg - former Congressman and current lobbyist "fellow" at the Goldwater Institute.  Could happen, but why would he want the instant and permanent migraine known as the Arizona Legislature?

Scott Smith - current mayor of Mesa.  I don't know enough about him to comment.

Hugh Hallman and Jim Lane - the mayors of Tempe and Scottsdale, respectively.  Both are up for reelection next year and neither is a lock (though Lane is in better shape).  Either one would have to win reelection and then raise his statewide profile.  Hallman has ambitions but probably needs to solidify his wavering base of support in Tempe before even *thinking* of a statewide run.  If Lane runs, the marionette strings will run right back to the Goldwater Institute and Lamar Whitmer.

My adds -

Russell Pearce - current president of the state senate (at least until the recall petitions are certified) and would love to be publicly considered the "top dog," but a move to the ninth floor would be a step up in paycheck size but a step down in practical political power.  And Pearce is all about power.  If he does go for it, however, he could get through an R primary, but may be too polarizing for the general election.

Fife Symington - former governor and pardoned convicted felon.  Makes noises about running again every four years.  Fellow Republicans want nothing to do with him, but Democrats pray that he runs and wins the nomination.  May be why he never follows through on his threats to run again.

Brenda Burns - current member of the Arizona Corporation Commission.  Big Fan of Big Business, and Big Business is a Big Fan of hers.  ACC isn't exactly the highest profile perch from which to launch a high profile campaign, but if the chips fall the right way, could trade in her ACC reelection campaign for a campaign for governor.

Joe Arpaio - currently the rather infamous sheriff in Maricopa County.  Like Symington, makes noises every four years.  Unlike Symington, has more than a snowball's chance in Phoenix of pulling it off on the R side.  Still, even if he avoids federal indictment, come 2014 he'll be, like, 900 years old (actually, 82).  For a lot of reasons, not gonna happen.

Got some good news, got some bad news

OK, for some it's "bad news, good news"...

...Good news for the Schweikert campaign - this is his third campaign for Congress, and Jackass 3D was #1 at the box office this weekend.  Sequels had some strength this weekend.

...Bad news for the Schweikert campaign - the election wasn't this weekend.


...Bad news for the Ken Bennett campaign - setting up an office in the basement of a lobbyist's office doesn't look good for a candidate for an office that is supposed to be all about integrity.

...Good news for Bennett - He's already set up his desk for his post-election job.


...Bad news for Ben "Tater Tot" Quayle in CD3 - a new poll shows him *behind* Democrat Jon Hulburd in the Republican-leaning district.

...Good news for Quayle - if he goes on to lose the race (and since his "unfavorables" are above 50%, that's a strong possibility), he should remember that the son of another famous politician lost his first campaign, a campaign for Congress.  When George H.W. Bush tried to buy a seat in Congress for his son George W., the future "worst president ever" failed miserably to win what should have been a "safe" seat for any credible R candidate. 

...Of course, that good news for Quayle isn't good news for the rest of us.


...Good news for the Brewer campaign - she's found a way to move attention away from concerns about her health and her ability to serve a full term in the Governor's office..

...Bad news for the Brewer campaign - that way involves irritating voters by hiding from them, decreasing the chance that after the election, she will have the opportunity to serve a full term.

Pic courtesy the Terry Goddard for Governor Facebook page...

At least she was consistent all day - she blew off senior voters during the day, and educators and students during the evening.

Short Attention Span Musing: The "That's Just Republicans Being Republicans" Edition

...Terry Goddard (D), Jan Brewer (R) and Barry Hess (L) sat down with the Arizona Republic's editorial board to talk about their visions for Arizona.  Brewer's vision: cut education, health services, the Department of Economic Security, and anything else that benefits the working and middle classes while protecting tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthy.

...Ken Bennett, the appointed Arizona Secretary of State, had pledged to not endorse (at the 14:25 mark in the video) any candidates in a race overseen by his office.  However, that pledge has gone by the wayside, as the man who will run the state's elections has endorsed fellow Republicans like Brenda Burns (Corporation Commission), Scott Bundgaard (LD4 State Senate) and Steve Pierce (LD1 State Senate).

FYI - Democratic nominee for Secretary of State Chris Deschene has pledged not to endorse candidates in elections that he would oversee as SOS, and has stuck by that pledge.

...Democratic nominee for Attorney General Felecia Rotellini has demanded an apology from Republican Tom Horne and his campaign for falsely claiming that Rotellini "has never tried a case in her entire life."  The Arizona Republic article linked to "demanded" indicates that Horne is now aware that Rotellini *has* tried cases before a jury, but hasn't backed down from his statement or issued an apology.  Why should he, when the lie serves his purposes better than the truth.

...Republican candidates all over the state have kept to the master plan of running and hiding from voters whenever possible.  The latest examples of this:  Russell Pearce blowing off the Clean Elections debate in LD18 on Monday and Kirk Adams and Justin Olson doing the same last week in LD19.  In both cases, the Republicans aren't running as Clean candidates and therefore don't have to participate in CE debates, but they aren't participating in other events that put them in the same places as their Democratic opponents and voters.

...Jan Brewer's "Arizona Commission on Privatization and Efficiency" has issued its first set of recommendations on which state services and operations can be given over to private vendors, and other "efficiency" measures, in order to save the state money.

The suggestions include:

Privatizing the state's email system
Selling state parks
Hiring private companies to manage highway rest areas (if the feds approve, not likely, but anything is possible)
Purchasing software that would allow State computers to be shut down remotely

The Commission includes a number of Republican Party/anti-government stalwarts.

Mark Brnovich, chair, current the Director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, and a former executive with a private prison company (Brewer just *loves* those guys, doesn't she?)

Chad Kirkpatrick, Director of the Government Information Technology Agency, and chair of the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers, the Arizona incarnation/affiliate of Americans for Prosperity, a corporate lobbying group

John Halikowski, Director of the Arizona Department of Transportation, a former legislative researcher working for the Republican caucus of the AZ lege.  He was instrumental in crafting legislation mandating privatization.  His bio indicates that he spent six years working in executive positions for MVD, and I'm not sure of this, but the math looks right for him to have worked there during Russell Pearce's corruption-laden administration of that agency. Will check into that...

Glenn Hamer, President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a former Executive Director of the Arizona Republican Party, and a man who has never seen a public service that shouldn't be privatized in a way that maximizes some corporation's profits (whether that corporation can deliver the service as well is irrelevant)

Leonard Gilroy, a senior staffer at something called "The Reason Foundation," an organization that claims to be an independent think tank dedicated to "free market" principles, but their dedication to "free" markets isn't free.  According to Sourcewatch, much of their funding comes from industry sources and extremists like the infamous Koch Brothers.

Stan Levine, a retired chemical company CEO and a senior member of Joe Arpaio's "posse"

There were a few more, but none who were there to represent the public interest.

With an assemblage like that, is it any wonder that they want to give state parks, which are supposed to be managed for the benefit of the people of Arizona, to private corporations to be managed for the benefit of those corporations?

It all looks like it's part of the GOP's game plan of running government into the ground (by refusing to actually govern responsibly by say, balancing the freakin' budget), and when government inevitably fails on their watch, use the failure that they've induced as an excuse to further sell off public assets to private groups.


Later...

Does Ken Bennett understand the job description for Secretary of State?

One of the biggest parts of the job description for SOS is the conduct of elections. He's supposed to make sure they go off without a hitch, not to be the cause of a hitch.

From the Arizona Daily Sun -

About 13,000 households in Coconino County were told to go to the wrong polling place on their state elections pamphlet due to an error by a contractor working for the state.

Ummm, yeah.

Got a radical new concept for Secretary Bennett - proofread.

BTW - This incident doesn't say much for the idea of privatizing vital government services (and for some reason, most people consider the fair, honest, and competent conduct of elections to be an integral part of our system of government.

Not a good week for Bennett, with this incident following on the heels of lawsuits against him and a company he runs for things like securities fraud, breach of contract, and failure to pay his employees.

Republican Secretary of State sued over business practices

From the Arizona Republic -

A small building-insulation company whose chairman is Secretary of State Ken Bennett is facing two suits that allege it engaged in securities fraud and breach of contract and failed to pay six employees more than $143,000.

Ummm...would it be reasonable to point out here fraud is *not* part of the SOS' job description? Just sayin'

Later...