Events Calendar

Saturday, March 22 - Maricopa Democrat Night With The Phoenix Coyotes

Time - 7:00 p.m.

Location - Jobing.com Arena, 9400 W. Maryland, Glendale.

Join fellow Democrats (and puckheads!) as the Coyotes take on the defending champs from Anaheim, the Mighty Ducks.

To order tickets by the deadline (5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 21) -

1. Click here to order tickets;
2. Call Steve Pomerantz at the Coyotes' Box Office at (623) 772-3287


Thursday, March 27 - Meeting of the Arizona Chapter of the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC)

Time - 7:00 p.m,

Location - Country Inn and Suites, 108-1 N. 89th Place, Scottsdale.

Scottsdale's Mayor, Mary Manross, will be the featured speaker this month.


Saturday, March 29 - Chili Cook Off with Governor Napolitano, a D17 Dems Fundraiser

Time - 4:00 p.m.

Location - 5901 E. Vernon in Scottsdale

Come celebrate the fact that LD17 now has more Democrats than Republicans at the Chili Cook-Off. Enjoy chili varieties, cornbread, slaw, flan, and fun beverages! Also enjoy the friendly competition as a number of elected officials and activists create culinary masterpieces to help D17 stay blue.

For more information or to reserve a ticket, call 480-730-8457 or charge your ticket online and donate the amount ($25 or $15 for Young Dems): http://d17dems.org/donate.asp


Later!

Top stories of the year

It's something of a tradition for various media outlets to publish year-end lists recounting the most significant stories of the year. This will be just one of many such lists...


Anyway, here's my list of the top Arizona-related stories of the year (and not-too surprisingly, this list has a political bent to it) -


...In April, Arizona prisoners who were sent to a private prison in Indiana rioted, injuring at least two staff members and causing serious damage to the facility.

My original post on the topic is here.

I've got a phone call out to the Arizona Department of Corrections asking for an update, but called too late in the day for their PR folks to obtain an answer; I'll update tomorrow.

Edit to update: According to Bill at the DOC's media relations office, the contract with the Indiana prison is still active and prisoners are still being rotated through it.

End edit...


...In March, State Rep. Trish Groe was busted for a DUI in La Paz County. After various twists and turns to the case (including a stint in rehab shortly after the arrest, an abortive plea deal in May, and a felony indictment in September), Dennis Wilenchik, personal fixer for Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, arranged for Groe to pay a fine and to serve 10 days in the Maricopa County lockup.


...Also involving Wilenchik was the story of the County Attorney and the Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio, leading a jihad against the New Times, resulting in a grand jury inquisition of the New Times, led by Wilenchik, and the arrests of two of the New Times' journalists/publishers, ordered by Wilenchik.

The charges against to New Times' employees were dropped after the ensuing public outcry and criticism from all directions.

Don't fret about Wilenchik, though - his firm has received over $220K from the County Attorney's office since the whole New Times debacle.


...The economic slowdown has caused the state to have a revenue shortfall with the resulting budget deficit growing to more than $1 billion. This has led to plans for a 'pre-session' session of the Legislature in order to deal with the budget crisis.

The idea that the Republicans in the state senate have proposed to address the revenue shortfall? Among other things, reduce revenue...

Anyway, we're coming into an election year; expect any legislative proposals to deal with the deficit in a responsible way to be beaten back by the "any government is too much" clique in the Republican caucus. (Don't believe it? Read the already-submitted SB1002, a bill to repeal the state equalization property tax, a source of revenue for public education. It already has 17 primary sponsors, Republicans one and all.)

BTW - I wonder if Tim Bee is reconsidering his decision to only 'explore' a run against Gabrielle Giffords in CD8? Something tells me that stumping around Tucson and southern AZ is going to be more fun than running the state senate in Phoenix this coming year.


...John McCain's campaign for the Republican nomination for President was moribund and all but DOA this summer, but with the decline of Mitt Romney in the face of Mike Huckabee's rise has unexpectedly given McCain's campaign new life. His candidacy may fall eventually fall by the wayside, but at least for the next six weeks, he's back to being a contender.


...Of course, perhaps the biggest local political story was the passage and implementation of Arizona's employment sanctions law. The law would suspend then revoke the business licenses of businesses that hire undocumented immigrants. While overly draconian, the law was written skillfully enough to withstand lawsuits.

As expected, the nativist wing of the Republican Party is rejoicing in the broken lives and shattered families.

Note: Immigration in general was a hot topic all year; Man Eegee does a great job covering immigration issues in Arizona and beyond.


Stuff to watch in 2008 -

...Of course, one of the biggest stories of next year will be the elections...

- Who will win the presidential nominations for each party, and who will win the general election? When a Democrat wins the White House, will they offer Governor Napolitano a cabinet slot? And if one is offered, will she take it?

- Who will come out of the crowded Republican field in CD5 to challenge Harry Mitchell in November?

- Who will succeed the soon- (but not soon enough!) to-be-departed Rick Renzi in CD1? Things have been relatively low-key so far, but are certain to start heating up early in the new year.

- Will Dan Saban defeat Joe Arpaio for the Sheriff's job? Has Maricopa County finally had its fill of Arpaio after 16 years?

...Next year's state budget cycle looms as a far more contentious one than this year's, with the inevitable Republican demands to balance the state budget by cutting corporate taxes deep and public services even deeper. Who among the Reps will step up and place the fiscal future of the state above partisan bickering? And which among those Reps will pay for their apostasy by facing a primary challenger?

...What kind of legislative torture will Russell Pearce and his ilk try to inflict upon immigrants in 2008?

...Lastly, my deepest condolences go out to the friends, families, and loved ones of Benazir Bhutto (former Prime Minister of Pakistan) and those murdered in the suicide bombing in the aftermath of her assassination.

Governor Napolitano part of online poll

The political website Campaigns and Elections has one of those unscientific internet polls up on its frontpage, asking readers who they think should be the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President.

The listed choices are Bill Richardson, Ted Strickland, Tom Daschle, Wesley Clark and our own Janet Napolitano.

Governor Napolitano is currently leading all candidates with 2/3 of the votes cast.

Of course, that's 2 votes out of a total of 3 votes, and a certain unnamed blogger accidently voted twice. (BTW - It really *was* an accident.) :))

Now, this isn't a call to 'Pearce-ify' the poll, but stop by and show a little support for the Governor.

Edit to add -

Well, that didn't take too long (less than 2 hours).

The poll now looks like it has been 'Pearce-ified' as Governor Bill Richardson now leads the poll with 91% of the vote and counting.

Thing is, I'm not sure if the person/persons skewing the poll are doing it because they like Richardson, or because they want to insult his candidacy for President.

End edit.

Later!

Events Calendar

Upcoming events in the Scottsdale/Tempe area (though I'm a little flexible on that geography :) ) -


Thursday, August 23 (Tonight!) - The LD17 Democrats present the film "In Debt We Trust"

The Big Picture Film Series is showing "In Debt We Trust". This film is a great look at the reality of our wallets and what the trade deficit is doing to our country's economy and more importantly, why.

Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Escalante Center, 2150 East Orange Street, Tempe
Admission: Free


Saturday, August 25 - The Arizona Democratic Party's 2007 Volunteer Awards Dinner

The special guest speaker is Arizona Attorney General, Terry Goddard. Nominees include LD17'ers Genie Zavaleta, Bob Mings, and Angie Crouse. (Congrats to all of the nominees, though :)) )

Time: 6:00 p.m. registration; 7:00 p.m. dinner.
Place: Mountain Preserve Reception Center, 1431 East Dunlap,Phoenix, AZ 85068

Contact Maritza Lopez for tickets and other info at 602-234-6823


Monday, August 27 - Meeting of the Phoenix Chapter of the Progressive Democrats of America

Scheduled guests include Bob Lord, candidate for Congress in CD3, as well as two candidates for Phoenix City Council, Loralei Poll and Jim Mapstead.

Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: Sonora Brewhouse, 322 East Camelback Road, Phoenix


Tuesday, August 28 - Official Meeting with Obama Campaign Staff

An organizational meeting with Raul Alvillar, the Obama for America Western Region Political Director. Space is limited, so please RSVP at my.barackobama.com.

Time: 7 p.m.
Place: IBEW Local 266, 1650 N. 36th St., Phoenix


Thursday, August 30 - Meeting of the Arizona chapter of the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC)

Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center in Scottsdale (Scottsdale Rd. and Sweetwater)


Friday, August 31 - The LD8 Democrats present the film "In Debt We Trust", also courtesy The Big Picture Film Series.

Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Fountain Hills Community Center, 13001 N. La Montana Drive, Fountain Hills.
Admission: Still free :)


Saturday, September 8 - Governor Janet Napolitano Guest Conducts The Phoenix Symphony

From the email -

"Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano will be the guest conductor of the Star Spangled Banner for the opening of the Phoenix Symphony's 60th season on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at Phoenix Symphony Hall beginning at 8PM. Join the Governor, blues and jazz icon Dennis Rowland and Music Director Michael Christie for a night of fun-filled music sure to bring down the house! This jazzy 60th Anniversary birthday bash includes The Phoenix Symphony swinging to the golden age of Gershwin as it performs An American in Paris and excerpts from Porgy and Bess. It's a party you won't soon forget!"

Phoenix Symphony website here; purchase tickets here.


Later!

Highlights of last night's LD17 Dems meeting

Last night's meeting of the LD17 Democrats was pretty straightforward...

...Tom Kociemba of the Apollo Alliance spoke enthusiastically about the need to start changing our economy to a clean energy one, specifically discussing the Alliance's "Ten-Point Plan for Good Jobs and Energy Independence."

...Don Bivens, candidate for the Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, spoke to the group for a few minutes. The election to select a new chair (to replace the departing David Waid) will be held at this weekend's meeting of the State Committee in Prescott.

...Three of the candidates for Tempe City Council spoke briefly. Corey Woods and Rhett Wilson have websites up already; incumbent Mark Mitchell's should go live shortly.

Note: Katie Nelson of the AZ Rep reports that Joel Navarro of the Tempe Human Relations Commission has also taken out nomination petitions.

...and in perhaps the biggest news of the evening, Chair Doug Mings and Vice-Chair Ed Hermes announced the biggest fundraising event ever for the LD17 Democrats, to take place this fall -

Chili con Dems, a chili cook-off with special guest Governor Janet Napolitano (whooo hooo!) will take place on Saturday, September 22. More details soon, or contact district chair Doug Mings at dougmings[at]gmail.com.

More later...

A first for me - a letter to the Governor

This letter concerned the ongoing efforts by Rep. John Kavanagh and others to repeal the ignition interlock device statute, written by Rep. David Schapira, that was recently signed into law.

The letter -

Dear Governor,

I am writing to urge you to veto SB1582, the bill that as amended, would repeal the recently enacted law requiring that first-time DUI offenders have an ignition interlock device (IID) installed in their vehicles.

Some of the supporters of the repeal of the law, such as Rep. John Kavanagh, argued that there is no evidence that IIDs prevent first-time offenders from using their vehicles.

While that particular point is debatable, I have to ask, with all due respect to Rep. Kavanagh, how often does this legislature pass a law creating a punishment for a violation of a law without having hard evidence that the punishment will have the intended effect? Witness the vast majority of immigration-related measures passed by the Arizona legislature in recent years.

Others, such as Rep. Ben Miranda, argued that the IIDs would financially impact the families of the offenders.

Perhaps so, but an IID has less of an impact than a term in jail, and it has nowhere near the impact that is experienced by the victims of a drunk driver, even if it was the very first time the driver operated their vehicle while under the influence.

In short, the IID law is a reasonable and measured law. It doesn’t try to prevent people from drinking, or take an overly punitive but ultimately irrelevant action against the offender.

Instead, it addresses the crime directly – get convicted of driving while under the influence, and society will take steps to ensure that you cannot drive while under the influence.

Is the new law perfect?

Almost certainly not (no law is), but it deserves a chance. Let the law work for the remainder of the year. Then, if there are flaws, the next session of the Legislature can fine tune or repeal the law if necessary.

If SB1582 actually makes it to your desk, it deserves your veto.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

There are a number of people who, like me, have been struck by the incongruity of a law-and-order Republican like Kavanagh pushing this repeal.

AZ Rep columnist Laurie Roberts weighs in on the issue, stating that liquor industry representatives have been lobbying hard against IIDs.

I strongly urge anyone else who is interested to contact the Governor and express your opinion.

Her contact info:

The Honorable Janet Napolitano
Governor of Arizona
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Telephone (602) 542-4331
Toll Free 1-(800) 253-0883
Fax (602) 542-1381

The contact page on her website can be found here.

Later!