Dear Republican Activists And Primary Voters:

Hi. Your snarky (but oh-so-friendly and helpful) neighborhood liberal blogger and Democratic activist here. I don't normally write for you folks, but this one is for you.

Some of you have signed nominating petitions for one John Huppenthal for next year's race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Under normal circumstances, a voter can sign the petitions of only one candidate per office. As such, normally you wouldn't be allowed to sign nominating petitions for Margaret Dugan, Mary Lou Taylor, or Gary Nine, the declared candidates for the Republican nomination next year. (State Rep. Rich Crandall is rumored to be interested in the race as well, but has not formally announced his candidacy.)

Under the laws of Arizona and the rules from the Arizona Secretary of State, a candidate must form a committee (file paperwork with the state formally declaring the candidate's interest in a particular office).

From the Secretary of State's candidate handbook (page 29 of the .pdf) (emphasis mine) -

4. Statement of Organization OR $500 Threshold Exemption Statement.
A Statement of Organization registering the candidate’s campaign committee OR a $500 Threshold Exemption Statement must be filed before making any expenditures, accepting any contributions, distributing any campaign literature or circulating any petitions. If the candidate has an exploratory committee open at the time of filing, then the candidate, chairman and treasurer must file an amended Statement of Organization to change the committee to a candidate’s campaign committee.

So far, Huppenthal has only formed an "exploratory" committee - filer ID 201000065, formed and last amended on March 16, 2009. As such, any signatures he has collected to date are invalid.

While there is some discussion going around about whether or not Huppenthal's signature collecting activities mean that he is now an active candidate under Arizona's "resign-to-run" laws and must now resign his seat in the legislature, this much is clear -

Whether or not he actually has to resign from office immediately, he will have to redo his petitions completely. All he's accomplished so far is to put together a list of folks to hit up for donations...once he gets around to forming an actual candidate campaign committee.

So take heart, loyal Republicans. If this dust-up, or perhaps the court hearing for his assault case later this month, causes you to feel a little "buyer's remorse," you have the option of rebuffing Huppenthal when he comes calling again and signing the nominating petitions for another candidate whose deportment and professionalism is more to your liking.

Just trying to help,

Craig at Random Musings


:)

A Dark Horse Candidate For The Supreme Court Emerges

...A dark horse, but still a candidate who is familiar to most Americans...

With the announced retirement of Justice David Souter, speculation has been running rampant on who President Obama will nominate to fill the vacancy (no specific early favorites have really emerged, though most 'experts' expect that the nominee will be a woman and an ethnic minority).

All of that speculation ignores a candidate who is nearly perfect -

- This candidate is used to judging under a national, even worldwide, microscope...

- Supreme Court Justices, in addition to their court duties, have to dance through the minefield of the D.C. political and social scene. This candidate's "non-judge" professional background speaks to the ability to dance through or around anything...

...Speaking of professional background , some Senators have called for a nominee who has a wide range of experiences that don't necessarily include service on the federal appellate bench. This candidate fully meets that standard...

...President Obama has pledged to nominate an empathetic justice. This candidate is known for being empathetic, perhaps for being *too* empathetic at times...

- A successful Supreme Court Justice has to be able to work productively with various personality types, and this candidate has shown the ability to win over even the surliest of co-workers...

...As mentioned above, many folks have suggested that the next Supreme Court Justice should be a woman and ethnic minority. This candidate is a woman with a Sephardic Jewish background (dad is of Syrian descent, mom is Canadian)...

- In fact, this candidate has only one flaw, and it's a minor one at that.

She's not a judge in a court. She's not a lawyer. Actually, her only legal experience has been from appearing in court on charges relating to a hit-and-run.

The candidate is, if you haven't guessed already, famed singer, choreographer, and American Idol judge Paula Abdul (IMDB page here).





(pic courtesy Abdul's American Idol bio page)

:))

To certain way-too-serious readers - it could be worse. If I was in a meaner mood, I could have written a post putting forth a solid case for Obama to nominate Bill Clinton or Janet Napolitano.

But, as much as I enjoy watching Republicans tear their hair out (and the thought of Clinton or Napolitano sitting on the USSC would cause them to do just that), I'm in too good a mood from last night's Chili for Change cookoff to go there.

Plus there's a responsibility to being able to write that effectively - one shouldn't abuse the skill.

I mean, Bob Burns used to have hair like Jerry Garcia. Then I started writing this blog.

:))