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.  :)

The 2012 primaries: one major disappointment, a minor one, but otherwise, no real surprises

Tuesday's primaries are over, and the post-game analysis is in full swing.  As I wasn't able to live blog the results last night due to being otherwise occupied (at David Schapira's election night gathering in Tempe.  Hard to type when it is too dark to see the keyboard... :) ).

There were a couple of disappointments, but the only surprises Tuesday were in margins of victory (or loss, depending on your perspective), not in end results.

First, the disappointments -

- The biggest disappointment of the evening was, of course, David Schapira's second place finish, behind Kyrsten Sinema, in the Democratic primary in CD9.  He ran a positive and energetic campaign, earned the respect of many people who had never heard of him before this campaign (and reinforced the respect of the many people who *had* heard of him), and has a bright future despite this one loss, the first in his electoral career.

- A minor disappointment, but not a surprise, was the ability of LD23 R state reps John Kavanagh and Michelle Ugenti to fend off the challenge of Jennifer Petersen, a member of the Scottsdale school district governing board.  Petersen has a reputation as a pragmatic public servant, ergo, she had almost no chance of getting through a Republican primary.  Her north Scottsdale district used to send a highly-respected moderate R to the lege in the person of Carolyn Allen.  Now, the most "moderate" is State Sen. Michelle Reagan, and she has gone hard to the right, probably in preparation for an expected Congressional or statewide run.  The winner of the CD9 race in November, regardless of partisan affiliation, should probably start oppo research on her, at just about the time that the polls close.


Now, the (mostly pleasant) surprises -

- In the LD25 Senate R primary, disgraced former state senator Russell Pearce lost big to Mesa businessman Bob Worsley in his bid to return to the senate.  He has now lost a recall election by double digit percentage points, where he argued that if only Republicans could've voted in it (like, say, as in a primary), he would have won.  Well, he got the primary that he wanted, and...he lost by double digit percentage points.

- The other Pearce, Lester, lost his primary race for the 2nd District seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to businessman Steve Chucri.  It was by an equally resounding margin (double digits, baby!).

- Pearce ally John Fillmore lost his bid for the LD16 state senate R nomination to Pearce foe Rich Crandall.

- In the one victory for the Pearce machine, Sylvia Allen, currently in the state senate, won her primary race for the Republican nomination for the 3rd District seat on the Navajo County Board of Supervisors.  She won with 80% of the vote, but her opponent ran as a $500 Exemption candidate, while she had the thousands of dollars that she transferred from the legislative campaign committee.

- In the R primary for US Senate, it wasn't surprising to see Jeff Flake defeat Wil Cardon, nor even to do so soundly.  However, Flake didn't just win soundly - he absolutely thumped Cardon, gaining more than three times as many votes as Cardon. 

Damn!

- In Pinal County, embattled Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu held off multiple challengers for the R nomination, which in itself isn't much of a surprise - he was expected to win a plurality of the votes because the other candidates would split the anti-Babeu vote.  What is surprising is that Babeu got 61% of the vote.  The other three candidates combined didn't equal his total.

- In the LD24 D primaries, Katie Hobbs (Senate) and Lela Alston and Chad Campbell (House) easily turned aside the challenges from Ken Cheuvront (Senate) and his mom Jean and Tom Nerini (House), respectively.  While Hobbs was clearly the better candidate in her race, Cheuvront had money and name recognition on his side, so Hobbs' margin of victory was a bit of a surprise (>20 percentage points).

- In the CD6 R primary, freshman Congressman David Schweikert defeated fellow freshman Ben Quayle.  As a Democrat, I viewed that race much like I viewed the 2000 World Series between the Yankees and the Mets as a Red Sox fan - I hoped both would lose.  It didn't work out that way, but at least one lost. :)

- In the City of Scottsdale's mayoral race, incumbent Jim Lane received the most votes, which was no surprise.  What was surprising was his margin of victory - he gained a majority of votes cast, easily avoiding a November runoff against one of his challengers - businessman/community activist John Washington or businessman Drew Bernhardt.


Democratic primary results from Maricopa County are here (state and federal) and here (county)..
Republican primary results from Maricopa County are here (state and federal) and here (county).
Other party and non-partisan results from Maricopa County are here.
Results from the AZ Secretary of State are here.

Shake up coming in EV political circles

...and I'm not talking about just East Valley Congressman Jeff Flake choosing to run for US Senate, opening up his spot in the US House of Representatives.

The creation of a new Congressional district, combined with the continuing fallout from the now-famous recall election loss of former state senator Russell Pearce, is serving as the catalyst for a shake up among politicos in Mesa.

While checking for open campaign committees, I found that five people, State Rep. Cecil Ash, former Mesa city council member Kyle Jones, automotive technician instructor David Lane, Town of Gilbert purchasing specialist Jess Romney (Rs one and all) and corporate pilot Fred Sossaman (I), all have open committees for a run at the North Mesa Justice of the Peace slot currently held by Lester Pearce.

Who doesn't have an open committee for that particular race? 

Pearce himself.

Hmmmm.  It's rather unusual for that many folks of the same party as an entrenched incumbent to go after a seat held by that incumbent.  Unless they know that incumbent isn't trying to keep his job.  That discrepancy piqued my interest, piqued it enough to inspire me to engage in some intense research.

"Intense" meaning that I called a friend in Mesa and asked him if he had heard anything. :)

According to the rumor mill there, Lester Pearce is facing possible disciplinary action for his direct involvement with both his brother's campaign and with putting a "sham" candidate on the ballot in an attempt to split the "anti-Pearce" vote in the recall election.  Turns out that it is frowned on when sitting judges do such things.  Who knew? :)

According to the rumors, he has been quietly advised that it would be best for all concerned that he not run for reelection.

Note: the specifics of the rumors could be a little off as my friend is not hard-wired into the smoke-filled backrooms of R politics in Mesa.  However, they do fit the known facts.

Besides this stuff, Lester is known  to be as "creative" in his worldview as his brother and for bringing that creativity to work with him (lots of complaints filed, lots of defense motions for a change of venue/judge.)

Now add into this mix Don Stapley, current Maricopa County supervisor, who is mulling a run at the new 9th Congressional District.

It seems that Lester Pearce is eyeing Stapley's seat on the MCBOS in turn.  The only real question is if Pearce would challenge Stapley in a primary if Stapley chooses to forego a run for Congress (best guess: Pearce would go for it).

On top of that, Russell Pearce is making moves to run for AZ senate again, though he may go in another direction (say...if Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio resigns or retires in the face of the ongoing USDOJ inquiry).

Now, just to spice things up a little, the rumors are that the next generation of Pearces are thoroughly peeved at the travails of their elders and are looking for a little payback/redemption for the Pearce brand.  One or more of them may run for an office (JP?, constable?, city council?, lege?).

Note on the above:  even my source admitted the least confidence in the last rumor, but it is well-known that the Pearces in general are still ticked off, which isn't really a surprise.

Still, regardless of which Pearce(s) runs for which office(s), it's going to be an interesting spring, summer, and fall...


Note:  As of this writing, I can't find any paperwork for any new campaign committees in the name of Pearce or Stapley at the county, state, or federal levels.

2012 Congressional Speculation

With Senate candidate speculation running wild across Arizona (Flake in, Shadegg out, Arpaio flirting, Democrats waiting until summer to see what happens with Gabrielle Giffords' recovery), now folks are starting with speculation regarding possible Congressional runs.

Some of the names so far, mostly in a run for Jeff Flake's seat (CD6) sort of way, but not really, since redistricting could make the current CD6 a totally different district (with a couple of other committees thrown in for good measure) -

Republican Kirk Adams, speaker of the Arizona House, from East Mesa

Republican Russell Pearce, president of the Arizona Senate, from Central/West Mesa

Republican Scott Smith, Mayor of Mesa

Republican Chuck Gray, former state senator from LD19 (East Mesa), close to Pearce so probably won't jump into the race if Pearce actually runs

Republican Jay Tibshraeny, current Mayor of Chandler,  former state senator, and previously considered an heir-apparent for Flake's seat if Flake moved on/out.  Redistricting could affect his decision to run/not run (that caveat could apply to almost every possible candidate, so consider it applied for each one)

Republican Rich Crandall, current state senator from East Mesa.  Crandall, Adams, and Gray are all from the same district, LD19, but they aren't close friends by any stretch and could easily end up knocking each other off, helping Smith (if he jumps in)

Republican Gabriela Saucedo Mercer has opened a committee to run against Democratic incumbent Raul Grijalva in CD7.  Haven't heard of her before this and don't know much about her.  However, if she's a serious candidate (and not just a fringe tea party type), we'll know more later in the year
Republican David Schweikert has opened a reelection committee for his seat

Democrat Harry Mitchell hasn't ruled out a run for a rematch with Schweikert, looking to reclaim the seat he formerly held

Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, like Mitchell a former member of Congress, may also run again

Republican Hugh Hallman, Mayor of Tempe, has ambitions for higher office, but any run for Congress will depend on redistricting and which other candidates jump in

Democrat Neil Giuliano, former Mayor of Tempe and former Republican, could also jump in, especially if Mitchell decides against a run.  I don't know how close he and Giuliano are, but Mitchell is the political force of nature in Tempe, so his decision will affect that of the other potential candidates

Democrat Phil Gordon, current Mayor of Phoenix whose term expires this year.  Noted for his ambition and his Phoenix-based campaign machine, if he doesn't go for the Senate seat, is seen as likely to pursue a Congressional run.  Of course, he could go for Governor in 2014, or for McCain's Senate seat in 2016, or...? :)

Republican State Senator Rick Murphy, a former (and future?) Congressional candidate, has opened a $500 Threshold Committee for a run at the Peoria Unified School District Governing Board.  Someone like Murphy standing for a public school committee slot is like someone like me standing for chair of the AZGOP.  Except that I don't want to kill off and bury the AZGOP, just help defeat them at the ballot box


There will be other names out there once the new district maps are drawn, and once the field for the soon-to-be open U.S. Senate seat sorts itself out.

Later...

The 2010 field for Governor

Time for a meaningless post, other than as an excuse to vent a little snark and, perhaps, spark a conversation.

With the lege adjourned, political silly season has begun (though some might consider the record of this year's lege to be definitive proof that in politics, "silly season" never ends.)

No "big name" candidates have officially announced yet (that pesky "resign to run" law), but that minor detail won't stop some idle speculation on my part. :)

On the Democratic side...

Terry Goddard - the presumptive Democratic nominee is the current Attorney General and is a former mayor of Phoenix. He is smart, experienced, highly-respected, and has been making large strides in addressing his one major weakness as a candidate - a speaking style that could sedate a room full of caffeine junkies on espresso IVs. His rousing speech at one of this year's Democratic Party State Committee meetings really opened some eyes.

Now, the field has apparently cleared for Goddard, but until the date sigs are due, things are subject to change. As such, a little discussion of some of the other names that have been bandied about on the Dem side is in order.

Jim Pederson - The former ADP chair and 2006 nominee for U.S. Senate mulled a run for guv, but perhaps reading the tea leaves, announced he is *not* going to seek the seat. Would have made it interesting - while he trails Goddard in the level of grassroots support in the party, that is only because Goddard is so respected. Pederson himself still has plenty of respect within the party, plenty of cash, and has learned some lessons from his campaign for Jon Kyl's Senate seat in 2006. Could run for Senate if McCain steps aside.

Neil Giuliano - The former Republican mayor of Tempe is neither a Republican nor mayor any longer. He might have made some noise in a primary with some support from the LGBT community (he's a former president of the gay-rights organization GLAAD), but most Dems would have looked at the newness of his turning away from the Dark Side of the Force enrollment in the Democratic Party and voted for someone else. He was rumored to be running, then rumored to not be running. The rumors of his interest have not completely died, so he is included here.

David Bradley - Current Democratic State Representative from southern AZ. Has pulled back from a run for governor and is rumored to be interested in another statewide office. Would have faced a seriously uphill battle in a primary due to nearly-nonexistent name recognition outside of his legislative district.

Everything stated/guessed here could change in a heartbeat if Republican U.S. Senator John McCain retires next year instead of standing for reelection. If that happens, all bets are off, up and down the ballot.

On the Republican side...

Jan Brewer - the current Governor ascended to the office after a long political career after Democrat Janet Napolitano stepped aside to become U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. Brewer inherited a large budget deficit, and with the assistance of the Republican majority in the legislature, has turned a deficit into a disaster.

Fiscally, not only has the budget on her desk not closed the deficit, it has made it worse with massive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.

Politically, her call for a referendum on a temporary sales tax hike has utterly ticked off the pure anti-taxers in her party, cutting into any chance of her winning the Rep nod. Of course, while she has made some recent noises about running for a full term, she hasn''t done more than "make noises."

Of course, those noises could just be positioning in her budget negotiations with the lege. As a lame duck, she'd have even less influence than she has now; as a potential full-termer, the lege will at least have to listen when she speaks to them.

Still, with her career experience and the power of the incumbency, she has to be considered the favorite to win a primary, though not a prohibitive one.

John Munger - former chair of the state GOP. Apparently still has some name rec and some support within the GOP, but given that he is based in Tucson, would have an uphill fight ahead of him.

Andrew Thomas - current Maricopa County Attorney. Wants to turn his notoriety in anti-immigrant circles into a statewide run. Could do well in a GOP primary, but may find that hitching his star to the nativist wagon driven by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio will hurt him in a statewide general election. May run for State Attorney General.

Tom Horne - The current State Superintendent of Public Instruction is "exploring" a run at AG, but has long held an interest in the 9th Floor, and the Brewer-led budget meltdown could make him think that next year is "the year."

Dean Martin - The current State Treasurer was rumored to have gubernortorial ambitions while he was still in the state senate. Probably has a clear run at the Rep nomination for Treasurer, but the tragic death of his wife and newborn son earlier this your could cause him to speed up the timing of his plans. Will eventually run for Governor. The only question is when.

Ken Bennett - The current Secretary of State was appointed to the office when Jan Brewer moved into the Governor's office. A former President of the State Senate, his comeback from a scandal involving his son's "misuse" of a broomstick with some pre-teen campers won't be complete until he wins an election. Bennett's problem isn't really what his son did (most folks understand that he is not his son and that the son was easily old enough to understand that his actions were improper) but with his son's sentence.

18 victims - 30 days.

When the scion of a politically powerful man receives that kind of jaw-dropping leniency, eyebrows get raised.

Still, he will be running, whether next year or in 2014.

JD Hayworth - Former Congressman (thank you, Harry Mitchell!!) and current radio talk show host. His name was mentioned as a possible 2010 candidate for Governor, even before he lost his congressional seat in 2006, but Governor is a "heavy lifting" kind of office, and Hayworth has never been known as a heavy lifting kind of office holder.

He might make a primary run at John McCain, but probably not for governor.

John Shadegg - Currently the Congressman from AZCD3. He announced his retirement last year, only to renounce that announcement a week later. Rumors persist that he will retire (and go through with it!) this time. He is more likely to take a stab at a Senate run if John McCain retires than to run for governor.

Jeff Flake - Currently the Congressman from AZCD6. Has long been rumored to be interested in the job, though he has indicated that he plans to run for reelection to Congress next year. May have realized that his anti-government ideology is a good fit for a member of the minority in Congress but is not such a good fit for a "govern"-or. In addition, while the Rep caucus in the lege is just as anti-government as he is, they are something he is not.

Completely freakin' NUTS.

Flake might consider them to be his ideological brethren, but they probably wouldn't show him any more respect than they've shown Brewer.

He will probably stay in Congress unless McCain retires.

Vernon Parker - Current Mayor of Paradise Valley. Could be intriguing as a candidate who is an African American Republican. Brings money and business connections, but would have to get through a GOP primary as an African American. More likely to be a king-maker this time around than the king.


Other names worth consideration (this isn't a comprehensive list as every R who has ever held or even run for a significant office is looking at a run at the 9th Floor) -

Kris Mayes - The term-limited Corporation Commissioner could be an interesting choice. She's moderate enough to woo some of the independent voters who are running full speed away from anything that even hints of the AZGOP. However, that moderation pretty much negates any chance of her making it through a statewide GOP primary. Could make gain some traction in a race for Congress, especially if Shadegg or Flake steps aside.

Karen Johnson - The former LD18 state senator has an open exploratory committee. She's a gun-toting, UFO-sighting, 9/11 truther. Running to make sure certain issues are part of the campaign dialogue. Wouldn't even sniff this list in any state not named "Arizona."

Here she has to be considered a serious dark horse.

Len Munsil - The GOP nominee in 2006 has to be listed, but his public profile has been pretty low since his lost to Janet Napolitano.

Hugh Hallman - Current Mayor of Tempe. Wants to go statewide, with a run at Governor sooner or later. May make a run at something next year with Tempe as his base of support, but could lose Tempe in a statewide general election - he's not well-liked there outside of his Rep base, and more Dems will turn out in a midterm than in a municipal election.

As with the Democrats, the key here is John McCain; if he decides to retire, all Rep candidates with at least consider running one level up. If he doesn't, expect something resembling status quo.

Either way, though, there will be a scrum for Governor.

Latest rumor...

With the usual caveats about rumors (double strength caveats prescribed during the waning days of a lege session like this one)...

Anyway, talk in the Capitol quad was that after dinner, both chambers were going to vote on the budget bills, minus the referral of the sales tax hike, and send them to the Governor.

Stay tuned to see what ever-more creative ways that the Republicans can find to knock over their own tea cart this week...

Here and there...

...I don't normally cover Massachusetts politics, but this rumor has some AZ ties...

The Boston Herald reported a rumor/draft movement about Red Sox pitcher (and former DBacks pitcher) Curt Schilling running against John Kerry in 2008 for a Senate seat. (Schilling is an ardent Republican.)

Schilling discounted the rumor, but did not rule it out entirely. He was also quoted in the article as saying that he would support either Sen. John McCain or Sen. Barack Obama for President next year.

In what may be his first campaign move, Schilling announced that he is *not* retiring after the 2007 season as previously expected; instead, he will play at least through 2008.

Which is a "campaign move" because the only way he unseats Kerry in November 2008 is to lead the Red Sox to a World Series victory in October 2008.

And, after the victory parade, burying George Steinbrenner up to his neck in the warning track in front of the Green Monster would probably help his chances. A lot. :))

...In news that's a little closer to home, JD Hayworth is starting to come out of his seclusion from the public eye.

According to the Eastern Arizona Courier (they call it a "contributed article"; it reads like a press release), the former Congressman will be among those speaking a gathering of the Graham County Republicans on February 23 at Eastern Arizona College.

...In unsurprising Scottsdale news, the Scottsdale City Council tonight voted to reactivate the photo radar program along a stretch of Loop 101 in Scottsdale. The only real question was about the use of the revenue generated by the citations generated by the program. Councilman Bob Littlefield wanted to specifically target the revenue for public safety programs, but was told by the City Attorney that anything related to spending money had to be properly agendized and given a public hearing.

The motion to reactivate passed by a 5-1 margin (Councilman Tony Nelssen against; Councilman McCullagh absent-bereavement). Councilman Nelssen stated that he could not support the reactivation of the cameras unless the revenue was specifically targeted for public safety.

The program is scheduled to restart on February 22.

Councilman Littlefield also mentioned during the discussion that a state legislator will be introducing a bill to take any revenue generated from a state-run photo radar program and dedicate it to road construction. When asked about it after the meeting, he didn't have a name.

I can guess at least one of the names involved, though. :)

I'll keep an eye on any legislation proposed in this regard.

AZRep coverage of the meeting here.

Later!

Another Dem convention, another Udall as a featured speaker??

From DenverPost.com:

U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard has announced that he will not seek re-election in 2008, retiring instead after completing his second term in office.

{snip}

On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Mark Udall [D-CO2] of Eldorado Springs will seek the seat. While others, including Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, are likely to be mentioned as possible contenders, so far Udall has the field to himself.

Whether the nominee for Colorado's U.S. Senate seat is Udall, Hickenlooper, or someone else, expect that nominee to try to get a boost in the polls from the presence of the Convention in Denver next year.

From his official bio on his House website:

Congressman Udall is in his fifth term. He was born is Tucson in 1950; his father was former U.S. Rep from AZ and Presidential candidate, Mo Udall.

ColoradoPols.com has a lot of info on this particular race; right now, it rates Udall as the favorite and former Republican Congressmen Scott McInnis and Bob Schaffer as the frontrunners for the Republican nomination. There is some speculation that they might try to get former Broncos QB and current car salesman John Elway to run. He's an active Republican.

I don't care who gets the Rep nomination, but does anyone know if Udall is a decent public speaker? It'd be great if someone with strong AZ ties (born here, graduated from Canyon del Oro, dad was Mo Udall!) was featured at the Democratic convention.

Especially since we may get stuck with "John McCain this" and "John McCain that" ad nauseum at the Republican convention. :(

Later!

LD17 rumor

I generally don't do rumors, and this one is an unattributed one (for now) per the request of my source, but the source is very credible.

So, I'm going with it.

Remember the speculation concerning who the Republicans will run against Harry Mitchell for the CD5 seat in 2008?

Turns out that at least one of the candidates mentioned, Laura Knaperek, won't be able to run.

She's moving to California. Apparently, within a few days you should be able to drive by her house in Tempe and see a "for sale" sign on it.

She said more than once during the campaign that the Democratic candidates, Ed Ableser and David Schapira, would move out of the district once they lost.

I suppose that I could be snarky here, but it actually makes sense - her husband has commuted to CA for work for years, she's lost two elections in D17 now, and she doesn't have a snowball's chance in Phoenix (in July!) of winning a CD5 primary against a Scottsdale Republican.

While I am still very happy that she's no longer one of the D17 State Reps, I wish her and her family good fortune in California.

...Of course, now the speculation about who the LD17 Reps are going to run in 2008 will start in earnest. :)

Have a great weekend!