Some interesting facts that I learned during Scottsdale City Government 101

I've spent the last 8 Wednesday evenings in the company of more than 20 (mostly) fellow Scottsdale residents who were interested in learning more about the functions of their city's goverment. We were taking a course offered by the city, Scottsdale City Government 101 (webpage here).

Meeting at various locations throughout the city (Granite Reef Senior Center, One Civic Center, Witzeman Building, Arabian Library, the City's Human Resources meeting room), the group received presentations on city functions from various department heads, charter officers, Council members and the Mayor.

I won't try to cover every bit of the course - that would take too much time - but I can share some of the more interesting facts that I learned during the course.

- The City of Scottsdale has approximately 2800 employees.

- The City's Official Food is chili (oh, wait - that's not really that interesting. Never mind. :) )

- Generally speaking, Scottsdale's unemployment rate is 1/2 - 2/3 that of Arizona's as a whole.

- The City's Intelligent Transportation System/Traffic Management Center is 'da bomb' (at the end of this post, I'm going to urge any interested residents to take this course because of the wealth of information offered, but the entire 8 weeks was made worthwhile because of the one hour in that room).

In Scottsdale, there are somewhere around 50 traffic intersection cameras (not to be confused with red-light and photo radar cameras, which are separate and unrelated to the traffic control system), as well as buried road sensors at every intersection with traffic signals (285 of them). The engineers and operators working in that room can monitor (wall-sized multichannel video monitors) and adjust the signals' timings and cycles in response to out-of-the-ordinary traffic conditions (accidents, events, flash flooding or other weather issues, etc.)

At the risk of playing into every comedic stereotype about men and remote controls, I'm channelling Tim Allen of "Home Improvement" fame - "Arr arr arr arr" (best approximation of a simian grunt there. Just work with me on this one, OK? :)) )

- Approximately 50,000 people work in the Scottsdale Airpark.

- The City has approximately 1955 miles of water lines, and over 1300 miles of sewer lines. (For most people, that's even less interesting than the chili factoid, but given the recent history of drinking water issues in parts of Scottsdale, that one may be important to some readers.)

- The biggest chunk of the City's capital improvement funds go to water and wastewater projects, not City office buildings or even roads.

- Scottsdale's crime rate has dropped almost as steadily as its population has risen.

- According to the City's Human Services Division, 7.1% of Scottsdale residents live in poverty.

- The City's libraries have over 1.4 million visitors per year.

- Scottsdale has 962 acres of public parks, including 3 'off-leash' areas for dogs.

- Nearly 150,000 people attended spring training games in Scottsdale this year (the spring home of the SF Giants).

- More than 60,000 Scottsdale voters are on the Permanent Early Voting list; according to the Maricopa County Recorder's latest registration numbers, there are just over 123,000 registered voters in Scottsdale. That means that 50% of Scottsdale's voters have already chosen to vote early, and more will do so as the elections near. The most recent elections in Tempe saw 79% of ballots cast as early ballots; Scottsdale may approach that figure.

- The presentation about fire service coverage actually had some information that is relevant to political geeks like me - the southernmost part of the city (from the Tempe line north to Indian Bend Road), encompassing 7% of the City's land area, is home to 43% of the City's population. I'm not sure how close that distribution of population matches up to the distribution of registered voters, but it's still eye-opening.

- Starting next month, Councilman Bob Littlefield will begin an eight-month term as Mayor Pro-tem, better known as Vice Mayor. Councilman Wayne Ecton in the current Vice Mayor.

- As of the close of business on Wednesday, no candidate for City office has turned in petitions. Normally, there's at least one show-off who tries to get their signatures in at 8:00 a.m on the first day that they can be turned in. In Scottsdale's case, that was Monday, May 5th.

- When the ballots for the elections in September and November come out, the contests that have the most direct impact on people's lives, the races for municipal offices, will all be at the bottom of the ballot, as will an municipality-based referendum questions.

The combination of increased turnout due to the inclusion of Scottsdale's races with the federal/state/county races and referenda with the inevitable ballot exhaustion (depending on the number of ballot questions, the ballots this fall could be 3 or 4 pages long even before getting to the local races) could lead to some interesting results, depending on which factor turns out to have a greater influence.

- An unheralded but potentially highly significant side effect the increased turnout due to the merging of large municipality elections from a March/May cycle into the September/November cycle could be making it tougher for potential candidates to get on the ballot in future elections.

Current rules in Scottsdale (and many cities) base the number of nominating petition signatures required to make it on the ballot on the number of voters in the most recent mayoral election.

Right now, that means 1,652 valid signatures, based on 5% of the turnout of 33,039 in the mayoral runoff election in May of 2004.

Compare that to the more than 109,000 ballots cast in the November 2004 general election by Scottsdale's voters.

A similar turnout this November could lead to a tripling of signature requirements, to more than 5400, for the 2010 and 2012 municipal elections.

A bill to address this, HB2385, was introduced in the Arizona Legislature this session. It died when the House Rules Committee failed to consider it. (I'm not sure why - both the chair and vice-chair of the committee were sponsors of the bill, as were the entire delegations from LD17 and LD8.)

Whatever the reaspn for the measure's failure this session, look for it to come back next session so that it can be in place before the start of the 2010 campaign season.


While I had some familiarity with the political side of Scottsdale's government, before the course started, I had almost no knowledge of the 'nuts and bolts' side of it.

Now, even more important than the info the presenters imparted to the class, I've got a really cool three-ring binder full of names, phone numbers, and emails when I've got specific questions.

For those who are interested in finding out more about how their city actually works, I heartily recommend signing up for the fall session of the class when it is offered - all lame jokes notwithstanding, it's a great way to get a crash course in what the City does and what it has to offer to its residents.

While all of the presenters and speakers did a great job with their parts of the course curriculum, special thanks go out to LaTricia Harper Woods, Assistant to the City Manager, and John Shultz, Citizen Liaison (for now anyway, he's rotating to a different department soon). For eight weeks, they facilitated the course, kept us focused (most of the presenters were happy to answer every question, but those questions could have kept going well into the night, and there were 2, 3, or more presenters every night) and most importantly, they fed us well.

:)

Without the enthusiasm, experience, and knowledge of LaTricia and John, the course wouldn't have been anywhere near as interesting or useful.

Later!

Harry Mitchell calls out VA secretary on coverup

On Tuesday, the House Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing on one of the great unseen scandals of the Iraq War - the epidemic of suicides and suicide attempts by veterans, and Bush Administration attempts to cover up the truth about how widespread the problem is (current estimates are that more than 1000 veterans attempt suicide every month.

During that hearing, Congressman Harry Mitchell (D-AZ5) took the Secretary of the Veterans Administration, James Peake, to task over he and his agency's refusal to release to Congress documents related to the incidence and handling of veterans' suicides.

From CNN -

Rep. Harry Mitchell, a Democrat from Arizona was particularly irate at what he sees as stonewalling by the VA. He said he has spent four months requesting specifics on what resources the agency needs to handle the suicide issue.

"That's not just an insult to me, it's an insult to me and our veterans," he said.

He was told to file a Freedom of Information Act request, a method more commonly reserved for the public and media, not congressional committee members, he said.

"I've tried to be reasonable," Mitchell told the committee, "I've tried to work with Secretary Peake's office, but Mr. Chairman, my patience is at an end."

Mitchell told Peake that if he does not receive the documents by Friday, he will push for a committee subpoena.

Mitchell's press release on the hearing here.

A CBS News report on the VA's coverup here.

A GovExec.com report on the hearing here.

OK, it's all over but the shouting...

...and the 'shouting' in this case will be the shouts of support at the convention when Barack Obama strides to the podium to give his speech accepting the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.

Not only did Obama win big in North Carolina (15 percentage points, >230,000 popular votes), he closed the pre-election gap in Indiana, leaving Clinton a victory margin that fell short of expectations and far short of what was needed for her campaign to maintain viability (2 percentage points, <23,000 votes).

He should net a gain of approximately 13 or more pledged delegates after everything is said and done, offsetting the 12 that Clinton gained with her win in the Pennsylvania primary.

There are a few remaining primaries left (Oregon, Kentucky, Montana, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, West Virginia), but the math just isn't there for her. There are just 217 pledged delegates available in those states (DNCC delegate map here).

After tonight, Hillary Clinton needs 334 delegates to secure the nomination, Obama needs 189. (CNN Election Center here). The race will come down to superdelegates, and right now, they are trending toward Obama (right along with the popular vote).

The last best hope for the Clinton campaign is now reseating the Florida and Michigan delegations in a way that helps her; any neutral way of handling that situation hurts her at a time when she needs to make strong gains. The DNCC's Rules Committee is scheduled to meet on May 31 to discuss many delegate-related issues, including Florida and Michigan; however, any chicanery there will fracture the Democratic Party.

That probably won't happen - while the contenders may desire the nomination with every fiber of their beings, they aren't stupid.

Right now, the Obama/Clinton battle for the nomination has energized the Party in a way that it hasn't been for decades, but that could change in a heartbeat if one of the candidates goes overboard with insider games. Any result from that meeting that even hints of unfairness will totally undercut the gains made by the Party in outreach to new and independent voters, turning them off to the Democratic Party for years, perhaps even a generation.

And in four years, the grassroots of the Party will be certain to remember the campaign (and campaigners) whose blind devotion to personal ambition and cynical 'business as usual' politics condemned the country to four more years of a Bush-era government (aka - a McCain presidency).

House Republicans throwing a temper tantrum today

In a protest against the way that the House Democratic leadership's handling a the upcoming Iraq War supplemental spending bill (it's going directly to floor consideration, bypassing an Appropriations Committee markup session), House Republicans are using quorum calls, motions to reconsider votes, and motions to adjourn.

So far (the session is still ongoing; there will be more dilatory tactics by the Reps), there have been 16 procedural votes or moves to prevent the House from doing its job -


Motions to adjourn - 4

Motions to reconsider a vote - 6

Questions of the presence of a quorum, stopping proceedings - 6

In addition, every vote has been a 'recorded' one, taking 10 - 20 minutes each.


[And counting - as I was writing this post, there was another quorum question, plus they are continuing with forcing every vote, even on totally non-controversial measures, to be a recorded one, *and* then forcing reconsideration of said votes.]

Wouldn't it be ironic if the Reps' tantrum resulted in putting off consideration of the war supplemental funding bill until next week or even the week after next? And that when the bill finally arrives on the President's desk, it contains something that the White House hates (like Harry Mitchell's modern G.I. Bill, timetables for withdrawal from Iraq, restrictions on torture, etc. - all of which *will* be in the supplemental) and would want to veto, but won't have time, because the latest supplemental funding runs out on June 15.

The President would be in quite a bind if that situation came to pass.

Nope, wouldn't want that to happen at all.

Really.

Trust me.

;)


Anyway, the House might consider the Iraq War supplemental bill on Thursday, though after today's stellar performance by the Republicans (say what you want about them - you've got to admit they do 'dilatory' really well when the put their minds to it), there may not be enough time for the bill to reach the House floor this week.

Sometimes, *rivalry* can be taken too far

Totally non-political post ahead...

It seems as if we hear something like this once a year or so, though most of the time, the locale of the paroxysm of gross stupidity is generally in some town where high school or college football is revered above life itself, if only because such locales have nothing better going on there anyway.

I've been to Nashua - there's no way anybody should ever be bored enough to get involved in this.

From AP -

NASHUA, N.H. - After a Red Sox-Yankees argument spilled outside a bar, a Yankee fan aimed her car at a group of people to scare them and didn't brake, hitting and killing a man, authorities and witnesses said.

{snip}

"She accelerated at a high speed for about 200 feet. She went directly at this group of people," prosecutor Susan Morrell said. "She indicated to police that she wanted to scare this group of people. She thought they would get out of the way."

What words can adequately describe my disgust and horror at this alcohol-fueled insanity?


Like many others in our society, I buy into sports rivalries (Suns-Spurs, ASU-UA, Patriots-Colts, etc., and yes, Red Sox-Yankees), rooting for one or another team for the local pride value, the thrills (a Sox-Yanks game is always riveting, even when one or both teams is having a bad season), the entertainment value...hell, for the sheer *fun* of it all.

And "fun" is the key word here; in the end, no matter the outcome on the field or court, we're talking about *games*, folks.

Taunt, tease, and razz fans of your team's rival - just remember that they are human beings too, and they have as much pride in their teams as you do, and as much desire to simply enjoy the spectacle of the rivalry.

And then, after the final gun, out, or buzzer, when the games are over and the crowds have thinned out, give the gloating a break and offer that opposing fan a drink (or a cab ride home, whichever is most appropriate) and a smile -

For without them, the misguided (insert your own euphemism or non-euphemism here) fans of your rival, the rivalry wouldn't exist, and what fun would that be?

New Candidates - Congressional Races

Update on 5/6 to add another CD6 candidate. Thanks to Richard Grayson for the heads-up in his comment...

CD6 news -

Jeff "Mikey" Flake (R-CD6) has a real opponent in CD6. Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) looked, but found that while he thought that Flake was vulnerable to an attack from the right, he was one of the few who thought that way. He's now running for the state senate seat from LD18.

Against Jeff Flake's brother-in-law, Kevin Gibbons. :))

Richard Grayson has been running a semi-quixotic 'write-in' campaign, chronicling Flake's penchant for placing his devotion to an extreme ideology before the interests of his constituents in this blog.

Now, Rebecca Schneider, a librarian and community activist, has filed organizational paperwork with the FEC for a run at the CD6 seat (campaign website here)

She seems to be running a campaign that is somewhat more serious than Grayson's - she has a campaign treasurer *not* named 'Rebecca Schneider.' (That's not a shot at Grayson; he's made it clear that his campaign is rooted in the fact that no other Democrat had stepped up to oppose Flake.)

Based on her website, she seems to be an intelligent, educated (hey, she's a *supervisory* librarian - that implies a familiarity with books that goes far beyond knowing how to reshelve them :)) ), and a progressive, grassroots sort of Democrat.

I wish good luck to Schneider (and Grayson!). She'll need it - Jeff Flake still has well over $900K cash on hand.

Edit to add:

Also running in CD6 is Chris Gramazio of Queen Creek. Based on his website's "about" blurb, he's an intelligent and thoughtful blue-collar Democrat.

Good luck to Gramazio; I hope that after the primary, the runner-up can lend their support to the winner. Whoever faces Flake in November will need the support of the other candidate's base to have any chance of unseating the incumbent.

End edit...


CD5 news -

In a long-rumored development, PolitickerAZ is reporting that Susan Bitter Smith will enter the race for the Republican nomination to oppose Congressman Harry Mitchell in CD5. According to news reports, her official announcement will take place on Friday, May 9, giving her just a few short weeks to gather signatures on nominating petitions and to gather financial support.

Given that she's a long-time industry lobbyist (cable and telecom), the money part shouldn't be much of a problem.

Note: I'm going to have to get some Windex for the ol' crystal ball - I've predicted that she wasn't going to enter due to the late date.

Later!

Short Attention Span Musing - Numbers Edition

...First number up today - 6

6, as in 6 years, which is how long one air marshal has been having trouble catching his flight assignments, according to this Washington Times article.

The reason?

His name is on the 'no-fly' list.

And he's not the only air marshal facing this problem.

From the article -

False identifications based on a terrorist no-fly list have for years prevented some federal air marshals from boarding flights they are assigned to protect, according to officials with the agency, which is finally taking steps to address the problem.

The air marshals service response?

They issued a memo advising their employees who face this situation to contact a supervisor at the airline denying them boarding.

I have a little sympathy for the affected air marshals, but only a little. Thousands of civilians have faced this issue, with little or no recourse available to them.

Maybe now that the problem is affecting people from the same government bureaucracy that created the faulty 'no-fly' list in the first place, they'll put some real effort into straightening it out.


...Next number up for consideration - 20%.

20%, as in the reduction in Phoenix's per capita daily water usage over the last 15 years.

From the Arizona Republic article -

Water usage in Phoenix has dropped 20 percent in the past 15 years, the result of ongoing educational efforts and increased efficiency, city officials say.

According to information from the city's Water Services Department, average per capita daily usage has plunged from about 250 gallons per person per day to about 200 gallons.

Total water usage has held steady, even as the population has soared past 1.5 million people.

No snarkiness here; it seems that ongoing water conservation efforts have had a visible effect.

I would be interested in finding out the breakdown of the reduction - is it rooted in residential conservation efforts, a reduction in industrial or commercial usage, etc.

However, regardless of the area most responsible for the usage reduction, it's still encouraging news.


...Last number - 20,000.

20,000, as in the number of American jobs lost in April, the fourth consecutive month experiencing a net job loss.

From The Inquirer.net (Philippines) (emphasis mine) -

US economy shed 20,000 jobs in April

WASHINGTON -- US employers cut 20,000 jobs in April in a relatively stable showing for the US labor market as the jobless rate fell a tenth of a percentage point to 5.0 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.

And therein lies the spin - a loss of 20,000 jobs is being portrayed as good news, because it wasn't as bad as expected...

Does anybody else think that every single day this year, George Bush has thanked God that he doesn't have to try to run for reelection on his economic record? And that every day, Republican candidates across the nation look to the heavens and curse the fact that they *do* have to run on the economy?

Anyway, no "Sunday Morning Crappie" post this week - it would have gone to John McCain anyway, and I have to admit, it's getting kind of boring picking on our Johnny for his flip-flopping.

On the other hand, while I'm getting bored with McCain's pandering, Desert Beacon is not. Click here to check out her latest Sunday Morning Deck Bass award.

Have a good week!

Events Calendar

Wednesday, May 7 - The launch party for AZ School Works, Jason Williams' (former candidate for AZ Superintendent of Public Instruction) new PAC.

About the organization: "AZ School Works is a Political Action Committee (PAC) which will promote fiscal responsibility for Arizona’s public schools by informing the electorate of our State’s current priorities, practices and financial management in our public education system. In addition to acting as a community watchdog, the PAC focuses on electing candidates in order to impact local elections."

Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: Fair Trafe Café, 1020 N. 1st Avenue, Phoenix AZ, (park behind Trinity Cathedral in the parking garage)
Suggested donation: $25


Wednesday and Thursday, May 7 and 8 - Workshops on Southern Scottsdale Community Area Plan

Time (both days): 7:00 p.m.
Places: May 7, Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 N. Granite Reef Road; May 8, Pueblo Elementary School cafeteria, 6320 N. 82nd St.

The City's Area Plans page here.


Thursday, May 8 - The LD17 Democrats and The Big Picture Film Series present an exclusive screening of the documentary Body of War. This wrenching film chronicles the journey of Tomas Young as he moves from being young soldier, through being wounded and permanently paralyzed less than a week after arriving in Iraq, to becoming a "passionate" opponent of the war.

Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Chandler Cinemas, 2140 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler, AZ
Cost: $10 at the door or purchase in advance here.


Thursday, May 8 - Monthly meeting of the Coalition of Greater Scottsdale (COGS)

Time: 6:30 p.m.
Place: Granite Reef Senior Center, Granite Reef Rd., just north of McDowell.
Guest Speaker: John Little, Scottsdale's Acting City Manager


Wednesday, May 21 - Meeting of the North Indian Bend Wash Community Involvement Group (NIBW CIG)

Time: 5:30 p.m.
Place: the auditorium at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library (3839 N.Drinkwater Blvd.)


Later!

Scottsdale/PV TCE updates

There have been some recent developments to report regarding the situation at the Miller Road Treatment Facility (MRTF) in Scottsdale.

The facility was shut down in January due to a failure that resulted in the introduction of contaminated water into the drinking water supply to nearly 5000 customers of Arizona American Water Company (AAWC) in PV and Scottsdale.

One development was reported in the East Valley Tribune on April 29. While water from the TCE-contaminated well that was subject to 'remediation', named PCX-1, is no longer used for drinking water, as of Sunday the facility is operating; it's output is now pumped into an SRP canal.

The part of the MRTF that treated the water from PCX-1 is no longer operated by AAWC; Motorola, one of the 'participating companies' (PCs, the companies responsible for the contamination in the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund site), has contracted with the firm LFR to operate the facility. (I think this is the company's website)


The other development was reported by the AZ Republic on May 1. Two investigations have been completed into January's incident and reports filed with the EPA.

One investigation, conducted on behalf of the PCs, determined human error on the part of AAWC personnel was the underlying cause of the problem.

The other investigation, conducted on behalf of AAWC "concluded that the plant's systems and components were not designed or operated in an optimal manner."

Yup, the "mutual finger-pointing session" is getting up to speed. :)

...Which should make for an interesting get-together when the NIBW Community Involvement Group (CIG) meets on May 21 at the Civic Center Branch of the Scottsdale Library. From the email from Vicki Rosen, the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator for the NIBW -

We will be holding a CIG meeting on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 and hope many of you can attend. It will be at the usual time of 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm, however, the location this time will be different. We will be using the auditorium at the Scottsdale Civic Center Library (3839 N.Drinkwater Blvd.)...The main topic will be what's gone on since the Miller Road Treatment Facility failures...where we are now and what we're evaluating for the future.

Later!

Gordon gets boost from nativists

...but that's not really their goal... :))

In yesterday's post on Harry Mitchell's Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, I commented on how Bob Lord, John Shadegg's opponent for the CD3 seat, is probably very grateful for Shadegg's disrespect for our nation's (and his district's) veterans.

Now, we have another situation where an elected official and likely future candidate for higher office is probably grateful for the actions of his opponents.

It seems that some anti-immigrant zealots are trying to mount a petition drive to recall Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.

They don't like the fact that he sees Mexican immigrants, not as targets for bigotry, hatred, and worse, but as human beings.

Actually, "don't like" is putting it mildly.


I'm not going to totally disregard their chances for success - not only am I unfamiliar with the dynamics of Phoenix politics, my guess is that the organizers of the recall effort will receive plenty of support from Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas, respectively the Maricopa County Sheriff and Attorney.

Why would they do that? Why else - payback. :))

Anyway, back to the point - while it is possible that this recall effort has a chance at success, consider these two facts:

1. The petition gatherers need 23,751 valid signatures to force the recall election.

2. In the September, 2007 elections, Gordon's opponent received 21,868 votes.


The most likely outcome of this recall effort, and the one that Gordon will probably be grateful for, is that this campaign by the anti-immigrant zealots will further move Gordon into the good graces of grassroots Democrats across the state.

While his organization in Phoenix is formidable (see last year's election results), if Gordon aspires to higher office, he'll need a wider base of support than what he has in Phoenix.

If you don't believe that, remember - Janet Napolitano won the Governor's race in 2002 *without* winning Maricopa County. (AZ Secretary of State's results page here)

Being strong in Maricopa County is good - it's the most populous county in the state; being strong *only* in Maricopa County - not so good.

Ask Matt Salmon, Governor Napolitano's opponent in 2002.

Assuming that this recall campaign doesn't have real legs, and right now it looks like nothing more than a red-faced, screaming, foot-stamping temper tantrum thrown by overgrown children, the campaign only helps Gordon in the long run.

Attorney General Gordon?

Governor Gordon??

Congressman (or even U.S. Senator) Gordon???

What'll the nativists think of their recall effort when one of those eventualities comes to pass?

Later!

It's been 5 years...

... and over 3800 more dead American servicemen and women (and tens of thousands dead Iraqi civilians) since Bush declared 'mission accomplished' and an end to major combat operations in Iraq.

Of course, the White House has their spin on the matter - they admit the banner was a mistake, but the mistake was in allowing people to interpret it to mean that the mission in Iraq was the one that had been accomplished. What they meant with the banner was to commemorate the accomplishment of the *carrier's* mission. (WMAZ-TV in Georgia)

The Bush White House's party line was echoed by 'maverick' Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who stated that he "thought it was wrong at the time" but that he can't blame Bush for the banner, just for, perhaps, some of the comments made by administration officials that may have led people to the wrong impression of the meaning of the banner.



It's been 5 years, and thousands more people have died in Bush's war.

It's been 5 years, and billions more dollars have been spent on Bush's war.

It's been 5 years, and they are still shameless.

Harry Mitchell's Veterans Bill Creating Some Strangeness In D.C. And Arizona

Congressman Harry Mitchell's H.R. 5740, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, while garnering widespread support among his colleagues (250 cosponsors and counting), but it's creating an interesting dichotomy among the Republican members of AZ's Congressional delegation.

[Note: Congressman Mitchell's blog entry about the bill, in The Hill, is here.]

On the one hand, we have John Shadegg (R-AZ3). He is refusing to support the bill, not because he thinks it is a bad bill, but because he hasn't been asked to support it.

On the other hand, Jeff Flake (R-AZ6), who, like Mikey of Life Cereal fame, 'hates everything' related to government spending, may sign on in support of the bill (which, by the way, would be this year's "Phoenix freezes over" moment if that comes to pass :) ).

So, let me get this straight - John Shadegg, the hand-shaking, baby-kissing, industry PAC money-taking, savvy politician (his retire/unretire two-step earlier this year notwithstanding) is telling the 56,000 veterans in his district to get stuffed, while Jeff Flake, the putative anti-government crusader, who is almost physically incapable of supporting anything that has even a hint of a whiff of help for the average American, veteran or otherwise, is considering throwing his support behind Mitchell's bill?

Shadegg shouldn't be surprised when his challenger, Bob Lord, says "thank you" to him.

That's because he understands that many (most??) of CD3's veterans will also have a couple of words to say to Shadegg when Election Day rolls around, and while the second word will be "you" also, the first one won't be "thank."

Nope, not even close.

BTW - am I the only one who thinks that "I can't support it because I haven't been asked to" is the epitome of pissy?

BTW2 - During his 2006 campaign against JD Hayworth, more than once I used a 'workhorse vs. showhorse' analogy when comparing Mitchell to Hayworth. Bills like H.R. 5740 show why this is still accurate - the bill isn't showy, it's just solidly professional and effective legislation and governance.

Compare those qualities to most of the Republicans in Congress or running to replace Democrats there.

'Nuff said.


Bob Lord's campaign website here.

Lord press release on the topic, courtesy PolitickerAZ, here; more Lord press releases on this subject here and here.

Richard Grayson's chronicle of Jeff Flake's extremist ideology and ineffective representation of his district here (Grayson is mounting a campaign for the CD6 seat.)

Update on the AZ Delegation post

After hours upon hours of diligent research (OK, OK - it was an email to Emily Bittner, the AZ Democratic Party's communications director), it has been determined that the rumor of a challenge to Charlene Fernandez' election as 1st Vice Chair of the ADP is only that, a rumor.

However, Tedski's post in response to my original post shed some light on the likely basis of the rumor.

Apparently Janice Brunson, a National Committeewoman and a Clinton supporter, objected to the number of proxies that Charlene Fernandez (and her supporters from Yuma County) brought to the meeting - 38 distributed over 4 attendees - and is seeking a bylaw change to bar someone from holding more than 3 proxies.

From a Brunson email quoted by Tedski in his post -

I urge immediate consideration of a bylaw limiting the number of proxies any one person can carry to a State Committee meeting and cast in any Party election.

At the meeting of April 26, one person carried 45 proxies. Based on the outcome of elections - not only for party first vice chair but also for presidential delegates - these proxies were cast as a block, clearly swaying outcomes. I learned during the meeting that this had been prearranged by a small handful of committee members.

There was more, and I recommend reading his entire post, but let me summarize -


She thought it was unfair that political maneuvering took place at a political meeting.


Anyway, I have my doubts that such a move will gain much traction - for this change to take place, it would probably have to be supported by the very same rural Democrats that she is seeking to disenfranchise.

Probably not gonna happen... :)

Proxies are allowed specifically to help ensure that rural Dems have a voice in the Party. In a state as large and rural as AZ (and outside of Phoenix and Tucson metro areas, this *is* a very rural state), it's very difficult for activists from the state's hinterlands to make four hour (or longer!) trek to one of the metro areas for a meeting of the state committee.

Perhaps a better solution would be to find a way to encourage fuller participation from all over the state, not just the urban areas, and no, I don't have any idea how to pull off that one.

BTW - Apparently Tedski viewed as a challenge my suggestion in the earlier post to check his blog because he would probably scoop me on the details.

Couple of points here -

1. No challenge intended, just a compliment - when it comes to the inner workings of the state party, he's got waayyyy better sources than I do. Period.

2. I was right - he did have the details before I did. :)

Later!

Quick Elections Update - New Candidates

Edit to add info on LD18 candidate Joe Brown below...

Scottsdale update (info courtesy the Scottsdale City Clerk's elections webpage) -

In news that should surprise no one who follows the goings-on in Scottsdale, Tom Giller, the driving force behind Height and Density, the anti-Hanover Project political committee, has filed candidate committee paperwork with the Scottsdale City Clerk's office.

I think he is seeking a seat on the City Council; while his paperwork doesn't specify, this EV Trib article written by Brian Powell states that he is.

His campaign committee's contact number is 480.947.3654.

Also filing paperwork for a Council run is Oren Davis, a pro-development Scottsdale businessman.

From the same Trib article -

Davis, 54, said he was encouraged by Councilman Jim Lane - who is challenging Mayor Mary Manross in September for the city's top post - and Paul Messinger to run for council.

"I am pro-growth but would also like to maintain the character of Scottsdale," Davis said.

Davis also said he'd like to see more transparency in government and more communication between developers and residents with hopes of avoiding another issue like Hanover.

That quote is the sum total of my knowledge of Mr. Davis. :))

His campaign's contact number is 602.295.3783.


LD17 Update (note: all LD candidate info courtesy the AZ Secretary of State's campaign finance report webpage) -

State Senator Meg Burton-Cahill has a Republican challenger in Jesse Hernandez of Tempe, who filed his paperwork on April 15, 2008. He is running as a Clean Elections candidate. He's a business owner and long-time Republican. (brief bio here)

LD18 Update -

Another candidate has jumped into the LD18 State Rep fray. Joe Brown, running as an Independent, turned in organizational paperwork on April 18, 2008. He running as a Clean Elections candidate. With that name, I'm not even bothering with a Google search and I don't have any familiarity with the Mesa political scene (other than knowing that Democrats Tammie Pursley and Judah Nativio are running for LD18 House and Senate, respectively.)

Edit on 4/30 to update, with info courtesy Judah Nativio, Democratic candidate for the Senate seat in LD18 -

Mr. Brown is a conservative Republican who ran against Karen Johnson for the LD18 Senate seat in 2006; he lost in the primary, garnering slightly more than 25% of the votes cast. Apparently, he changed his registration sometime after that.

End edit.

No changes in LD8, except that a Libertarian, Robert Weber, has formed a committee to take on the electoral buzzsaw known as State Senator Carolyn Allen.

I'd wish him good luck with that, but there's a reason that Sen. Allen has become an "electoral buzzsaw" - she has earned the respect of people from all over the political spectrum because of her dedication and skill as a public servant (even if she *is* an Arizona Republican. Apparently, she doesn't drink the Kool-Aid. :) ).

Unless a Democrat steps up, this one's already over...

Later!

AZ's Democratic Delegation Finalized

At Saturday's meeting of the Democratic State Committee, members selected PLEO (party leader/elected official) and At-Large delegates to this summer's national convention. Some delegates are pledged to Clinton, some to Obama.

The big news of the convention concerned the election of a new 1st Vice-Chair (and automatic superdelegate) of the ADP. Early expectations were that the slot would go to a Clinton supporter, but in a bit of a surprise, Charlene Fernandez, chair of the Yuma County Democratic Party, won the slot after announcing that she supports Sen. Barack Obama for the nomination.

There is an as-yet-unconfirmed rumor (from a state committee member) that one of the Clinton superdelegates may challenge the election of Fernandez. I'll look into this, but if anything comes of it, Tedski will probably have the scoop first (something about him being on the state committee, a brother on the state committee, a mom on the state committee, and so forth :)) ).

The final (pending any challenges) list, courtesy the website of the Arizona Democratic Party (superdelegate endorsement info courtesy PolitickerAZ) -

Uncommitted superdelegates -

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (AZ8)
Congressman Harry Mitchell (AZ5)
State Attorney General Terry Goddard
Chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party Don Bivens


Clinton delegates

Superdelegates -

Congressman Ed Pastor (AZ4)
Democratic National Committee member Janice C. Brunson
DNC member Joe Rios
DNC member Carolyn Warner

PLEO -

Arizona Sen. Amanda Aguirre
Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community President Diane Enos
Arizona Democratic Party Vice-Chairman Tony J. Gonzales
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley

At-Large -

Arizona Sen. Ken Cheuvront
Fountain Hills Councilwoman Ginny Dickey
Adam Falk
Katie Hobbs
Michael Incorvaia
Amanda Simpson
Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox

At-Large Alternates -

DNC Member-elect and Arizona Democratic Party secretary Judy Kennedy
Arizona Rep. Robert Meza

District level delegates -

Jack Jackson, Jr.
Greg Kaighn
Dawn Knight
Nikki Basque (alternate)
Bree Boehlke
Debra Boehlke
Robert Boehlke
Matthew Miller (alternate)
Howard Bell
Jim Pederson
Lois Pfau
Lisa White (alternate)
Dana Kennedy
Jose Rivas
Angie Crouse
George Paterakis
Beverly Fox-Miller
Roman Ullman
Elizabeth Brown (alternate)
David Martinez
Gail Beeler
Elly Anderson
Chris Campas
JoJene E. Mills
Bruce Heurlin (alternate)


Obama Delegates

Superdelegates -

Governor Janet Napolitano
Congressman Raul Grijalva (AZ7)
ADP 1st Vice Chair Charlene Fernandez

PLEO -

Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Ned J. Norris
Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez
Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema

At-Large -

Magdalena Barajas
Sen. Dennis DeConcini
Ruben Gallego Arizona
Rep. David Schapira
Brandan Spradling

At-Large Alternate -

Phoenix Councilman Michael Johnson

District level delegates -

Christopher Clark-Dechene
Angela Lefevre
Shirley A. McAllister
Eddie Smith
Mark Manoil
Genevieve M. Vega
David Gass
Katharine Widland
Sean Bowie
Donna M. Gratehouse
Lauren Kuby
James J. Brodie (alternate)
John Chiazza
Kit Filbey
Paul Eckerstrom
Lisa Fernandez
John C. Adams
Patricia L. Canady


Congratulations to everyone, and hope to see you in Denver...