Arizona's Congressional delegation and the stimulus bill...

On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a compromise version of H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The final vote was 246-183, with one answering 'present.' All House Republicans voted against the bill, and all but seven Democrats voted for the bill. All of AZ's Democratic representatives voted for it.

Later on Friday over in the Senate, the same compromise version was passed by a 60 - 38 vote. All Democrats present voted for the bill (Ted Kennedy was out, and Al Franken hasn't been seated yet), as well as Republicans Olympia Snow, Susan Collins (both from Maine) and Arlen Specter (PA). Both of AZ's Republican senators, Jon Kyl and John McCain, voted against the economic stimulus package.

AZ's delegation on the stimulus bill, in their own words (from news coverage, press releases, and the Congressional Record) -

Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-CD5), from a press release, courtesy Arizona Congress Watch - “Arizona’s job losses last year were worse than every other state but one. People are facing foreclosure and struggling to make ends meet,” said Mitchell. “The risk of inaction is too great. This bill will create and maintain jobs and we must take this step to get people back to work and get the economy back on track.”

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-CD7), from a press release - “I voted to support today’s Recovery Act, a bill that is far from perfect, but opens up possibilities for many...The State of Arizona is in a budget crisis that it is translating to cuts in the Department of Economic Security, slashed departments at our public universities and colleges, money taken from our children in elementary, junior high, and high schools, and increases in hunger, poverty, and the ranks of the uninsured. The Recovery Act will help stop this kind of hemorrhaging, which is why I support it."

Rep. John Shadegg (R-CD3), from a press release -

"But one of the bill’s worst provisions has gone almost unnoticed, dangerously lurking below the radar of those exposing the bill’s flaws.

“Comparative Effectiveness Research,” sounds innocuous, but big-government programs always do. The $1.1 billion of the stimulus package earmarked for this project is a significant step toward government-run healthcare

Shadegg from a post in The Hill's CongressBlog, titled "Friday The 13th Horror" - "But of course the greatest horror is not the process – it is the product. At the end of the day we have an economic stimulus without economic stimulus."

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-CD8), as quoted in the Arizona Daily Star - 'The legislation will create or save 3.5 million jobs nationally over the next two years. Approximately 70,000 of those jobs will be in Arizona," she said in a press statement.'

The same article goes on to list a series of informational forums that Giffords will be part of, including one on Tuesday at ASU from noon - 1:30 p.m with CD5's Representative Harry Mitchell. (Pima Room in the Memorial Union)

More info on the forums, courtesy Congresswoman Giffords' website here.

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-CD6), from the Congressional Record - "We know enough about this legislation to know that it is bad legislation. First and foremost, the process is bad, but it’s bad legislation...I doubt that John Maynard Keynes would believe that $50 million for the
National Endowment for the Arts would be stimulative. All that it stimulates is more spending later."

Sen. Jon Kyl (R), from the Congressional Record - ...His speech is too long to find one good quote, so I recommend reading it in its entirety at the link. He opposed the bill for a litany of reasons, including ACORN, Filipino veterans, a maglev rail line from L.A. to Las Vegas, money for small shipyards (and not enough $ for big shipyards), and the Davis-Bacon Act (prevailing wage).

Sen. John McCain (R), was quoted as calling the bill "generational theft" on CNN and elsewhere. (NY Times)

President Obama is expected to sign the bill on Tuesday in Denver, and will be in Phoenix on Wednesday to announce a plan to fight home foreclosures. Details as they become available.

Note: In the future, I expect to leave this sort of post to Stacy at AZ Congress Watch - it took longer just to set up the links than to write the rest of the post.

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

A 'quick hit' post on goings-on in Scottsdale...

For those of you who thought that the ouster of Mary Manross as mayor in favor of Jim Lane would change the way that the City deals with developers (aka - rubber stamp everything), read on...

From the AZ Republic (emphasis mine) -

Scottsdale Planning Commission will meet March 11 to discuss the proposed Palmeraie project that could bring five-story buildings to the southwestern corner of Indian Bend and Scottsdale roads.

Some area residents are worried about incompatible density and preserving views of Camelback Mountain, and they raised their concerns at a Coalition of Greater Scottsdale meeting late this week at which representatives of Five Star Development met with community activists.

{snip}

The rezoning request in Scottsdale has hit technical hurdles that still must be addressed, however.

Current Scottsdale ordinance requires that any parcel seeking zoning as a planned regional center (PRC) be at least 25 acres in size. The lot going before the Planning Commission is only 20 acres.

20 acres is smaller than 25, so 'no go', right?

Not so fast.

Connie Padian, a City Zoning Administrator, has issued a "Zoning Interpretation Record."

It says that since the parcel in question abuts another parcel owned by the same developer in Paradise Valley, and that the combined size totals approximately 120 acres...well, you can see where this is going.

From Sonnie Kirtley, chair of the Coalition of Greater Scottsdale (COGS), via email -

...You need to get your appeals and comments in the city file prior to that date. So far, there are NO public comments (or staff communications) in that file. Case numbers are 17-AB-2008, 13 ZN 2008 and 13 TA 2008. If the staff "interpretation" is legal, then the developer won't be asking for the 13-TA-2008 text amendment to change ALL properties in the city with 20 acres to be permitted the PRC upzoning. They will just ask that their current Resort Zoning (35 ft max height) be improved to the PRC on their parcel.

Apparently, the wave of change that swept over the country last November missed our quaintly pretentious over-botoxed little desert hamlet, because nothing has changed -

The City genuflected before deep-pocketed developers last year, and they are genuflecting before deep-pocketed developers this year.

About the only this that has changed is Jim Lane's brilliant proclamation to promote tourism in Scottsdale - "Western on Wednesday." He has asked Scottsdale residents to wear "boots, jeans, and other Western attire on Wednesdays" to celebrate the Parada del Sol this month.

I suppose it's better than Pink Taco debacles, but it doesn't really seem like the kind of proactive leadership the city needs to navigate its way through these tough economic times.

Later...

Look!! Up in the air! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...it's..it's...a Trial Balloon???

Trial Balloon (from Merriam-Webster.com) - "a project or scheme tentatively announced in order to test public opinion"

From the AZ Republic (emphasis mine) -

Faced with a sliding economy and deepening state deficit, Gov. Jan Brewer's office is quietly making plans for a spring special election at which voters would be asked to raise taxes and loosen spending mandates on certain state programs, The Arizona Republic has learned.

The proposal remains in its infancy, and details are few. But the Governor's Office is contemplating a temporary increase in taxes that would generate $1 billion annually for the state for a period of two or three years, two sources with knowledge of the discussions told The Republic under condition of anonymity. Additionally, voters would be asked to ease protections that currently block lawmakers from redirecting or cutting funds for voter-approved programs, such as a 2006 initiative that increased tobacco taxes to fund early-childhood education.

{snip}

Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman maintained that "all options are on the table" and said that the governor hasn't signed off on any proposals for a special election.

Translation: "Let's throw this out there and see how loud the screaming is going to be."

You know that the Arizona chapter of the Flat Earth Society (aka - Republicans in the lege) will scream at the thought of doing anything to alleviate the budget crisis, and normal citizens will scream at the thought of weakening or even repealing the Voter Protection Act.

Assuming (for the sake of having something interesting to write about) that the Governor actually brings forth such a proposal (more likely than not, though far from a certainty) and that the lege cooperates in putting the proposal on the ballot (less than likely, though not totally out of the question), here's what I expect to be in any proposal, and expect *won't* be in any proposal...

In: A temporary personal income tax hike

Out: Even a hint of a corporate income tax hike

In: A specific sunset date for any tax increase

Out: A specific sunset date for any weakening of the Voter Protection Act

In: A requirement of a simple majority vote in the lege to go after voter protected funds

Out (and should be in): A requirement of a 3/4 majority vote, both to go after voter-protected funds and to decrease or repeal any tax. It takes a 3/4 vote to raise taxes; it should take a similar vote to go in the opposite direction.

We can't make the Republicans become fiscally responsible, but we can minimize the impact of their fiscal foolishness on the state.

This may also be a signal that Brewer really is interested in running for a full term - if she didn't need to appeal to the moderates and independents she'll need to win a high-profile statewide election, she would just hand the keys to the treasury over to Russell Pearce and John Kavanagh. If she's running however, she is smart enough to know that a Rep isn't going to win a significant statewide election without support from outside of the GOP's Kool-Aid drinking base.

(There have been rumors that she wasn't interested in running, mostly due to health reasons.)

David Safier at Blog for Arizona offers his take on this topic here; State Rep. Daniel Patterson's take here.

Later!

Housekeeping

Regular readers may notice a change to the list of links along the right hand side.

I've deleted the permanent link to the Arizona Guardian.

While it is still an informative and well-written site, it has now gone to a subscription fee model (upwards of $150/month). As such, I cannot link to it nor, in good conscience, can I point people toward the site.

I wish the writers and organizers of the Guardian well with their venture - the AZ Capitol Times needs the competition. However, making a living off of fee-based internet reporting in the age of blogs and in a cratering economy is a steep mountain to climb.

Congressman Steve Austria - the next Republican presidential candidate

This one is popping up all over the internet, but I went to the source.

From the Columbus (OH) Dispatch (emphasis mine) -

U.S. Rep. Steve Austria said he supports a scaled-down federal economic-stimulus proposal, but the Beavercreek Republican told The Dispatch editorial board that the huge influx of money into the economy could have a negative effect.

"When (President Franklin) Roosevelt did this, he put our country into a Great Depression," Austria said. "He tried to borrow and spend, he tried to use the Keynesian approach, and our country ended up in a Great Depression. That's just history."

Most historians date the beginning of the Great Depression at or shortly after the stock-market crash of 1929; Roosevelt took office in 1933.

The only surprising part is that the spewer of revisionist history isn't from AZ. Have faith, however -

It's still early in the election cycle.

Mayors behaving badly...

A post wherein I criticize a couple of Democrats...

First up, we have the case of Oscar Goodman, the Democratic mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, who's demanding the President Obama should retract and apologize for Obama's remark during a town hall meeting in Indiana that criticized the idea of the corporate recipients of federal bailout money using those funds to pay for junkets to Vegas or the Super Bowl.

President Obama's remark, courtesy an AP story (via AZCentral.com) about the Vegas mayor's indignation -

Obama made the remarks Monday during a town hall meeting in Elkhart, Ind., wherethe president traveled to muster public support for economic stimulus legislation.

"You can't get corporate jets, you can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer's dime," Obama said.

Mayor Goodman's response, from the same story -

"That's outrageous, and he owes us an apology," he said. "He owes us a retraction."

Goodman has some credibility problems (he's a former Mob lawyer, wants to "de-thumb" and cane graffiti vandals, and ethics issues to name a few), but at least he's trying to stand up for his city. It's actually part of doing his job. He may have done so badly, but his motivation is somewhat understandable. Something that cannot be said for...

...Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.

Yesterday, Mayor Gordon and the Phoenix City Council selected a replacement for former Councilman Greg Stanton, who had resigned in order to take a position with the Arizona Attorney General's office. Stanton is a moderate Democrat who represented Phoenix's District 6.

With Gordon's support of him, they selected former councilman Sal DiCiccio.

He's not a Democrat, nor is he "moderate" by any reading of the definition.

From the Phoenix New Times' Valley Fever piece on yesterday's events -

Before the vote, DiCiccio was questioned by Councilman Michael Nowakowski about an op-ed he wrote for the Arizona Republic two years ago, warning of the dire consequences of allowing Mexican culture to take root in this country.

DiCiccio's column began, "The current debate on immigration reform leaves out the most important issue: the importation of a corrupt culture. South of the border, you have a governmental system that allows and sometimes encourages bribery of local officials. It is no wonder that more heinous crimes follow. It is only a matter of time before a wave of violence will be coming our way. The gun battles with police; the beheadings of journalists, the kidnappings of families -- these are a line in the desert away from our country and state."

Hmmm...I guess Gordon's desire to run for a statewide has waned. There was some speculation last spring that his public tiff with nativist Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was motivated by a wish to win over some of the Democratic grassroots base in preparation for a run for AG or Governor in 2010.

Putting the likes of DiCiccio back in office signals that Gordon has no intention of running for statewide office.

Well, not as a Democrat anyway.

Tedski at R-Cubed has his take on events here.

Later...

And the bloodletting deepens...

In a development that is sure to warm the hearts of Russell Pearce, John Kavanagh, and the rest of their cohorts on West Washington, ASU's President, Michael Crow, has announced some devastating responses to the budget cuts imposed by the Republicans in the state lege.

From the AZ Republic -

Arizona State University President Michael Crow today said the school will cap enrollment and close applications to next year's freshman class March 1, possibly ask for more tuition from next fall's students, close about four dozen academic programs and significantly scale back operations at its Polytechnic and West campuses, all in response to state budget reductions.

And that's just for 2009. Crow said that for 2010, it's possible that both the East and West campuses could be closed entirely.

A summary of some of the cuts that the state's universities have implemented (list courtesy Solutions Through Higher Education) -

ASU

Enrollment capped, freshman applications close March 1, five months early

More than 550 staff positions and 200 faculty associate positions eliminated

Ten- to 15-day furloughs for all employees Closing of approximately four dozen academic programs Reduction of administrative operations at Polytechnic and West campuses

A reduction in the number of nursing students the university can admit

NAU

100 positions cut

Suspension of the development of new health professions programs in occupational therapy and physicians assistant, two critical area needs for the state

Closing of the Center for High Altitude Training and Social Research Laboratory Furloughs in FY09-10

Budget reductions for all departments

UA

600 position cuts (through layoffs, attrition and permanent vacancy savings)

5-day furloughs for all local and state-funded employees in FY10

Further consolidation of colleges and mergers of 50 academic and administrative units

Severe curtailment of public outreach programs, including near-closure of public access to Flandrau Science Center, Arizona State Museum, and the UA Mineral Museum

Suspension of significant portions of the UA's extension and statewide outreach programs

On Thursday, there will be a meeting of the lege's Joint Appropriations Committee concerning the FY10 budget and the universities. that will feature testimony from the president's of the state's three universities. The meeting will take place at 2:30 p.m. in House Hearing Room 1.

If you can do so, plan to attend the hearing. The university presidents need a strong show of support from the AZ community in order to fend off the sort of legislative attacks that imperil the very existence of higher ed in Arizona.

Later...

That's one way to lessen the impact of education cuts on students...

...fewer students, that is...

I know that state Rep. Sam Crump (R-LD6) is currently the darling of the conservatives in the AZ blogosphere. They consider him to be a better Republican than most of his namby-pamby colleagues that are solely focused on destroying public education in Arizona, but one of them is going to have to write and tell me where in the national GOP platform their party supports the idea of allowing families to burn to a gruesome and painful death in their new homes to enhance developer profits.

Even the GOP isn't so crassly corrupt as to go that far...in writing, anyway.

So what's Crump's problem?


From the Arizona Republic -

House bill would prohibit home-sprinkler mandates

Calling it an issue of consumer choice, Rep. Sam Crump is sponsoring a bill that would prohibit municipalities from passing ordinances to require sprinklers in new, detached single-family homes.

"There's always people every year at every level of government that have good ideas of what they want people to do," Crump said. "We want to keep it in the consumer's realm of choices."

Crump, R-Anthem, also said he wants to avoid a patchwork of different rules in different communities.

Crump's HB2267 can be found here.

Perhaps Crump's goal is to minimize the impact of cuts to school funding by removing children from the school-age population before they grow into the school-age population.

OK, that's a little over the top.

More likely, it's just a thank you to his many campaign contributors from the real estate and development sectors. When the International Code Council adopted its "sprinklers in new homes" standard in September, the home builders screamed in opposition, citing a litany of faux problems (frozen pipes, leaky pipes, increased cost to home buyers, etc.). Those excuses have been refuted here, courtesy the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Crump and the Republican supporters of the bill claim that it just provides consumers with more choices - they'll still have the option of having sprinklers installed.

From the Arizona Guardian (cached, as the site is now subscription only) -

Other GOP lawmakers said it wasn't the job of government to protect everyone by heaping expensive regulations on home buyers.

"I don't think it's the government's job to protect people from cradle to grave," said Rep. Frank Antenori, R-Tucson.

With rationalizations like that one expect to see the following on the AZGOP's hit list, and soon -


Requirements for car safety belts

Restrictions on lead paint in childrens' toys

Hazardous waste disposal regulations


The damage that the Reps are looking to wreak upon Arizona in the name of their anti-people and pro-corporate profits ideology over the next couple of years is going to take at least a generation to repair. And it will take that little time only if we start cleaning up the mess in 2010 by throwing them out during the next election.

Education Rally At The State Capitol Saturday

Courtesy the Arizona School Boards Association -

Arizona needs YOU now!
Statehood Day
RALLY
FOR EDUCATION
Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009
11 a.m.—1 p.m.
Arizona State Capitol
Governor’s Tower Parking Lot, 1700 W. Washington St., Phoenix

Ample parking is available in the Governor’s Tower lot, located at 19th Ave. between Jefferson
and Adams and in the parking garage behind the state offices just north of the Capitol.
Organized with the support of the Arizona Association of School Business Officials, Arizona School
Administrators and Arizona School Boards Association.
Bring VALENTINES for GOVERNOR BREWER and your
LEGISLATORS and put them in the giant Valentines Box!
Be sure to include positive messages
about K-12 education on them!!!
Bring your STORIES about what public education means to you!
Bring your CHILDREN and GRANDCHILDREN!
Bring your FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS and COWORKERS!
Bring SIGNS—Let’s make sure our elected officials know
supporting K-12 EDUCATION IS A TOP PRIORITY for Arizona!

I like the "Valentines" touch myself. :))

And the first one out of the gate is...Tim Willis???

Jan Brewer, Jeff Flake, and the other Republicans rumored to be interested in running for governor next year can just hang it up now - the race for the Republican nomination for governor next year is all over but for the actual, you know, voting.

During a visit to the Secretary of State's website, I came across the committee info for the only currently organized committee for a gubernortorial run in 2010.

Meet Samuel Timothy Willis, running as Tim Willis.

Having never heard of him, I performed some intensive research* into his background.

* = Googled him. :)


Details from his campaign website -

He lives in Wickenburg and is the pastor of a church in Congress, Arizona. (Interesting note - Congress, AZ is also the home of recently convicted and defeated Republican U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, formerly of Alaska.)

His wife, Barbara, is the President of Crisis Pregnancy Centers, based in AZ. (CPC is an anti-choice organization fronting as a medical clinic. Donna at Democratic Diva has a post on the organization here. NARAL has info here.)

He thinks that the state budget is spent "frivolously" and that state government is "bloated" and that state employees should miss a few paychecks. In addition, he thinks that the governor (Jan Brewer), state treasurer (Dean Martin) and the head of the Department of Administration (William Bell) are "out of control spendthrifts." HUH?!?

He believes that the state's budget should be balanced by cutting programs that are "important to liberals."

He thinks that state government agency heads have cut services to taxpayers in order to continue supporting undocumented immigrants. This is better than anything I could make up if I was creating a candidate in a satire.

He's a big fan of tinkle-down economics (the farther down you are in the economic food chain, the more tinkle lands on you), as he thinks that wealthy people getting dressed up for a party and hiring servants for that party is a good way to stimulate the economy.

He worked for a distributing company before becoming a pastor in the 1980s. Since then, all of his listed experience is related to that line of work.


To sum up:

He has no political experience, nor does he have experience in overseeing a large organization (his website claims that the congregation of his church numbers fewer than 100 members).

He's a hardcore social winger who blames "liberals" for all that ails AZ. He makes Len Munsil look like a bleeding heart.

He has absolultely no clue about how fiscally lean AZ government was even *before* the current budget crisis.

In short, he's the wet dream of the "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" branch of the Republican Party, and he *will* win the support of the Randy Pullen-led AZGOP.


...OK, OK - even a dyed-in-the-wool liberal like me doesn't actually believe Willis will get the Rep nomination next year.

However, having fringe Rep candidates already crawling out of the woodwork can only help the Democrats regain the 9th floor of the Capitol, and help AZ get back on the path to fiscal and political sanity.

It's even likely that this blog post will be the high point in his campaign's public profile.

Of course, if his candidacy *does* gain a foothold, every Dem in the state who's ever aspired to the governor's office will be lining up to run against him.


Yup, it's going to be a fun year and two-thirds. :))

Later!

Russell Pearce - an honest man? Who'da thunk it?

For all of the criticisms leveled at State Senator Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance), nobody can claim that Pearce is sneaky or even subtle.

Unless someone thinks that the ideological equivalent of a lynch mob is 'subtle.'

Earlier this week, The Arizona Guardian ran a budget-related story in which Pearce gave the quote of the year (and it's only February!) -

"If you want to get rid of something, you tax it. If you want to increase something, then deregulate and untax it," he said. The budget cuts made last week will not cause any "real layoffs," he said.

In that quote, he was discussing the job-creating merits of his laissez-faire approach to business regulations and taxes (aka - "none"), but he could have just as easily been discussing his approach to dealing with public education in Arizona.

Some of the bills he has sponsored or co-sponsored through the years...

SB1331 (47th/2nd) - Would have mandated that public school districts create alternative coursework for students who deem regular coursework "offensive."

..."If you want to increase something, then deregulate and untax it..."

HB2487 (47th/2nd) - Would have created a special commission to study private postsecondary education capacity in Arizona, and the expansion of that capacity.

..."If you want to increase something, then deregulate and untax it..."

HB2253 (47th/2nd) - There's a tax credit allowed for taxpayer contributions to public schools. This bill allowed donations to be used for fine arts instruction, but included a provision that the monies donated could not be used to pay the teachers, staff, or administrators needed to actually run such classes.

..."If you want to increase something, then deregulate and untax it..."

SB1108 (Amendment) (48th/2nd) - Would have banned diversity education in AZ's public schools, K-12 and higher ed. Only pro-American and pro-Western civilization teachings allowed. AZRepublic news story here.

..."If you want to increase something, then deregulate and untax it..."

SB1214 (48th/2nd) - Concealed weapons in schools. Allowing them. Ugh.

..."If you want to increase something, then deregulate and untax it..."

SCR1008 (49th/1st) - Would mandate that public school districts spend 65% of their budgets on classroom expenditures. No flexibility at all.

..."If you want to increase something, then deregulate and untax it..."

HB2248 (47th/2nd) - Would have barred schools from requiring that teachers know a language other than English, unless their job was to specifically teach a foreign language. School systems like that in Nogales that have a student population that is over 98% Hispanic - stuck with English-only teachers to communicate with students and their families.

..."If you want to increase something, then deregulate and untax it..."

HB2583 (47th/2nd) - An unfunded mandate to compel public schools to place an American flag and a copy of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights in every classroom. Specifically exempted private, parochial, and home schools. (My personal favorite. :)) )

..."If you want to increase something, then deregulate and untax it..."

...And that's a less than comprehensive list that only goes back a few years, and doesn't include his many "anti-brown skinned students" measures, which are more about his nativist tendencies than about causing havoc in AZ's schools (though he isn't complaining about the 'havoc' aspects of his proposals.)


So if Pearce thinks that the best way to "increase" something (and education certainly is 'something,' isn't it?) is to "deregulate" it, and he is so supportive of education (or so he claims), why does he keep trying to add regulations, rules, and costs for public education?

Don't bother answering, because that's a rhetorical question. Between the history of his attempts to interfere with or undermine public education illustrated above, his hatchet job on public ed this year while funnelling anti-immigrant funding to fellow nativist Joe Arpaio, or his annual attempts to significantly defund public ed with a permanent repeal of the state's equalization property tax, his intent has always been clear -


End public education in Arizona.


Give him a few more years of a Republican majority in the state legislature and a Rep in the governor's office, and higher ed in AZ will consist of the University of Phoenix (a privately-owned business degree mill) and the fly-by-night "schools" of cosmetology and massage therapy that fill Arizona's strip malls.

Enough already. If the voters in Mesa wanted to elected Pearce to the Mesa City Council, that would be fine. It's their city and they can keep running it into the ground if they want. However, they keep foisting off Pearce and his destructive ideology on the rest of the state.

That should be a call to arms for the rest of the state. Perhaps we can't defeat Pearce in his own district (though that would be nice...VERY nice), but we can take control of the lege and the governor's office and effectively marginalize Pearce and his ilk.

And to ensure Arizona's future, we must do so, and do so in 2010 when all of the legislative offices, as well as most of the statewide offices, are on the ballot.

Contact the Arizona Democratic Party, the Maricopa County Democratic Party, the LD18 Democrats, or your local Democratic organization (lists here and here) and volunteer your time or financial support.


David Safier at Blog of Arizona has continuing coverage of the attacks by AZ's Republicans on education, and Randall Amster at The Huffington Post has a great summary of the situation here in AZ here.

Later....

Eckerstrom out as chair of the AZ Democratic Party

In an email sent this evening to AZ Dem state committee members, Paul Eckerstrom announced that he is stepping down as chair, two weeks after his election.

He cited family and work obligations in Tucson and the difficulty of performing his duties in Phoenix. Harriet Young, 1st Vice Chair, will serve as the interim chair until a new Chair is elected at the next meeting of the state committee.

More details as they become available (best bet for inside info: Tedski at R-Cubed).

Interesting timing there...

There's already a widely-supported move in the state lege to ban photo radar-based traffic tickets on Arizona's highways (HB2106). Given that the measure has support from legislators from across the political spectrum (progressive Democrat Ed Ableser and conservative hero-du-jour Republican Sam Crump are two of the primary sponsors of the bill), it stands a good chance of passing.

So how what are the Justice Courts in Coconino County going to do?

Spit on the basic principle of American jurisprudence - Innocent Until Proven Guilty.

From the AZ Daily Sun -

Drivers busted by photo-enforcement cameras posted along state highways in Coconino County will soon be charged an extra $20 when challenging or ignoring the speeding tickets they receive. The Coconino County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in January to allow the Coconino County Justice Courts to charge $20 extra for photo speeding tickets, to cover the costs of processing them.

The Arizona Legislature enacted laws last year establishing a statewide photo enforcement system that sends ticket revenues to the state, including to an election fund, but lawmakers allocated no money to county court administrators do the related administrative work to process the citations, said Joy Dillehay, deputy court administrator for Coconino County Justice Courts.

Leaving aside the tactical considerations/stupidity for the moment (why do something this certain to tick off the constituents of the legislators considering the repeal), what about the *Constitutional* considerations???

It strikes me, and judging from the comments on the linked article, it strikes many other people too, that this policy amounts to nothing more than the courts saying "it doesn't matter to us if you are innocent or guilty or if the ticket is justified or not, once the citation is issued, you *will* be punished. And if you exercise your rights to contest the charges against you, you will be punished more."

I am not entirely unsympathetic to the plight of the county justice courts - they were screwed over by the lege in its quest to rake in revenue. It was wrong to increase the costs to county courts (increase tickets to process) while not ensuring a revenue stream to cover those costs. If the state want increased revenue, they should bear the costs of it, not foist those costs off on to the already fiscally ailing counties.

However, responding by shredding the Constitution and centuries of legal principle is worse.


Far worse.


Of course, the tactics here suck, too. The timing of this announcement couldn't have been much worse as this will only serve to inflame voters at a time when the lege is considering HB2106, increasing the likelihood that photo radar will be banned...reducing the revenue stream from those tickets to the counties...Oh wait...that revenue stream doesn't exist...hmmmm.

Let's do some math here...Increased workload without increased revenue + upset voters + emboldened legislators - banned photo radar (and with it, the increased workload)...hmmm...

On the timing issue, never mind.


It's borderline brilliant.


:))

Later!

My letter to the editor - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Since the Rep never publishes my letters anyway, here is the letter I just submitted regarding the economic stimulus package winding its way through Congress.

The letter -

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good

Many of the opponents of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are finding obscure provisions that they find objectionable to use as an excuse to object to the entire economic stimulus package.

To be sure, the package isn't perfect, and there are facets of it that I don't like. However, taken as a whole, it is a very good bill.

- It will create thousands of jobs in "green" energy production, including in the Arizona-friendly field of solar energy.

- The package's education funding will stave off the layoffs of hundreds of thousands of teachers (at least in schools not controlled by the Arizona Legislature).

- It creates jobs in building, improving, and maintaining our transportation, energy, and water delivery infrastructure.

Congress shouldn't let the naysayers nitpick them into doing nothing while searching for the perfect course of action, because doing nothing to address America's cratering economy is surely the worst course of action.

Better to implement an imperfect first step than to be intimidated into immobility.

[cpmaz]

While I truly do think that the package is far from a perfect solution, it is better than no solution at all.

Later!

Guest writer - Letter to the editor

Jerry Gettinger, a PC in LD8 and a friend, submitted this letter to the editor to the AZ Republic and has graciously allowed me to publish it here.

His letter, concerning the shortsighted approach to the state's budget crisis taken by the legislature -

It might be different if our educational system was highly prized as an example of what educating our young should be, but sadly, the money spent per student and the result is such that the drastic cuts in funding that our esteemed lawmakers have foisted upon us just pours salt in the open wound that has come to be known as funding.

Shame on you.

You are not representative of our citizens, but only of a few who are self-serving. After over 20 years of Republican majority in the statehouse we have a school system that is last in the U.S., an infrastructure that is woefully lacking and a social safety net that ignores the needs of our young and less fortunate.

Shame.

When the young graduates of our underfunded colleges find that they are at a disadvantage in the job market because of their lack of quality education, it will be too late to fix.

Parents take notice! Your children had money taken from their education while sheriff Joe got his back!

That says it all when talking about priorities.

Jerry Gettinger
Scottsdale

He's a lot more succinct than I am...politer, too. :)

More later...