Mostly good news for the students and schools in the EV, though the Fountain Hills results are a bit disappointing.
Results courtesy the Maricopa County Recorder's Office, and current as of 9:58 p.m. -
Mesa USD #4, 100% of precincts reporting
23804 favoring
17444 opposing
Fountain Hills USD #98
2179 favoring
2223 opposing
Paradise Valley USD #69
19238 favoring
12362 opposing
Scottsdale USD #48
18473 favoring
13885 opposing
Tempe ESD #3
5359 favoring
2495 opposing
The results will fluctuate as provisional ballots, the last mail in ballots, and the like are counted, but other than possibly in Fountain Hills, the results don't appear to be close enough to flip once the final vote tally is determined.
Note: The Arizona Republic has a story saying that developer Sal DiCiccio is "heading to victory" over challenger Dana Marie Kennedy for the District 6 seat on the Phoenix City Council, but it doesn't give numbers. Those are available here.
DiCiccio - 14855
Kennedy - 11737
Later...
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Bipartisan STO task force requests public comment
From a press release (note: there are two links in the original press release that don't work so I found relevent articles and linked to them; otherwise, the text is unchanged.) -
Task force on private school tax credit program asks for public commentLater...
AG’s office to present findings from STO investigation at task force meeting
STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – The Bipartisan Task Force on the Private School Tuition Tax Credits program is inviting members of the public to testify at its next meeting on Nov. 12.
A representative from the state Attorney General’s Office also will give a presentation on its investigation into the issue.
Meeting of the Bipartisan Task Force on the Private School Tuition Tax Credits program
When: Thursday, Nov. 12, 1 to 3 p.m.
Where: State Capitol, House Hearing Room 2
Request to speak: The public will be able to sign up to speak at the hearing.
“Public input is vital to ensure this program is effective for Arizona’s school children and that it’s not violating state and federal laws in the future,” said Rep. David Schapira, D-Tempe (District 17), the task force’s chair. “Too many questions and concerns have been raised about this program and its reported violations of various laws. We need to take a clear look at it to build education for a stronger Arizona .”
House Democrats announced the creation of the task force in August specifically to address the state’s Private School Tuition Tax Credits program problems and work on bipartisan legislation to reform it.
Both the East Valley Tribune’s investigative series and the Arizona Republic ’s investigation detailed the potentially huge problems and reported illegal activities that come from this tax credit program.
The program allows taxpayers to donate money to school tuition organizations. These STOs then give scholarships to children for private school tuition. In return, the state matches the donations with a tax credit in exchange for their contribution.
The program was signed into law in 1997 by former Gov. Fife Symington and was supposed to make private education more accessible to families who can't afford it. But so far, that hasn't happened.
For instance, according to the Tribune, some STOs reportedly are violating federal tax laws that govern charitable organizations by operating with donations earmarked for particular individuals. They also reportedly are violating state law by not committing a sufficient portion of the donations to students while buying luxury items.
Both newspapers' investigative reports can be accessed online at the http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/page/taxcredits and http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/10/29/20091029stocorporate1029.html.
“The task force will be essential to address this problem and correct it,” said Rep. Tom Chabin, D-Flagstaff (District 2), task force vice chair.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Jeff Flake - does Congress' health insurance cover dislocated shoulders?
He should check into that, because he has been patting himself on the back awfully energetically recently.
Specifically, he has been outdoing himself in the "clever" department. Witness his press release on his "no" vote on H. Res. 784, a resolution honoring the 2560th anniversary of the birth of Chinese philospher Confucius.
From Flake's press release -
For the purposes of this post, I'll only cover activities in Congress from 2003 thru 2005 (when the Republicans still had a majority in the House) and I'll define "trivial" having nothing to the regular business of governing or with the "big issues" of the day (9/11 aftermath, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Hurricane Katrina debacle, the massive budget deficit, etc.).
Let's see -
In 2003 -
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 46, honoring the life and legacy of cartoonist Al Hirschfeld;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 111, honoring the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, the star of PBS' "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood";
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 195, honoring Sammy Sosa on the occasion of Sosa hitting his 500th home run;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 357, honoring the life and legacy of entertainer Bob Hope;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 359, welcoming the Dalai Lama to the United States on the occasion of his visit in 2003;
In 2oo4,
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H.Res. 427, honoring the new leadership of the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam and calling for religious tolerance on the part of the government of Vietnam;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 578, supporting the goals of Financial Literacy Month. This one doesn't really fall into my definition of trivial (for the purposes of this post), but since it begins "Whereas the financial services industry in the United States benefits millions of people in the United States..." it merits inclusion here in light of the financial services industry's meltdown a few short years later due to the fact that it isn't run for the benefit of "millions of people," instead being operated for the benefit of a few people at the very top of the financial services corporations.
Credit where credit is due department: Flake voted against this one in 2005, when it was H. Res. 148.
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 660, commemorating Randy Johnson's perfect game on May 18, 2004. Flake was a cosponsor of this piece of vital legislation;
In 2005,
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res 479, recognizing the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 500, memorializing a Bermuda Triangle disappearance from 1945;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 579, supporting the protection of the Christmas holiday and its symbols;
And when he wasn't voting for trivial legislation, he was sponsoring or cosponsoring some of it.
- In 2004, Flake sponsored H. Con. Res. 410, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the constitution of the Marshall Islands;
- In 2003, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 125, honoring the long history of Freemasons in the United States;
- In 2005, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 551, honoring the 50th anniversary of the conservative magazine National Review;
- In 2006, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 1089, honoring the life of economist Milton Friedman.
And it's not as if being in the minority has focused Flake's attention on matters of true import this year - he signed on as a cosponsor of H. Res. 388, honoring mothers and supporting Mothers Day and he voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 60 to honor U of Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford on winning the 2008 Heisman Trophy.
Now, I don't have any problem with most of the above bills and resolutions (excepting the financial service industry smooch-jobs, and Flake ended up voting against those after 2003), and even I think that the measure regarding the 2560th birthday of Confucius is more than a little unnecessary.
However, that bill, the one he so snarkily voted against, is no more wasteful of Congress' time than the bills that he voted for and/or sponsored earlier in the decade.
Flake should forego the hypocritical self congratulations and focus on leading by example - if he wants to criticize his colleagues for expending time and effort on meaningless matters, that's his prerogative.
He should just live and work to the standards that he is holding others to.
Specifically, he has been outdoing himself in the "clever" department. Witness his press release on his "no" vote on H. Res. 784, a resolution honoring the 2560th anniversary of the birth of Chinese philospher Confucius.
From Flake's press release -
“He who spends time passing trivial legislation may find himself out of time to read healthcare bill,” said Flake.His vote, and his quote, inspired me to see how consistent Congressman Flake has been in regard to his votes on "trivial" legislation.
For the purposes of this post, I'll only cover activities in Congress from 2003 thru 2005 (when the Republicans still had a majority in the House) and I'll define "trivial" having nothing to the regular business of governing or with the "big issues" of the day (9/11 aftermath, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Hurricane Katrina debacle, the massive budget deficit, etc.).
Let's see -
In 2003 -
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 46, honoring the life and legacy of cartoonist Al Hirschfeld;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 111, honoring the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, the star of PBS' "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood";
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 195, honoring Sammy Sosa on the occasion of Sosa hitting his 500th home run;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 357, honoring the life and legacy of entertainer Bob Hope;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 359, welcoming the Dalai Lama to the United States on the occasion of his visit in 2003;
In 2oo4,
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H.Res. 427, honoring the new leadership of the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam and calling for religious tolerance on the part of the government of Vietnam;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 578, supporting the goals of Financial Literacy Month. This one doesn't really fall into my definition of trivial (for the purposes of this post), but since it begins "Whereas the financial services industry in the United States benefits millions of people in the United States..." it merits inclusion here in light of the financial services industry's meltdown a few short years later due to the fact that it isn't run for the benefit of "millions of people," instead being operated for the benefit of a few people at the very top of the financial services corporations.
Credit where credit is due department: Flake voted against this one in 2005, when it was H. Res. 148.
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 660, commemorating Randy Johnson's perfect game on May 18, 2004. Flake was a cosponsor of this piece of vital legislation;
In 2005,
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res 479, recognizing the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 500, memorializing a Bermuda Triangle disappearance from 1945;
- Flake voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 579, supporting the protection of the Christmas holiday and its symbols;
And when he wasn't voting for trivial legislation, he was sponsoring or cosponsoring some of it.
- In 2004, Flake sponsored H. Con. Res. 410, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the constitution of the Marshall Islands;
- In 2003, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 125, honoring the long history of Freemasons in the United States;
- In 2005, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 551, honoring the 50th anniversary of the conservative magazine National Review;
- In 2006, Flake cosponsored H. Res. 1089, honoring the life of economist Milton Friedman.
And it's not as if being in the minority has focused Flake's attention on matters of true import this year - he signed on as a cosponsor of H. Res. 388, honoring mothers and supporting Mothers Day and he voted "aye" in support of H. Res. 60 to honor U of Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford on winning the 2008 Heisman Trophy.
Now, I don't have any problem with most of the above bills and resolutions (excepting the financial service industry smooch-jobs, and Flake ended up voting against those after 2003), and even I think that the measure regarding the 2560th birthday of Confucius is more than a little unnecessary.
However, that bill, the one he so snarkily voted against, is no more wasteful of Congress' time than the bills that he voted for and/or sponsored earlier in the decade.
Flake should forego the hypocritical self congratulations and focus on leading by example - if he wants to criticize his colleagues for expending time and effort on meaningless matters, that's his prerogative.
He should just live and work to the standards that he is holding others to.
Scottsdale City Council Fires City Manager John Little
In a meeting that took less than 25 minutes, Mayor Jim Lane and his coterie of supporters on the Council - Lisa Borowsky, Tony Nelssen, and Bob Littlefield - voted to immediately terminate the contract of City Manager John Little.
They did so over the unanimous support for Little from all of the citizens who spoke at the meeting, and over the objections that the meeting was called on short notice and was scheduled at an odd time.
The consensus was that if there had been a little more notice (2 business days, with a weekend between them and the meeting held on the 2nd business day) and if it had been scheduled at the normal time for City Council meetings (5 p.m.), the Kiva would have been filled to capacity with interested residents, most or all there to support Little.
As it was, the Kiva was less than 1/4 full, but seemingly everyone in the audience was there to support Little.
Lane started the meeting with a brief bit, criticizing Little for not living up to a pledge to "abide by and implement" an ordinance change (the hiring of a City Treasurer), engaging in "obstructive and delaying tactics" (unspecified), "working hard to undermine this Council" (also unspecified) with city employees and residents, and for hiring an attorney.
I don't know if that last is illegal per se, but citing the fact that Little has hired legal counsel as a reason to terminate his contract smacks of retaliation and will serve to undermine the City's position when this gets to court, as it likely will.
Lane then moved to fire Little, and the motion was quickly seconded by Bob Littlefield. In his speech supporting his second of the motion, Littlefield cited a quote from Frank Fairbanks, the recently retired long-time City Manager in Phoenix, about sublimating his ideas and preferences to those of the Council. Littlefield then accused Little of "picking and choosing" which ordinances he would implement.
Then the public got to have their say.
James Duchene, a Scottsdale business owner and member of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission, spoke in support of Little, citing the book "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make The Leap...And Some Don't." One of the tenets of the book is that successful organizations have great leaders and that they bring the right people "on to the bus" and that "Little is one of those great leaders."
He also observed that "a lot of people are watching what happens here" and warned of an outflow of good staff members who are now wondering when the axe will fall on them.
Dick Bowers, a highly-respected former long-time Scottsdale city manager stepped up to support Little, too. He noted that Frank Fairbanks, the model City Manager cited by Littlefield, would have fallen victim to the atmosphere in the Scottsdale City Hall much like Little. He also spoke about his "rage" at what is happening to the direction of Scottsdale, and how he sees the path of the current City government as one of "unrelenting pursuit of mediocrity."
After the public comment period was completed, Tony Nelssen, the Council member who called for today's meeting, spoke of the "toxic environment" that exists in City Hall. He tried to blame the Manross/Dolan era for that, but did so while avoiding mentioning that he and 4 other members of the current Council were part of that era and that environment.
Or that four members of the current council are doing their level bests to exacerbate his "toxic environment."
Council member Wayne Ecton spoke up in support of Little, noting that part of blame for the conflict rests on the Council side with members who are absolutely unwilling to compromise.
Members Ron McCullagh and Suzanne Klapp also supported Little in their comments.
Council member Lisa Borowsky was silent on the matter, but at the previous meeting on this matter, she advocated for the immediate firing of Little, so her vote today was no surprise.
The final tally was four voting in favor of firing Little (Lane, Nelssen, Littlefield, Borowsky) and three opposed (McCullagh, Klapp, Ecton).
By 2:55, the meeting was over, and so was Little's long career with the City of Scottsdale.
Note to potential candidates for the job (hey, it pays over $180K/year, people *will* be interested):
Invest in Chapstick futures.
Whoever gets the job of working with this Council will have to do so much puckering up to keep the job, they'll be buying the stuff by the pallet load.
Welcome to Scottsdale in the 21st Century...
They did so over the unanimous support for Little from all of the citizens who spoke at the meeting, and over the objections that the meeting was called on short notice and was scheduled at an odd time.
The consensus was that if there had been a little more notice (2 business days, with a weekend between them and the meeting held on the 2nd business day) and if it had been scheduled at the normal time for City Council meetings (5 p.m.), the Kiva would have been filled to capacity with interested residents, most or all there to support Little.
As it was, the Kiva was less than 1/4 full, but seemingly everyone in the audience was there to support Little.
Lane started the meeting with a brief bit, criticizing Little for not living up to a pledge to "abide by and implement" an ordinance change (the hiring of a City Treasurer), engaging in "obstructive and delaying tactics" (unspecified), "working hard to undermine this Council" (also unspecified) with city employees and residents, and for hiring an attorney.
I don't know if that last is illegal per se, but citing the fact that Little has hired legal counsel as a reason to terminate his contract smacks of retaliation and will serve to undermine the City's position when this gets to court, as it likely will.
Lane then moved to fire Little, and the motion was quickly seconded by Bob Littlefield. In his speech supporting his second of the motion, Littlefield cited a quote from Frank Fairbanks, the recently retired long-time City Manager in Phoenix, about sublimating his ideas and preferences to those of the Council. Littlefield then accused Little of "picking and choosing" which ordinances he would implement.
Then the public got to have their say.
James Duchene, a Scottsdale business owner and member of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission, spoke in support of Little, citing the book "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make The Leap...And Some Don't." One of the tenets of the book is that successful organizations have great leaders and that they bring the right people "on to the bus" and that "Little is one of those great leaders."
He also observed that "a lot of people are watching what happens here" and warned of an outflow of good staff members who are now wondering when the axe will fall on them.
Dick Bowers, a highly-respected former long-time Scottsdale city manager stepped up to support Little, too. He noted that Frank Fairbanks, the model City Manager cited by Littlefield, would have fallen victim to the atmosphere in the Scottsdale City Hall much like Little. He also spoke about his "rage" at what is happening to the direction of Scottsdale, and how he sees the path of the current City government as one of "unrelenting pursuit of mediocrity."
After the public comment period was completed, Tony Nelssen, the Council member who called for today's meeting, spoke of the "toxic environment" that exists in City Hall. He tried to blame the Manross/Dolan era for that, but did so while avoiding mentioning that he and 4 other members of the current Council were part of that era and that environment.
Or that four members of the current council are doing their level bests to exacerbate his "toxic environment."
Council member Wayne Ecton spoke up in support of Little, noting that part of blame for the conflict rests on the Council side with members who are absolutely unwilling to compromise.
Members Ron McCullagh and Suzanne Klapp also supported Little in their comments.
Council member Lisa Borowsky was silent on the matter, but at the previous meeting on this matter, she advocated for the immediate firing of Little, so her vote today was no surprise.
The final tally was four voting in favor of firing Little (Lane, Nelssen, Littlefield, Borowsky) and three opposed (McCullagh, Klapp, Ecton).
By 2:55, the meeting was over, and so was Little's long career with the City of Scottsdale.
Note to potential candidates for the job (hey, it pays over $180K/year, people *will* be interested):
Invest in Chapstick futures.
Whoever gets the job of working with this Council will have to do so much puckering up to keep the job, they'll be buying the stuff by the pallet load.
Welcome to Scottsdale in the 21st Century...
Sunday, November 01, 2009
The coming week...
As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies (except where noted) and subject to change without notice...
This week looks to be an active one at all levels of the political food chain.
...In the U.S. House, the agenda has many of the usual memorials and such, as well as a couple of more controversial bills, but most of the country's attention will be focused on one bill that *may* be heard this week -
H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Preliminary analysis of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) here. Also, the CBO has a brief explanation of its analyses and a comparison of this bill and the health care reform measure passed by the Senate Finance Committee here.
...Over in the Senate, their work will probably be overshadowed by the hubbub in the House, but their committee schedule is here.
...Back here in Arizona, the budget is still out of balance and the lege and Governor are still fiddling around. The pace of the make-work is picking up though, so maybe they'll start thinking about doing their real job.
Of course, they may just want to be in town early to get the best seats for next weekend's Nazi rally at the Capitol (Saturday, 2:30 p.m., Senate lawn).
On to the schedule of make-work -
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Mining Regulations will meet on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR1. The committee's co-chair is Sen. Sylvia Allen, so expect something along the lines of "the Earth was created without regulations 6000 years ago, and if no regulation worked then, it'll work now."
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Energy and Water Development will meet on Monday at 9 a.m. in HHR3.
- The House Education and Senate Education Accountability and Reform Committee of Reference will meet at 9 a.m. in HHR1. The subject of the meeting will be the school district performance audits of Tempe Union High School District as well as the unified school districts of Apache Junction, Ash Fork, Lake Havasu, and St. Johns.
The Auditor's report is here; TUHSD's response is here.
This one *could* have a minor impact on next year's elections.
The school board of TUHSD is headed up by Mary Lou Taylor, a candidate for the Republican nomination for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The co-chair of the committee of reference is Rep. Rich Crandall, someone who has been rumored to be interested in that position, too. If he really is interested in the job, he could see that the heat is turned up on TUHSD.
Given that TUHSD's response to the audit report was one of agreement, I expect this one to be fairly uneventful.
- The Joint Legislative Audit Committee will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in SHR1.
- The House Commerce and Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee of Reference will meet on Wednesday at 9 a.m. in HHR5. They'll be doing sunset reviews of the office of the Auditor General (it's controlled directly by the lege leadership, so it is safe), the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (not so safe - who needs the DLLC and control, when there are now plenty of guns in bars to keep things under control? :) ), and the Sports and Tourism Authority (spends a lot of taxpayer money to help out corporate interests, so it is probably safe).
- The House Banking and Insurance and Senate Finance Committee of Reference will meet on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in HHR5. They'll be doing the sunset review of the State Board of Investment.
- The House Banking and Insurance and Senate Retirement and Rural Development Committee of Reference will meet at 1:30 p.m on Wednesday in HHR5 to consider the sunset review of the Department of Insurance.
- The House Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt Committee of Reference will meet on Thursday at 2 p.m. in HHR4 to consider the sunset reviews of ADOT's Motor Vehicle Division and the Gila County Transportation Excise Tax (report here).
...The Arizona Corporation Commission will hold a securities meeting on Thursday (agenda here). Radical Bunny LLC is part of the ACC's regular hearing schedule (Tuesday, 11 a.m.). That one should be familiar to people who follow fraud cases in AZ.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold two meetings this week. At Monday's "informal" meeting (agenda here) the highlight looks to be an item to consider and approve a settlement of legal actions between the County and former County School Superintendent Sandra Dowling.
The agenda for Wednesday's "formal" meeting includes an item to establish a photo enforcement fee for photo radar tickets adjudicated through the justice courts system. The justice courts are currently swamped under the load stemming from the increased use of photo enforcement, and need the revenue to hire pro tem judges specifically dedicated to hearing those cases.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District is holding a special meeting on Friday at 8:30 a.m. to formulate a plan for addressing the matters brought out in the recent complaint to the Higher Learning Commission.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a meeting in Tucson on Thursday. The agenda includes consideration of legislative activities and a presentation on EPA rulemaking on emissions from the Navajo Generating Station.
...The Tempe City Council is holding a meeting on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Agenda here; council calendar here.
...The Scottsdale City Council will be busy this week. In addition to the previously covered activities on Monday, they've got a regularly scheduled meeting on tap for Tuesday. The highlight of that agenda could be item 20, a reorganization of the City's Financial Services Division that would remove most of that area from the City Manager's purview (whoever that might be after Monday's special meeting on the employment status of John Little.) Also of interest is a proposal to increase the city's bed tax in order to provide more tourism development support.
The City's community meetings calendar is here.
Not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, the Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, and the Arizona Board of Regents.
This week looks to be an active one at all levels of the political food chain.
...In the U.S. House, the agenda has many of the usual memorials and such, as well as a couple of more controversial bills, but most of the country's attention will be focused on one bill that *may* be heard this week -
H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Preliminary analysis of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) here. Also, the CBO has a brief explanation of its analyses and a comparison of this bill and the health care reform measure passed by the Senate Finance Committee here.
...Over in the Senate, their work will probably be overshadowed by the hubbub in the House, but their committee schedule is here.
...Back here in Arizona, the budget is still out of balance and the lege and Governor are still fiddling around. The pace of the make-work is picking up though, so maybe they'll start thinking about doing their real job.
Of course, they may just want to be in town early to get the best seats for next weekend's Nazi rally at the Capitol (Saturday, 2:30 p.m., Senate lawn).
On to the schedule of make-work -
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Mining Regulations will meet on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR1. The committee's co-chair is Sen. Sylvia Allen, so expect something along the lines of "the Earth was created without regulations 6000 years ago, and if no regulation worked then, it'll work now."
- The Ad Hoc Committee on Energy and Water Development will meet on Monday at 9 a.m. in HHR3.
- The House Education and Senate Education Accountability and Reform Committee of Reference will meet at 9 a.m. in HHR1. The subject of the meeting will be the school district performance audits of Tempe Union High School District as well as the unified school districts of Apache Junction, Ash Fork, Lake Havasu, and St. Johns.
The Auditor's report is here; TUHSD's response is here.
This one *could* have a minor impact on next year's elections.
The school board of TUHSD is headed up by Mary Lou Taylor, a candidate for the Republican nomination for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The co-chair of the committee of reference is Rep. Rich Crandall, someone who has been rumored to be interested in that position, too. If he really is interested in the job, he could see that the heat is turned up on TUHSD.
Given that TUHSD's response to the audit report was one of agreement, I expect this one to be fairly uneventful.
- The Joint Legislative Audit Committee will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in SHR1.
- The House Commerce and Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee of Reference will meet on Wednesday at 9 a.m. in HHR5. They'll be doing sunset reviews of the office of the Auditor General (it's controlled directly by the lege leadership, so it is safe), the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (not so safe - who needs the DLLC and control, when there are now plenty of guns in bars to keep things under control? :) ), and the Sports and Tourism Authority (spends a lot of taxpayer money to help out corporate interests, so it is probably safe).
- The House Banking and Insurance and Senate Finance Committee of Reference will meet on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in HHR5. They'll be doing the sunset review of the State Board of Investment.
- The House Banking and Insurance and Senate Retirement and Rural Development Committee of Reference will meet at 1:30 p.m on Wednesday in HHR5 to consider the sunset review of the Department of Insurance.
- The House Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt Committee of Reference will meet on Thursday at 2 p.m. in HHR4 to consider the sunset reviews of ADOT's Motor Vehicle Division and the Gila County Transportation Excise Tax (report here).
...The Arizona Corporation Commission will hold a securities meeting on Thursday (agenda here). Radical Bunny LLC is part of the ACC's regular hearing schedule (Tuesday, 11 a.m.). That one should be familiar to people who follow fraud cases in AZ.
...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold two meetings this week. At Monday's "informal" meeting (agenda here) the highlight looks to be an item to consider and approve a settlement of legal actions between the County and former County School Superintendent Sandra Dowling.
The agenda for Wednesday's "formal" meeting includes an item to establish a photo enforcement fee for photo radar tickets adjudicated through the justice courts system. The justice courts are currently swamped under the load stemming from the increased use of photo enforcement, and need the revenue to hire pro tem judges specifically dedicated to hearing those cases.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District is holding a special meeting on Friday at 8:30 a.m. to formulate a plan for addressing the matters brought out in the recent complaint to the Higher Learning Commission.
...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will hold a meeting in Tucson on Thursday. The agenda includes consideration of legislative activities and a presentation on EPA rulemaking on emissions from the Navajo Generating Station.
...The Tempe City Council is holding a meeting on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Agenda here; council calendar here.
...The Scottsdale City Council will be busy this week. In addition to the previously covered activities on Monday, they've got a regularly scheduled meeting on tap for Tuesday. The highlight of that agenda could be item 20, a reorganization of the City's Financial Services Division that would remove most of that area from the City Manager's purview (whoever that might be after Monday's special meeting on the employment status of John Little.) Also of interest is a proposal to increase the city's bed tax in order to provide more tourism development support.
The City's community meetings calendar is here.
Not scheduled to meet this week: Citizens Clean Elections Commission, the Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, and the Arizona Board of Regents.
Utterly unprofessional...but supremely funny
This came out a couple of days ago, but it's still worth notice today.
From AZCentral.com's Political Insider (relevent sections highlighted by me) -
From California comes news of a veto letter issued Oct. 12 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that may have been written with a secret message for its recipient: state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco.
{snip}
To the Members of the California State Assembly:
I am returning Assembly Bill 1176 without my signature.
For some time now I have lamented the fact that major issues are overlooked while many
unnecessary bills come to me for consideration. Water reform, prison reform, and health
care are major issues my Administration has brought to the table, but the Legislature just
kicks the can down the alley.
Yet another legislative year has come and gone without the major reforms Californians
overwhelmingly deserve. In light of this, and after careful consideration, I believe it is
unnecessary to sign this measure at this time.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
The bill that was the putative subject of the letter was one sponsored by Ammiano to benefit a shipyard in San Francisco, and the bill passed through both chambers of the California lege unanimously.
Schwarzenegger has denied that there was any secret message and that the alignment of the letters at the beginning of each line was just a coincidence.
However, apparently a few weeks ago Ammiano appeared on stage after Schwarzenegger at a Democratic event, and suggested that the governator "kiss [his] gay ass" for his failure to support same-sex marriage (and other issues).
Apparently, Schwarzenegger has declined Ammiano's invitation. :)
When reached for comment, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said "That letter was utterly unprofessional, and I wish I had staffers who were clever enough to achieve that 'coincidence' in some of my letters to the Legislature. This polite and tactful stuff just isn't working out for me."*
* = This is satire. It's just a joke. Brewer never said that to me. I would never seriously accuse her of having a sense of humor or wanting to have staffers who have a sense of humor.
:)
From AZCentral.com's Political Insider (relevent sections highlighted by me) -
From California comes news of a veto letter issued Oct. 12 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that may have been written with a secret message for its recipient: state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco.
{snip}
To the Members of the California State Assembly:
I am returning Assembly Bill 1176 without my signature.
For some time now I have lamented the fact that major issues are overlooked while many
unnecessary bills come to me for consideration. Water reform, prison reform, and health
care are major issues my Administration has brought to the table, but the Legislature just
kicks the can down the alley.
Yet another legislative year has come and gone without the major reforms Californians
overwhelmingly deserve. In light of this, and after careful consideration, I believe it is
unnecessary to sign this measure at this time.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
The bill that was the putative subject of the letter was one sponsored by Ammiano to benefit a shipyard in San Francisco, and the bill passed through both chambers of the California lege unanimously.
Schwarzenegger has denied that there was any secret message and that the alignment of the letters at the beginning of each line was just a coincidence.
However, apparently a few weeks ago Ammiano appeared on stage after Schwarzenegger at a Democratic event, and suggested that the governator "kiss [his] gay ass" for his failure to support same-sex marriage (and other issues).
Apparently, Schwarzenegger has declined Ammiano's invitation. :)
When reached for comment, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said "That letter was utterly unprofessional, and I wish I had staffers who were clever enough to achieve that 'coincidence' in some of my letters to the Legislature. This polite and tactful stuff just isn't working out for me."*
* = This is satire. It's just a joke. Brewer never said that to me. I would never seriously accuse her of having a sense of humor or wanting to have staffers who have a sense of humor.
:)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday: A Busy Day In The Kiva
Monday is shaping up to be a day loaded with actions key to the future of Scottsdale, and most of those actions will take place right in the middle of City Hall.
They'll need just one thing to make City Hall the most entertaining spot in Scottsdale - a popcorn concessionaire.
...At noon, the Audit Committee of the Scottsdale City Council (chaired by Lisa Borowsky, with members Bob Littlefield and Suzanne Klapp) will meet in executive session in the Kiva Conference Room to interview candidates for the position of City Attorney.
Hint to hopefuls: Stress that you have good public presentations skills; Deborah Robberson may or may not have been a good attorney (I truly don't know), but can definitively state that her public presentation skills sucked.
...At 2:30 p.m., the full Council will meet in order to (probably) fire City Manager John Little. The special meeting was called by Council member Tony Nelssen, who was the fourth, and swing, vote late last month when the Council voted to delay purging Little for up to 90 days.
AZ Republic coverage here.
...And at 5 p.m., the Charter Review Task Force will meet in the Kiva to lend its imprimatur to the proposals from the Goldwater Institute andAmerican Water the ORANGE Coalition to gut the City's ability to utilize eminent domain in general and for the acquisition of private utilities in particular.
AZ Republic editorial here.
Let's see - hiring a City Attorney, firing a City Manager, and hamstringing the City's ability to address its needs - a generation from now, a future Council (and associated Council-watchers) will look back on November 2, 2009 as one of the most significant days in Scottsdale's history.
They'll need just one thing to make City Hall the most entertaining spot in Scottsdale - a popcorn concessionaire.
...At noon, the Audit Committee of the Scottsdale City Council (chaired by Lisa Borowsky, with members Bob Littlefield and Suzanne Klapp) will meet in executive session in the Kiva Conference Room to interview candidates for the position of City Attorney.
Hint to hopefuls: Stress that you have good public presentations skills; Deborah Robberson may or may not have been a good attorney (I truly don't know), but can definitively state that her public presentation skills sucked.
...At 2:30 p.m., the full Council will meet in order to (probably) fire City Manager John Little. The special meeting was called by Council member Tony Nelssen, who was the fourth, and swing, vote late last month when the Council voted to delay purging Little for up to 90 days.
AZ Republic coverage here.
...And at 5 p.m., the Charter Review Task Force will meet in the Kiva to lend its imprimatur to the proposals from the Goldwater Institute and
AZ Republic editorial here.
Let's see - hiring a City Attorney, firing a City Manager, and hamstringing the City's ability to address its needs - a generation from now, a future Council (and associated Council-watchers) will look back on November 2, 2009 as one of the most significant days in Scottsdale's history.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award
Haven't given out one of these in a while (it seems that campaign season is a target-rich environment for those who like to point out hypocrisy and flip-floppery on the part of politicians), but Andrew Thomas has graciously offered himself up for this incredibly prestigious award during the lull between the 2008 and 2010 campaign seasons.
:)
From AZCentral.com -
He is also the same County Attorney who was oh-so-supportive when his mentor/puppeteer dropped a massive public records request (aka - a shameless fishing expedition because Arpaio didn't have enough probable cause to get a warrant for the records) on the the County Board of Supervisors, seeking all of the phone, email, and calendar records of the supes and a number of County employees, including the above-mentioned County Manager, David Smith.
For his "do as I say, not as I do" hypocrisy in the form of a forward 2 1/2 somersaults with a twist dive, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is the latest recipient of
The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award.
:)
From AZCentral.com -
Maricopa County Manager David Smith is requesting that high-ranking employees in the County Attorney's Office tell him whether they have leaked confidential information about county business.Lest you have forgotten (or are reading this from a place that is not Arizona), Andy Thomas is the same County Attorney who mounted a grand jury investigation into the Phoenix New Times, subpoenaing pretty near all of the New Times' reporters' professional notes and records and online readership identifying information in the pursuit of finding out who has talked, written, or read about the foibles of Thomas' political mentor, Joe Arpaio. [More info on the case here]
{snip}
The letter went to County Attorney Andrew Thomas, six of his top attorneys and his public-information officer. Smith wants to know whether they posted information on blog sites under pseudonyms or released information to conservative Web sites or media outlets such as The Arizona Republic.
"I have never in 42 years of (legal) practice seen such an outrageous demand," said Barnett Lotstein, a special assistant to Thomas and one of the employees to receive a letter.
He is also the same County Attorney who was oh-so-supportive when his mentor/puppeteer dropped a massive public records request (aka - a shameless fishing expedition because Arpaio didn't have enough probable cause to get a warrant for the records) on the the County Board of Supervisors, seeking all of the phone, email, and calendar records of the supes and a number of County employees, including the above-mentioned County Manager, David Smith.
For his "do as I say, not as I do" hypocrisy in the form of a forward 2 1/2 somersaults with a twist dive, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is the latest recipient of
The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Littlefield makes it official - he's running for reelection to the Scottsdale City Council
Putting to rest rumors that he was going to run for a different office (LD8 legislature, AZ Corporation Commission), incumbent Scottsdale City Council member Bob Littlefield announced that he will be running for another term (AZ Republic columnist Laurie Roberts has details here; his campaign website is here, with a message concerning his candidacy.)
According to the paperwork that Littlefield filed with the Scottsdale City Clerk's office (the City's elections webpage is here), one Roberta Pilcher will serve as his campaign's chair and his wife, Kathleen Littlefield, will serve as treasurer.
I'm not sure what factors pushed Littlefield off the fence and back into the Scottsdale political patch, but the facts that there are five active committees for the Rep nomination for the lege in LD8 (and none of the incumbents has filed as yet) and that Littlefield has zero name recognition outside of Scottsdale (a significant consideration for a potential candidate for a statewide office) probably helped clarify Littlefield's thinking on the subject.
Later...
According to the paperwork that Littlefield filed with the Scottsdale City Clerk's office (the City's elections webpage is here), one Roberta Pilcher will serve as his campaign's chair and his wife, Kathleen Littlefield, will serve as treasurer.
I'm not sure what factors pushed Littlefield off the fence and back into the Scottsdale political patch, but the facts that there are five active committees for the Rep nomination for the lege in LD8 (and none of the incumbents has filed as yet) and that Littlefield has zero name recognition outside of Scottsdale (a significant consideration for a potential candidate for a statewide office) probably helped clarify Littlefield's thinking on the subject.
Later...
Press release time - Legislative Town Hall in LD17
From a press release and related flier from the House Democrats -
Later...
Come Share Your Thoughts at the Legislative District 17 Town-Hall Meeting with
State Sen. Meg Burton-Cahill, Rep. David Schapira & Rep. Ed Ableser
“Your input is very important to us and it will help us serve you and our community better.”
State Legislators will discuss issues that are important to constituents, answer questions and learn about their priorities. Constituents are encouraged to attend and share their thoughts.
Legislative District 17 Town Hall Meeting
Pyle Adult Recreation Center
Thursday, Nov 12, 2009
6:30pm to 8:00pm p.m.
655 E. Southern Ave.
Tempe, AZ 85282
Questions? Please contact Community and Constituent Liaison, Cynthia Aragon at 602-926-5848 or at caragon@azleg.gov.
Later...
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Offices up for election next year...
This post will mostly cover races that will be on East Valley ballots in 2010.
One of my primary sources of info on this topic is this list of offices to be elected, courtesy the Maricopa County Recorder's Office.
On to the races, and a brief summary of current activity in most of the contests -
U.S. Senate - Incumbent Republican John McCain may be facing a serious primary challenge from radio gabber JD Hayworth, though McCain should be able to fight that one off. It looks as if Democrat Rodney Glassman, a Tucson City Council member, will face McCain in the general election.
Governor - Unelected incumbent Jan Brewer is expected to run for a full term, with possible challengers Vernon Parker (Mayor of Paradise Valley), John Munger (former AZGOP chair) and Dean Martin (Arizona State Treasurer) lurking as potential primary opponents. Democrat Terry Goddard, currently the Attorney General of Arizona, is the presumed Demcratic nominee. In recent polling, Goddard is favored over any of the likely Republican nominees.
Secretary of State - Unelected incumbent Ken Bennett is expected to run for election to a full term, though there has been some talk of him joining the race for governor, especially if Brewer decides to forego a run next year. The only announced Democratic candidate is Sam Wercinski, formerly Arizona's Real Estate Commissioner.
Attorney General - Democrats David Lujan, a State Representative and the House Democratic Leader, Felecia Rotellini, former Superintendent of the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, and (rumored) Vince Rabago, an assistant AG, are looking hard at running for the office. On the Republican side, Tom Horne, current State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Andrew Thomas, current Maricopa County Attorney, are "exploring" runs.
Treasurer - Incumbent Dean Martin has a lock on the Republican nomination for the job, unless he takes a shot at the ninth floor (FYI - the Governor's office is on the ninth floor of the state's executive office tower). Thayer Verschoor, a Republican State Senator, has opened an exploratory committee to set up a run in the event that Martin moves on. Andrei Cherny, a former assistant Attorney General (in AZ) and staffer in the Clinton White House, is the only announced Democratic candidate.
Superintendent of Public Instruction - This one has turned into something of a cattle call. Democrats Jason Williams, the 2006 Democratic nominee for the spot, and Penny Kotterman, a teacher and former President of the Arizona Education Association, have announced their candidacies for the job. On the Republican side, John Huppenthal, a State Senator, Margaret Dugan, current Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, Mary Lou Taylor, currently on the Tempe Union High School board, Gary Nine, superintendent of the Florence Unified School District, and Beth Price of Casa Grande, have all formed committees of one sort or another for a run at the office.
State Mine Inspector - Who cares?
Arizona Corporation Commission - Incumbent Republicans Kris Mayes and Gary Pierce are termed out next year, meaning there will be races for two "open" spots. Republicans Brenda Burns, formerly President of the State Senate, and Barry Wong, former legislator and 2008 candidate for ACC, have formed committees here. On the Democratic side, the only person to officially express interest is Jorge Luis Garcia, currently a State Senator and Senate Democratic Leader, who has formed an "exploratory" committee.
More localized races -
Representative to the U.S. Congress -
In CD5, two-term Democratic incumbent Harry Mitchell has three Republican challengers, thus far. David Schweikert, the 2008 Republican nominee for the seat, Jim Ward, a Scottsdale investor and former executive with George Lucas' video game enterprise, and Eric Wnuck, another Scottsdale businessman, have all formed committees for a run at Mitchell, the much loved and highly-respected Tempe icon (career teacher, longtime mayor, and four term state senator).
In CD6, Republican incumbent Jeff Flake is so scared of losing his job that he spent a week this summer taking off his shirt on a deserted island. As of this writing, he has no known challengers for either the primary or the general election, though that may change in the coming months.
BTW - the "scared" part of that earlier sentence is sarcasm. I think his recent PR push is less about the CD6 seat than about a Senate run next year or in 2012, when Jon Kyl's seat is up.
The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project, aka the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) has 5 seats up for election. Current members Susan Bitter Smith, Timothy Bray, Daniel Donahoe, Paul Hendricks, and Mark Lewis see their terms expire next year. I have no idea who is termed out or who is running for another term from among them. The only challenger that I have heard of thus far is Arif Kazmi, a career civil engineer.
Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, District 2 is up next year. The incumbent is Jerry Walker, an embarassment to the Board, his district, and the County. Not that I have an opinion on the subject of Mr. Walker. :)
Justice of the Peace and Constable spots in the Kyrene, University Lakes, West Mesa, East Mesa, and San Marcos Justice Precincts. I may cover those in a later post.
City Council races -
Scottsdale City Council, three seats. Incumbents Tony Nelssen, Wayne Ecton, and Bob Littlefield see their terms expire next year. Nelssen and Ecton have already formed re-election committees. Littlefield may yet do so, but he is rumored to be interested in other offices. So far, only the two incumbents have formed committees. One person who was considered a possible candidate due to his flirtation with a mayoral run in 2008, John Washington, is listed as the treasurer for Nelssen's re-election committee. As such, I don't think he is running this time around. Elections on the standard August/November schedule.
Tempe City Council, three seats. Incumbents Shana Ellis, Ben Arredondo, and Onnie Shekerjian hold the seats with expiring terms, and all three have taken out candidate packets. Also interested in running next year (indicating their interest by also taking out packets): former Council member Hut Hutson, Robin Arredondo-Savage, Matthew Taillon and Rich Bank. Not all of those folks will become actual candidates in the March and May elections. Sigs are due between November 9 and December 9.
Chandler Mayor and City Council, four total seats. Incumbents Boyd Dunn (mayor), Trinity Donovan, Jeff Weninger, and Bob Caccamo have seats that are up next year. No info at this time. Fall schedule.
Queen Creek Mayor and Town Council, four total seats. Incumbents Art Sanders (mayor), Gordon Mortensen, Joyce Hildebrandt, and Jon Wootten have the seats that are up next year. The East Valley Tribune reports that the three Council members will *not* seek reelection next year, and the mayor is undecided about pursuing another term. Spring calendar.
Mesa City Council, three seats. If I've read the City of Mesa's website correctly, incumbents Kyle Jones, Dina Higgins and Scott Somers will see their terms expire next year. I don't have any info on these races, but the blog Mesa Issues probably will. Fall schedule.
Most school boards have some seats up for election next year, too. A complete list of boards with elections next year is here, courtesy the Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools.
East Valley Institute of Technology Board, Districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. The incumbents are Norman Colbert (District 1), Erwin Heimbuck (5), and Garry Hays (9). There is a dearth of information on the membership of the Board. During the 2006 elections, it didn't have any candidates in Districts 3 and 7. The Board membership is full, but I'm not sure which appointees fill the seats in the two above districts.
Kyrene School District #28, two seats. Incumbents Patrick McGill and Rae Waters see their terms expire next year. I don't know if they are running for re-election or if there are challengers for the seats. Waters also serves in the Arizona House of Representatives.
Tempe Elementary School District #3, two seats. Incumbents Bill Munch and Jim Lemmon see their terms expire. Again, I don't have any info on this race.
Tempe Union High School District #213, two seats. I'm not sure which members' terms are expiring, though it seems to be a safe bet that Mary Lou Taylor is one of them, seeing as how she is running for State Superintendent and not for this board.
Scottsdale Unified School District #48, two seats. Incumbents Karen Beckvar and Dieter Schaefer see their terms expire next year. I don't have any info on this race at this time, either.
Mesa Unified School District #4, two seats. Incumbents Mike Hughes and David Lane see their terms expire. No info.
Gilbert Unified School District #41, two seats. Not sure which incumbents will see their terms expire. However, one seat is open right now and will be up for election next year. Board member Van Dunham has submitted his resignation because he is moving out of the district. EV Tribune coverage here.
Fountain Hills Unified School District #98, three seats. Incumbents Helen Howard, C.T. Wright, and Melanie Anderelli see their terms expire. No info.
Chandler Unified School District #80, two seats. Not sure which incumbents will have their terms expire.
Queen Creek Unified School District #95, two seats. Incumbents Del Caron and Jeff Black see their terms expire. In addition, one seat is vacant. No info.
And the winner of the "Most obscure elected office in the East Valley" award goes to -
The board of the Tempe County Island Fire District (its website is unavailable as of this writing).
Two seats are available during next year's election.
One of my primary sources of info on this topic is this list of offices to be elected, courtesy the Maricopa County Recorder's Office.
On to the races, and a brief summary of current activity in most of the contests -
U.S. Senate - Incumbent Republican John McCain may be facing a serious primary challenge from radio gabber JD Hayworth, though McCain should be able to fight that one off. It looks as if Democrat Rodney Glassman, a Tucson City Council member, will face McCain in the general election.
Governor - Unelected incumbent Jan Brewer is expected to run for a full term, with possible challengers Vernon Parker (Mayor of Paradise Valley), John Munger (former AZGOP chair) and Dean Martin (Arizona State Treasurer) lurking as potential primary opponents. Democrat Terry Goddard, currently the Attorney General of Arizona, is the presumed Demcratic nominee. In recent polling, Goddard is favored over any of the likely Republican nominees.
Secretary of State - Unelected incumbent Ken Bennett is expected to run for election to a full term, though there has been some talk of him joining the race for governor, especially if Brewer decides to forego a run next year. The only announced Democratic candidate is Sam Wercinski, formerly Arizona's Real Estate Commissioner.
Attorney General - Democrats David Lujan, a State Representative and the House Democratic Leader, Felecia Rotellini, former Superintendent of the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, and (rumored) Vince Rabago, an assistant AG, are looking hard at running for the office. On the Republican side, Tom Horne, current State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Andrew Thomas, current Maricopa County Attorney, are "exploring" runs.
Treasurer - Incumbent Dean Martin has a lock on the Republican nomination for the job, unless he takes a shot at the ninth floor (FYI - the Governor's office is on the ninth floor of the state's executive office tower). Thayer Verschoor, a Republican State Senator, has opened an exploratory committee to set up a run in the event that Martin moves on. Andrei Cherny, a former assistant Attorney General (in AZ) and staffer in the Clinton White House, is the only announced Democratic candidate.
Superintendent of Public Instruction - This one has turned into something of a cattle call. Democrats Jason Williams, the 2006 Democratic nominee for the spot, and Penny Kotterman, a teacher and former President of the Arizona Education Association, have announced their candidacies for the job. On the Republican side, John Huppenthal, a State Senator, Margaret Dugan, current Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, Mary Lou Taylor, currently on the Tempe Union High School board, Gary Nine, superintendent of the Florence Unified School District, and Beth Price of Casa Grande, have all formed committees of one sort or another for a run at the office.
State Mine Inspector - Who cares?
Arizona Corporation Commission - Incumbent Republicans Kris Mayes and Gary Pierce are termed out next year, meaning there will be races for two "open" spots. Republicans Brenda Burns, formerly President of the State Senate, and Barry Wong, former legislator and 2008 candidate for ACC, have formed committees here. On the Democratic side, the only person to officially express interest is Jorge Luis Garcia, currently a State Senator and Senate Democratic Leader, who has formed an "exploratory" committee.
More localized races -
Representative to the U.S. Congress -
In CD5, two-term Democratic incumbent Harry Mitchell has three Republican challengers, thus far. David Schweikert, the 2008 Republican nominee for the seat, Jim Ward, a Scottsdale investor and former executive with George Lucas' video game enterprise, and Eric Wnuck, another Scottsdale businessman, have all formed committees for a run at Mitchell, the much loved and highly-respected Tempe icon (career teacher, longtime mayor, and four term state senator).
In CD6, Republican incumbent Jeff Flake is so scared of losing his job that he spent a week this summer taking off his shirt on a deserted island. As of this writing, he has no known challengers for either the primary or the general election, though that may change in the coming months.
BTW - the "scared" part of that earlier sentence is sarcasm. I think his recent PR push is less about the CD6 seat than about a Senate run next year or in 2012, when Jon Kyl's seat is up.
The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project, aka the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) has 5 seats up for election. Current members Susan Bitter Smith, Timothy Bray, Daniel Donahoe, Paul Hendricks, and Mark Lewis see their terms expire next year. I have no idea who is termed out or who is running for another term from among them. The only challenger that I have heard of thus far is Arif Kazmi, a career civil engineer.
Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District, District 2 is up next year. The incumbent is Jerry Walker, an embarassment to the Board, his district, and the County. Not that I have an opinion on the subject of Mr. Walker. :)
Justice of the Peace and Constable spots in the Kyrene, University Lakes, West Mesa, East Mesa, and San Marcos Justice Precincts. I may cover those in a later post.
City Council races -
Scottsdale City Council, three seats. Incumbents Tony Nelssen, Wayne Ecton, and Bob Littlefield see their terms expire next year. Nelssen and Ecton have already formed re-election committees. Littlefield may yet do so, but he is rumored to be interested in other offices. So far, only the two incumbents have formed committees. One person who was considered a possible candidate due to his flirtation with a mayoral run in 2008, John Washington, is listed as the treasurer for Nelssen's re-election committee. As such, I don't think he is running this time around. Elections on the standard August/November schedule.
Tempe City Council, three seats. Incumbents Shana Ellis, Ben Arredondo, and Onnie Shekerjian hold the seats with expiring terms, and all three have taken out candidate packets. Also interested in running next year (indicating their interest by also taking out packets): former Council member Hut Hutson, Robin Arredondo-Savage, Matthew Taillon and Rich Bank. Not all of those folks will become actual candidates in the March and May elections. Sigs are due between November 9 and December 9.
Chandler Mayor and City Council, four total seats. Incumbents Boyd Dunn (mayor), Trinity Donovan, Jeff Weninger, and Bob Caccamo have seats that are up next year. No info at this time. Fall schedule.
Queen Creek Mayor and Town Council, four total seats. Incumbents Art Sanders (mayor), Gordon Mortensen, Joyce Hildebrandt, and Jon Wootten have the seats that are up next year. The East Valley Tribune reports that the three Council members will *not* seek reelection next year, and the mayor is undecided about pursuing another term. Spring calendar.
Mesa City Council, three seats. If I've read the City of Mesa's website correctly, incumbents Kyle Jones, Dina Higgins and Scott Somers will see their terms expire next year. I don't have any info on these races, but the blog Mesa Issues probably will. Fall schedule.
Most school boards have some seats up for election next year, too. A complete list of boards with elections next year is here, courtesy the Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools.
East Valley Institute of Technology Board, Districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. The incumbents are Norman Colbert (District 1), Erwin Heimbuck (5), and Garry Hays (9). There is a dearth of information on the membership of the Board. During the 2006 elections, it didn't have any candidates in Districts 3 and 7. The Board membership is full, but I'm not sure which appointees fill the seats in the two above districts.
Kyrene School District #28, two seats. Incumbents Patrick McGill and Rae Waters see their terms expire next year. I don't know if they are running for re-election or if there are challengers for the seats. Waters also serves in the Arizona House of Representatives.
Tempe Elementary School District #3, two seats. Incumbents Bill Munch and Jim Lemmon see their terms expire. Again, I don't have any info on this race.
Tempe Union High School District #213, two seats. I'm not sure which members' terms are expiring, though it seems to be a safe bet that Mary Lou Taylor is one of them, seeing as how she is running for State Superintendent and not for this board.
Scottsdale Unified School District #48, two seats. Incumbents Karen Beckvar and Dieter Schaefer see their terms expire next year. I don't have any info on this race at this time, either.
Mesa Unified School District #4, two seats. Incumbents Mike Hughes and David Lane see their terms expire. No info.
Gilbert Unified School District #41, two seats. Not sure which incumbents will see their terms expire. However, one seat is open right now and will be up for election next year. Board member Van Dunham has submitted his resignation because he is moving out of the district. EV Tribune coverage here.
Fountain Hills Unified School District #98, three seats. Incumbents Helen Howard, C.T. Wright, and Melanie Anderelli see their terms expire. No info.
Chandler Unified School District #80, two seats. Not sure which incumbents will have their terms expire.
Queen Creek Unified School District #95, two seats. Incumbents Del Caron and Jeff Black see their terms expire. In addition, one seat is vacant. No info.
And the winner of the "Most obscure elected office in the East Valley" award goes to -
The board of the Tempe County Island Fire District (its website is unavailable as of this writing).
Two seats are available during next year's election.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The coming week...
As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies (except where noted) and subject to change without notice...
...In the U.S. House of Representatives, the agenda contains a large number of memorials and congratulatory resolutions, but there will be a few measures that generate some controversy.
As well as some serious posturing over health care reform. :)
However, this post concerns agendized items only. :))
On the agenda -
- H.R. 3854, Small Business Financing and Investment Act of 2009. "To amend the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to improve programs providing access to capital under such Acts..." AZ's Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1) is a cosponsor of the measure. This measure will be subject to a Rules Committee hearing, as will the next two bills.
- Conference report on H.R. 2996, Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010.
- An as-yet-unnumbered resolution to serve as a budget continuing resolution.
...Over in the U.S. Senate, the agenda looks light right now, though that will probably change as the week progresses. The Senate's committee schedule is here.
However, there will be plenty ofarm-twisting negotiating over health care reform behind the scenes (and in front of TV cameras.)
...Back here in Arizona, the budget is still $2 billion out of balance and the lege and the governor are still fiddling around. There is some makework going on this week, though.
- On Tuesday, the Ad Hoc Committee on Agency Information Technology will meet at 9 a.m. in HHR3. They will hear presentations from the IT departments of the Department of Revenue, AHCCCS, ADOT's Motor Vehicle Division, and the Government Information Technology Agency (GITA).
- On Wednesday at 11 a.m., the House Water and Energy and Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee of Reference will meet in HHR5 for the sunset review of the Residential Utility Consumer Office.
- Also on Wednesday, at 10 a.m. the House Water and Energy and Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt Committee of Reference will meet in HHR5. The subject of the meeting will be the sunset review of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission isn't meeting this week, but its hearing schedule is here.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System has two meetings scheduled for the week - an executive session on Monday at 1 p.m. and a regular meeting on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Highlights of that agenda should include MIHS' monthly financial report, a report on the impact of state funding reductions, a presentation on the transition from MedPro to District Medical Group (a physician provider group, it's actually MedPro reformed as a non-profit group), some kind of legislative update, and something on the contract of MIHS' director, Betsey Bayless.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, in executive session at 5:30 p.m. and in regular session an hour later. The agenda looks pretty mundane, though the recent report by the main college accreditation agency that was critical of the Board is likely to come up.
Note: The public is invited to participate in Scottsdale Community College's strategic planning initiative, SCC2020. The first public meeting is Wednesday night from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
...The Tempe City Council isn't scheduled to meet this week in formal session, but the Council's calendar of events is here.
...The Scottsdale City Council has a General Plan Amendment meeting scheduled for Tuesday. The main item on the agenda is a GP amendment proposed for 6500 E. Camelback Road (warning: large .pdf). There will also be consideration of an item regarding the "possible" formation of a Council Subcommittee on Economic Development.
"Possible" is in quotes because it seems that the Council is expected to approve the creation of that Subcommittee - next week's agenda includes an item making appointments to the Subcommittee.
Scottsdale's community meeting notice is here.
On Monday, Scottsdale's Charter Review Task Force will meet 5 p.m. in the City Hall Kiva. A preview from the AZ Republic is here.
...Not scheduled to meet this week: Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (the supes usually find a reason to have a short-notice exec session meeting, however), Arizona Board of Regents, and Citizens Clean Elections Commission.
...In the U.S. House of Representatives, the agenda contains a large number of memorials and congratulatory resolutions, but there will be a few measures that generate some controversy.
As well as some serious posturing over health care reform. :)
However, this post concerns agendized items only. :))
On the agenda -
- H.R. 3854, Small Business Financing and Investment Act of 2009. "To amend the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to improve programs providing access to capital under such Acts..." AZ's Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1) is a cosponsor of the measure. This measure will be subject to a Rules Committee hearing, as will the next two bills.
- Conference report on H.R. 2996, Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010.
- An as-yet-unnumbered resolution to serve as a budget continuing resolution.
...Over in the U.S. Senate, the agenda looks light right now, though that will probably change as the week progresses. The Senate's committee schedule is here.
However, there will be plenty of
...Back here in Arizona, the budget is still $2 billion out of balance and the lege and the governor are still fiddling around. There is some makework going on this week, though.
- On Tuesday, the Ad Hoc Committee on Agency Information Technology will meet at 9 a.m. in HHR3. They will hear presentations from the IT departments of the Department of Revenue, AHCCCS, ADOT's Motor Vehicle Division, and the Government Information Technology Agency (GITA).
- On Wednesday at 11 a.m., the House Water and Energy and Senate Commerce and Economic Development Committee of Reference will meet in HHR5 for the sunset review of the Residential Utility Consumer Office.
- Also on Wednesday, at 10 a.m. the House Water and Energy and Senate Natural Resources, Infrastructure and Public Debt Committee of Reference will meet in HHR5. The subject of the meeting will be the sunset review of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
...The Arizona Corporation Commission isn't meeting this week, but its hearing schedule is here.
...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System has two meetings scheduled for the week - an executive session on Monday at 1 p.m. and a regular meeting on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Highlights of that agenda should include MIHS' monthly financial report, a report on the impact of state funding reductions, a presentation on the transition from MedPro to District Medical Group (a physician provider group, it's actually MedPro reformed as a non-profit group), some kind of legislative update, and something on the contract of MIHS' director, Betsey Bayless.
...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, in executive session at 5:30 p.m. and in regular session an hour later. The agenda looks pretty mundane, though the recent report by the main college accreditation agency that was critical of the Board is likely to come up.
Note: The public is invited to participate in Scottsdale Community College's strategic planning initiative, SCC2020. The first public meeting is Wednesday night from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
...The Tempe City Council isn't scheduled to meet this week in formal session, but the Council's calendar of events is here.
...The Scottsdale City Council has a General Plan Amendment meeting scheduled for Tuesday. The main item on the agenda is a GP amendment proposed for 6500 E. Camelback Road (warning: large .pdf). There will also be consideration of an item regarding the "possible" formation of a Council Subcommittee on Economic Development.
"Possible" is in quotes because it seems that the Council is expected to approve the creation of that Subcommittee - next week's agenda includes an item making appointments to the Subcommittee.
Scottsdale's community meeting notice is here.
On Monday, Scottsdale's Charter Review Task Force will meet 5 p.m. in the City Hall Kiva. A preview from the AZ Republic is here.
...Not scheduled to meet this week: Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (the supes usually find a reason to have a short-notice exec session meeting, however), Arizona Board of Regents, and Citizens Clean Elections Commission.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Ray Barnes - not really learning the lesson
...and believe it or not, this one isn't about his misogynistic stereotyping and spouting at an air quality meeting (ably covered by Tedski at R-Cubed).
Nope, this one is about the AZGOP's "do as we say, not as we do" school of political finger-pointing.
A couple of months ago, the AZGOP started calling for an investigation of a couple of Democratic officeholders (specifically AZAG Terry Goddard and LD15 State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema) for expressing interest in a higher office while still holding their current offices, hence violating the state's "resign-to-run" law.
All the while, the AZGOP blithely ignored two of their own, State Sen. John Huppenthal and State Rep. Ray Barnes, who were doing a *lot* more than simply expressing interest.
Huppenthal is collecting nominating signatures under the guise of "exploring" a run at State Superintendant of Public Instruction while Barnes didn't even bother with the "exploring" sham when he formed a committee for his run at the LD7 State Senate seat (he's termed out in the House).
People far and wide, and not just Democrats, pointed out the shameless hypocrisy of the GOP.
However, today there is some evidence that Barnes may have understood their point.
Or not.
His Senate committee (for LD7), filer ID 201000055, was formed on February 11, 2009, with one George Garbell listed as committee chair and one Walter Dudley listed as treasurer.
However, on Tuesday, October 20, he formed an exploratory committee for the LD7 senate seat (filer ID 201000276) with one Howard Sprague as chair and Dudley again serving as treasurer.
Sounds good, at least in a "window dressing" sort of way, doesn't it?
It does, except for one thing -
The regular committee is still active, meaning that he is now pursuing the same office twice while he still holds another office.
On the other hand, he is a Republican in an Arizona that has a Republican Secretary of State - he could have already turned in sigs and qualified for the ballot and the SOS would opine that he still hadn't started "actively" campaigning for the office.
File it under "IOKIYAR."
Nope, this one is about the AZGOP's "do as we say, not as we do" school of political finger-pointing.
A couple of months ago, the AZGOP started calling for an investigation of a couple of Democratic officeholders (specifically AZAG Terry Goddard and LD15 State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema) for expressing interest in a higher office while still holding their current offices, hence violating the state's "resign-to-run" law.
All the while, the AZGOP blithely ignored two of their own, State Sen. John Huppenthal and State Rep. Ray Barnes, who were doing a *lot* more than simply expressing interest.
Huppenthal is collecting nominating signatures under the guise of "exploring" a run at State Superintendant of Public Instruction while Barnes didn't even bother with the "exploring" sham when he formed a committee for his run at the LD7 State Senate seat (he's termed out in the House).
People far and wide, and not just Democrats, pointed out the shameless hypocrisy of the GOP.
However, today there is some evidence that Barnes may have understood their point.
Or not.
His Senate committee (for LD7), filer ID 201000055, was formed on February 11, 2009, with one George Garbell listed as committee chair and one Walter Dudley listed as treasurer.
However, on Tuesday, October 20, he formed an exploratory committee for the LD7 senate seat (filer ID 201000276) with one Howard Sprague as chair and Dudley again serving as treasurer.
Sounds good, at least in a "window dressing" sort of way, doesn't it?
It does, except for one thing -
The regular committee is still active, meaning that he is now pursuing the same office twice while he still holds another office.
On the other hand, he is a Republican in an Arizona that has a Republican Secretary of State - he could have already turned in sigs and qualified for the ballot and the SOS would opine that he still hadn't started "actively" campaigning for the office.
File it under "IOKIYAR."
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Press release time - Rep. Sinema to host health care tele-townhall
From the Democratic caucus of the Arizona State Senate -
Assistant House Democratic Leader Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix (District 15), Rep. Patricia Fleming, D-Sierra Vista (District 25) and Rep. Daniel Patterson, D-Tucson (District 29) will host a telephone-town hall on health reform on Oct. 29Later...
The tele-town hall will take place just before major health reform bills go to the U.S. Senate and House floors for votes, and Sinema will share information about the blended bills, including benefits and costs.
As part of the White House Health Reform Task Force, Sinema also will answer questions and hear residents’ stories, ideas and concerns about health reform.
Arizonans for Health Reform Tele-Town Hall
When: Oct. 29 at 5 p.m.
Instructions to join the call/RSVP: Please e-mail azhealthreform@gmail.com with the date of the forum in the subject line and your name, address and phone number included in the e-mail. You will receive a reply e-mail with the phone number to call. Each participant must e-mail their own information separately.
Sinema is one of 32 state legislators nationwide - the only state lawmaker from Arizona - selected for President Obama's White House Health Reform Task Force. Working in the task force, Sinema will share best practices and lessons learned from Arizona, which will help shape national health reform.
“Our country's health system is broken and families and businesses are being crushed by high health care costs," Sinema said. "The American people, including right here in Arizona, deserve better.”
That includes health reform that:
- Reduces costs to make health care affordable
- Protects a patient's choice of doctors, hospitals and insurance plans
- Assures quality affordable health care for all Americans
This guy is almost ready for a run at a seat in the lege
It's kind of embarassing, but I have to admit that I was scooped on an AZ kookocracy sighting by the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC...
From the Lake Havasu News-Herald -
Barnes later apologized for his remarks, and to his credit, it sounded like a real apology.
From the same article -
As embarassing as all Arizonans should find this incident, it shouldn't be surprising.
Lake Havasu is the home of LD3 State Senator Ron Gould (R-Confederate States of America).
There is a silver lining to this, too - it proves that Maricopa County only dominates the AZ kook market, but hasn't yet cornered it.
Later...
From the Lake Havasu News-Herald -
Barnes uses 'poor choice of words' during council meeting
Councilman Lee Barnes, referring to himself as "just a little Jewish" when it comes to finances, received boos and hisses while discussing City Manager Richard Kaffenberger"s contract at the City Council special meeting Tuesday night.
{snip}
Barnes was explaining his hesitancy in firing Kaffenberger and that he did not want the council to have to use funds to hire an interim city manager.
"Excuse my action but I'm just a little Jewish to be able to do this," Barnes told the council, causing an uproar among the standing-room only crowd.
Barnes later said he understood that his words associating a religion with finances could be seen as derogatory and stereotypical.
"What I meant there is Jewish people are pretty good with their money," he said. "I think a lot of Jewish families teach generation after generation very well on how to handle their money."
Barnes later apologized for his remarks, and to his credit, it sounded like a real apology.
From the same article -
"It wasn't meant to be inappropriate, and I meant that we should handle our money very carefully," he said. "I hope this doesn't turn into a big deal, and I apologize to those people who found it offensive.Phoenix New Times' coverage here.
As embarassing as all Arizonans should find this incident, it shouldn't be surprising.
Lake Havasu is the home of LD3 State Senator Ron Gould (R-Confederate States of America).
There is a silver lining to this, too - it proves that Maricopa County only dominates the AZ kook market, but hasn't yet cornered it.
Later...
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