Congressman Harry Mitchell - "History Calls"

From an email from the Congressman (bolding theirs, but links are adjusted from their email to direct links) -

Dear Friend,

I want you to be among the first to know that when the House of Representatives votes on a health insurance reform proposal, I will be voting “yes” in order to move reform forward.

As you know, I’ve been preparing for a vote to reform our healthcare system since I was sworn into office in 2007. I’ve worked with my healthcare advisory committee for over two years and I’ve heard from doctors, patients, health care professionals, seniors, students, small business owners, and thousands more concerned Arizona families over the past few months who were both for and against health care reform.

One thing is clear: almost everyone believes that our current health care system is broken and doing nothing is not an option.

I firmly believe that we must act now to take serious steps to lower health care costs for working families, end the practice of denying patients health care because of pre-existing conditions and make quality health care affordable for every American.

Later today, the House of Representatives will be considering the choice between moving health care reform forward for further improvement or voting against advancing reform all together. This will be one of the most important votes that I take in over 35 years in elected office and I have arrived at my decision after careful consideration.

I still have concerns with the bill, but I believe that doing nothing is not an option. This bill is not perfect. In Congress, no bill ever is. Yet, I do think it contains significant improvements from the earlier bill circulated this past summer. I believe improvements need to be made and can be made, but in order to do so, we have to move the process forward.

Republican Olympia Snowe recently said, “So is this bill all that I want? Far from it… but when history calls, history calls. And I believe the consequences of inaction dictate the urgency of allowing for every opportunity to demonstrate capacity to solve this monumental issue.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Our opponents remain immersed in partisan rhetoric and are concerned more with scoring political points for the 2010 election than with delivering solutions to solve big problems. Knowing the headwind facing us, I could do the political thing and
vote to do nothing. However, playing it safe will fail to take on the big problems we face like healthcare and immigration reform. And you didn’t send me to Congress to do nothing.

Make no mistake about it: Republicans in Washington and opponents of reform are going to do everything they can to use this vote against us. They have already spent millions to run misleading television ads, including here in Arizona , and you can bet the house that they’ll re-double their efforts to defeat me.

I’m ready for the fight – but I’m going to need your help – and this is how you can help right now:

1. Show your support through Facebook, Twitter and email your friends and family! Your support is “virally” important!

2. Contribute $25, $50 or $100 to help raise the resources to fight back!

3. Email a Letter to the Editor supporting moving reform forward! Give your name and address @ opinions@arizonarepublic.com; or @ letters.editor@asu.edu; or @ eastvalleytribune; or your local community paper.

4. Sign up for a “Take Action Early: Day of Action” to volunteer to go door-to-door or staff a phone bank.

You will play a critical role in fighting back the lies that will come. Thanks for your ongoing support – I’ll need it more than ever!

Harry

Later...

Watching the House debate on health care reform

Just one thing that I wanted to note...

They're currently considering an amendment to bar abortion funding under the public option in the proposed bill.

It's interesting to observe that the vast majority of the Congressfolk opposing the amendment are women yet most of those supporting it are men.

And one of the women who is supporting the amendment is Michele Bachmann (R - MN), and her attire for this day of what is perhaps the most significant Congressional debate in decades, well, it includes a Hawaiian lei. Not really adding to the credibility of her side there.

For sale: One Mucuous Factory

Has an established record of efficient handling of periods of high productivity and then idling or producing minimal output for weeks or even months at a time. It is currently running at full capacity 24 hours per day.

The output housing of this facility was handsomely designed in the Mediterranean tradition of architecture and epitomizes one of the hallmarks of that tradition - distinguished utility. It operates smoothly while lookin' gooood. :)

Buy for now, because this is the perfect season for this facility. Now is the right time to acquire and have a robust mucous production operation at the ready during a period of peak demand across the state and across the country.

Buy for later, because even after this season passes, there will be the next season. Save yourself hassles and have this turnkey operation at the ready to meet spot demand when pollen or particulate matter counts rise or to meet sustained demand when flu and cold season returns.

All reasonable offers considered; serious inquiries only.


In normal years, I would be seriously whining right about now, but a mere head cold beats the flu, no matter how miserable that cold may make me.

Later...

More 2010 campaign committees...

Wherein I narrow the focus of these posts to LD17, LD8, Scottsdale, and Tempe...and anything else that catches my attention. :)

Some of these I've covered before, but for some of these races, a complete picture is appropriate.

In the race for Governor, two of the big guns formed committees this week. Jan Brewer, the sitting governor, made official her intent to run for a full term with her formation of a candidate committee, filer ID 201000308. Her campaign chair is a former Arizona Attorney General.

Terry Goddard, the current AZ AG, formed an exploratory committee, filer ID 201000311. His committee chair is former Governor, Rose Mofford.



The LD8 Republican State Rep primary looks to be turning into a dogfight - there are seven active committees, and none of the incumbents have yet to file.

Republicans with active committees -

Ray Mahoubi, filer ID 201000059
Eric Ulis, filer ID 201000082
Dennis Robbins, filer ID 201000229
Jim Rich, filer ID 201000265
David Paddison, filer ID 201000282
Michael Blaire, filer ID 201000295
Paul LoBianco, filer ID 201000307


Terminated committee:


Ted King, filer ID 201000097




Active committees for the LD8 Democratic primary for State Representative -


W. John Williamson, filer ID 201000239
John Kriekard, filer ID 201000293




There aren't any active committees for the LD8 Senate seat, though current State Rep. Michele Reagan (R) does have an open exploratory committee, filer ID 201000002, and the presumption is that she will be running for the seat. Carolyn Allen, the current LD8 State Senator, is termed out after next year.




There have been no significant changes in the LD17 races as yet. Two Republicans have formed committees and the Democratic incumbents, while they haven't filed yet, are expected to run for re-election.




In a somewhat curious PAC committee development, Advance America Cash Advance Centers, Inc. has formed a Political Action Committee in Arizona, filer ID 201000296. The interesting part is that it was formed as a $500 Threshold Committee.


Huh???


I'm not sure if that is a mistake (on the part of the SOS or the corporation) or if the committee is just a placeholder until they form a real PAC - $500 just doesn't buy a lot of politicians political actions these days. Inflation, ya know.




In the race for Scottsdale City Council, two more candidates have joined the incumbents (Tony Nelssen, Wayne Ecton, Bob Littlefield) in the field.


Bill Crawford, a Republican and a business owner in Scottsdale, and Ned O'Hearn, a former member of the Council, both formed committees this week.

A letter to the editor of the AZRepublic regarding the firing of Scottsdale City Manager John Little is here. O'Hearn is currently in real estate and is on the Board of Trustees of the Scottsdale-based Museum of the West.

That's it for now...

Breaking news: Mitchell to vote in favor of H.R. 3962

Apparently, the "power of bloggers" has swayed a member of Congress.

Either that, or he looked at the same factors as I did, and has decided to vote in the best interests of his constituents.

And while my ego would *love* to take credit for this, the news of his decision broke in two separate emails that hit my inbox while I was writing my earlier post urging him (and the Blue Dogs) to support it. I just didn't check my email until after I had written the next post.

So thank you, Congressman Mitchell.


To all readers: Please join me in showing our gratitude by making a contribution to his re-election campaign.

Also, tell your friends, in person, by telephone, by email, or via social networking sites like Facebook.

Beyond that, write letters to the editor (EV Tribune here, AZ Republic at opinions@arizonarepublic.com, ASU State Press at letters.editor@asu.edu).

After that, contact your District Democratic chairs for information your neighborhood's "Day of Action," walking with Congressman Mitchell and other Democratic candidates as they meet, greet, and sign up Democratic voters.


Later...

Betrayed.

There's no other word for it. Civilized Americans have been betrayed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Earlier today, the House, by a 386 -17 vote, will 11 voting "present", passed H. Res. 893, congratulating....God, it hurts so much to put this in writing...the Evil Empire New York Yankees on their winning the 2009 World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies.

And the worst part of it all? The entire Arizona delegation voted for the resolution, with Democrats Ed Pastor (CD4) and Raul Grijalva (CD7) going so far as to sign on as cosponsors of the resolution.

It was no shock that Flake, Franks, and Shadegg supported the bill - they're Republicans. "Supporting Evil Empires" is a standard GOP campaign plank. Witness their "no" votes on H.R. 3639, the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009. That one sets an earlier effective date for some consumer protections regarding credit cards.

However, the fact that Kirkpatrick, Pastor, Mitchell, Grijalva, and Gifford, people who are supposed to be "good guys" (even those who aren't, ya know, *guys*) supported this abomination of a resolution is a complete betrayal of all that is good and right in Arizona, and America.

[Hangs head in shame.]

:)

One note: Pitchers and catchers report in a little over three months. Hope, and hope for redemption, springs eternal.

An open letter to Congressman Harry Mitchell (and the Blue Dogs)

Normally, these “open letters” are something that I’ve written and submitted to a particular public official. As I am living in CD5 that usually means Harry Mitchell. They are written with a formal, respectful tone.

This one is written more as a blog post, with a less formal tone and links, though it also is respectful. It will also be submitted to Congressman Mitchell.

Dear Congressman Mitchell,

Tomorrow (or perhaps later today as you read this), you and your colleagues will be asked to vote on H.R 3962, the Affordable Healthcare for America Act. I am writing to you to urge you and them to support the bill, and to work to ensure that there is a viable and robust public option in it.

The CBO's analysis of the bill, with the proposed manager's amendment is here; the CBO's analysis of the Republicans' proposed substitute is here. The text of the actual manager's amendment is here, courtesy the House Rules Committee.

All of you are certain to hear from many of your constituents today on this issue, expressing their support or opposition to health care reform. (I tried calling your district office for more than 40 minutes, but the line was always busy. So, I called your D.C. office. The woman who answered was very pleasant and courteous while I voiced my opinion in support of health care reform.)

You and many of the Blue Dogs represent districts that are evenly split in terms of partisan voter registration, or like you, represent districts that are Republican-majority districts.

Congressman Mitchell, you are known as somebody who has "steered a middle course" during your more than four decades of public service. You have been a friend, mentor, teacher, mayor, state senator, and now, United States Congressman, for generations of Tempeans and now for residents of Scottsdale, Ahwatukee, Mesa, Fountain Hills, and Chandler.

Because of that middle course and your own reasoned, friendly, and warm approach to public discourse, you have been elected and re-elected to offices where the "conventional wisdom" said that no Democrat could win.

And on many issues, such an approach is not only a workable way of addressing issues, but it is the best way.

However, on the subject of health care reform, the debate is so polarized that tacking to the middle is only the best way if one wants to get pummeled from all sides.

Many of your Blue Dog colleagues have expressed concerns that if they vote for a health care reform package with a public option, they will have difficulty gaining re-election next year. They fear that many of the Republicans and Independent voters in their districts won't support them as they have in the past.

I think it is more likely that a "yes" vote on health care reform will cost them votes that they weren't ever going to get anyway. The health care vote will just be the latest excuse.

On the other hand, a "no" vote will cost them votes, contributions, and, perhaps most importantly, the enthusiasm of their most energetic supporters. After the defeat of health care reform in 1994, the Democrats who lost that year were those who were vulnerable anyway, regardless of their vote on the issue. Many of those who previously supported them closed their wallets and/or stayed home during the campaign season instead of volunteering.

To be sure, tomorrow's vote won't be the last word, or vote, on the subject. There will be many more as the House and Senate work to reconcile their versions of health care reform.

Many folks in Congress, possibly including you and the other Blue Dogs, will view that fact as an opportunity to "have it both ways."

None of you should fall into that trap.

People will remember, and voting for health care reform before voting against it, or vice versa, only serves to alienate both sides.

Additionally, many of you will be tempted to find an imperfection in the bill, and use it as an excuse to say to your constituents "Hey, I support health care reform, but I can't vote for..." XYZ, no matter how trivial "XYZ" is.

Don't fall for that trap, either.

No bill is ever perfect, and if you and your colleagues waited for perfection, no bill would ever pass, to the point of no post offices ever being named or college sports teams being congratulated on winning a championship.

Polls show that an overwhelming number of Americans support reform of the America's health care delivery system. There is, of course, disagreement over what that form those changes should take. One thing is clear though, the only real failure possible here is to simply do *nothing.*

*Nothing* is what was delivered to America in 1994, and the aftereffects of that failure devastated the country for 12 years until 2006, when the Republicans were stripped of their majority status in Congress.

To sum up, you and your colleagues are fated to be criticized harshly after your votes, regardless of whether those votes are "yea" or "nay."

It's unavoidable.

So be it.

While I do believe that you and your colleagues should support health care reform (and stated so earlier in this letter), each of you, whether you end up supporting or opposing health care reform, should do one thing.

Consider the best interests of your constituents, and vote your consciences.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Regards,

[Craig]

Later...

Brewer is running

From AZCentral.com -

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer on Thursday will formally announce her intent to seek a full, four-year term in 2010, multiple sources close to the Governor's Office tell The Arizona Republic.

Brewer, a Republican who automatically assumed the state's top office in January with the resignation of then-Gov. Janet Napolitano, is expected to file formal campaign paperwork in the morning. Later Thursday evening, she'll appear with West Valley business and community leaders at a Westmarc ceremony in Glendale, Brewer's hometown.

Ummm...I'm not given to talking smack (really! I'm not! O:) ), so I'll leave it to Don Bivens, chair of the Arizona Democratic Party to sum up my feelings on this development -

"Her resume is filled with job losses, education cuts and Capitol gridlock -- is this the record she'll run on?"

If nothing else, her confirmed presence in the race will stabilize the rest of the races - State Treasurer Dean Martin and Secretary of State Ken Bennett had been rumored to be eyeing a run at the 9th Floor, but are almost certainly setting their sights on retaining their current offices now. And people like Thayer Verschoor and Jack Harper, who had been rumored to be eyeing *those* seats will now, in turn, lower their sights.

Expect a slew of filings for the Corporation Commission race, which heretofore had been relatively quiet (2 Reps and 1 Dem so far, versus 8 and 4, respectively, last cycle).

Caveat: The GOP is fractured, and fractious, right now, so one of big-name GOPers could try to assume the "more conservative than th0u" mantle and run at her from the right. I don't think it will happen, but it is well within the realm of possibility.

Later...

Tuesday's elections - some lessons

Yesterday, there were a few relatively high profile elections on the East Coast.

Call them the undercard to next year's mid-terms.

If they were on the same even-year schedule as most other elections, we probably wouldn't be talking about them, but since they are the only solid thing for political commentators to, ya know, "commentate" on, at least until next year, they've grabbed a lot of attention.

Today, pundits all over cable news are making their pronouncements on "what it all means" on the heels of the results.

Most of them consider the fact that Republican candidates won the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey to be a repudiation of President Obama.

And, as expected, every Republican who can find a microphone is absolutely crowing about it.
Most of them, pundit and Rep operative alike, are ignoring what should be one of the real lessons to be taken from yesterday's results.

Tip O'Neill wrote it more than a generation ago -

All Politics Is Local.

Not "All Politics Is Partisan."

In each of the governor's races, as well as the special election to fill a vacant Congressional seat in New York's 23rd District, there were local factors that strongly influenced the outcome of the balloting in those races.

One gubernatorial race featured a weakened incumbent while the other featured a candidate who was just plain weak. And in both races, worries about the economy played a big role in the results, too.

...At the start of his reelection campaign, incumbent, and now outgoing, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine was saddled with some of the highest property taxes in the country, one of the highest unemployment rates in the northeastern U.S. (9.8%), a pre-politics resume that included a lucrative stint as CEO of Goldman Sachs (not the jewel that it was pre-economic meltdown and bailout), and a level of personal unpopularity that sapped the enthusiasm of many New Jersey Democrats. That alone would have made his race something of an uphill battle, even for someone with his "self-funding" ability.

Mix in tawdry personal attacks on his opponent and a low turnout, and you have a recipe for an upset.

...In Virginia, the Democratic candidate could best be described as a "not ready for prime time" candidate. Creigh Deeds was an inarticulate and unenergetic "Blue Dog" wanna-be who was outfought for the political center by his opponent and the eventual winner, Bob McDonnell. McDonnell glossed over his extremely conservative social agenda in favor of a strong message on the economy.

Oh, and McDonnell had already defeated Deeds once before in a statewide race, the 2005 contest for VA AG.


In both races, while there were strong warning signs for President Obama, the Democrats, and incumbents of all political stripes ("it's the economy, stupid", low turnout among 2008 Obama voters), it seems to have come down local candidates and local conditions.

Of greater political portent may be the race to fill the vacant Congressional seat in NY-23.

After a race marked by a near-civil war within the GOP, with big-name "true" conservatives from all over the country flying in to support "their" candidate, a carpetbagger named Doug Hoffman, who was running as the Conservative Party candidate. They were so pugnacious in their criticisms of the GOP's own candidate, Dede Scozzafava, that she withdrew from the race this past weekend and endorsed the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens.

Those "true" conservatives rejoiced when Scozzafava exited from the race, figuring the way was now clear for Hoffman in a district that hasn't elected a Democrat in, like, *ever.*

Literally.

So naturally, Owens won.

What the "true" conservatives ignored is that fact that their candidate, Hoffman, wasn't actually from the district, nor did he know anything about it. When asked about the needs and priorities of the district, he standard response was "I'll get back to you on that."

Have no doubt about it - the GOP will reclaim the seat in next year's election, holding it for two years. At which point, the district will be probably be redistricted out of existence because of population shifts leading to NY losing one or two seats in Congress after next year's census.

But for now, the Democratic majority in the House has grown.

After the hubbub dies down, the "big minds" will have time to actually think about the results beyond their immediate gut reactions.

Once that happens, expect three things -

1. Democrats will work at motivating last year's Obama voters to turn out for next year's elections, while the Republicans will work at redoubling their voter suppression efforts.

2. Both major parties will look for candidates who are strong on local issues and ties, not just on having lots of funding readily available. In addition to the moneyed Corzine's defeat in NJ, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg nearly lost his reelection bid yesterday, even after spending over $100 million of his own money on the campaign.

It's still possible to buy an office, but it's not cheap, nor is it guaranteed.

3. The internal conflict within the national GOP will grow; the battle for the AZGOP is long over, with the wingnuts gaining victory over a decade ago, but the circular firing squad is just forming up nationally. NY-23 was just the hors d'eouvres. The GOP should be able to gain some Congressional seats next year (that the standard pattern in midterms, with the non-Presidential party gaining), but they are already working to blunt that effect.

Even here in AZ, where the wingers are well-entrenched and should have a well-established cadre of candidates on the bench, they are trotting out self-funded "more conservative than thou" carpetbaggers to challenge Democratic incumbents in CD1 and CD5, and seriously talking up a "conservative" challenge to long-time Republican Senator John McCain. He is borderline unbeatable in a general election, but the likes of JD Hayworth, Chris Simcox, and Russell Pearce consider him to be a "RINO."

Senator Glassman, anyone?

Later...

East Valley school budget override propositions mostly approved by the voters

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...

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 comment

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.

Later...

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 -

“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...

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.

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.

:)