Does Ken Bennett understand the job description for Secretary of State?

One of the biggest parts of the job description for SOS is the conduct of elections. He's supposed to make sure they go off without a hitch, not to be the cause of a hitch.

From the Arizona Daily Sun -

About 13,000 households in Coconino County were told to go to the wrong polling place on their state elections pamphlet due to an error by a contractor working for the state.

Ummm, yeah.

Got a radical new concept for Secretary Bennett - proofread.

BTW - This incident doesn't say much for the idea of privatizing vital government services (and for some reason, most people consider the fair, honest, and competent conduct of elections to be an integral part of our system of government.

Not a good week for Bennett, with this incident following on the heels of lawsuits against him and a company he runs for things like securities fraud, breach of contract, and failure to pay his employees.

Tonight, I'm proud that the Phoenix Suns are my hometown team

From Bright Side of the Sun -

In an extremely bold move, the Phoenix Suns as an organization made a strong political statement in opposition to the recent Arizona immigration bill.

Discussions on taking action began last week after the bill passed, with an idea that came from Robert Sarver, Managing Partner of the Phoenix Suns.

According to Steve Kerr, the team discussed it internally before going to the league for approval to both wear the 'Los Suns' jerseys, but also to come out publicly in this way.

{snip}

Ultimately, the decision was left up to the players, but in a locker room led by Steve Nash, it is no surprise how that turned out.

"I think the law is very misguided. I think it is unfortunately to the detriment of our society and our civil liberties and I think it is very important for us to stand up for things we believe in," Nash said of the bill. "I think the law obviously can target opportunities for racial profiling. Things we don't want to see and don't need to see in 2010."

I'm not the world's biggest basketball fan, but right now, the Phoenix Suns are at the top of my "good guys" list.

Thanks to David Safier at Blog for Arizona for the heads up on this...

Bobby Orr, the greatest hockey player ever

Inspired by a Facebook posting from one of my sisters, a posting that brought back some great memories. Add to that the excitement of the Bruins' playoff run this year, and a post here is born...

Some will argue with the title and toss out there names like Gretzky, Hull (fils or pere), Lemieux, Richard, and others.

Those are great players one and all, but they were just incredibly good at things others had done before them and have done since.

Bobby Orr was the one who changed the way that people viewed and played his position, defenseman.

Prior to his entry into the NHL, defensemen spent most of their ice time skating backwards, checking opposing forwards, or dumping the puck out of their own ends, allowing their own forwards to handle most of the offensive workload. Other than a few slapshots from the blue line during power plays, defensemen didn't score.

Orr changed that with exciting end-to-end rushes and nifty passing. He was the first and only defenseman to win the league's scoring title. In addition, he won multiple league and playoff MVP awards.

Anyway, a YouTube clip of some of Orr's highlights is here. As a bonus, it is set to the broadcast-opening theme music that the local station (WSBK) used at that time. It is rather iconic, as anyone who grew up in MA in the 70s immediately thinks of Bruins broadcasts whenever they hear it.

I'm embedding the video here, but most of the vids embedded here are cut off, and the video should be seen as fully as possible.

An open letter to President Obama on immigration and SB1070

This actually is a blog post, written in the form of a letter, but since I consider the "open letter" format to be lazy and pretentious unless it is sent to the titular recipient, it will be submitted to the White House via their website's online contact form.


Where it probably won't go any further than one of the interns or volunteers tasked with reading the thousands of emails that the White House receives every day, but at least I can say that I sent it. :)

By the way, while this will be a blog post, with the usual informality associated with such things, since it will also be sent to the White House, the snark will be kept to a minimum. Though anything in italics is added commentary from me and won't be included in the final letter to the WH. :)

Anyway, on to the letter...

Dear Mr. President,

My name is [cpmaz] and I am an Arizonan, and no, all of us are *not* insane.

As you are no doubt aware, recently Arizona enacted the nation's harshest anti-immigration law. While its supporters deny it, most observers view the law as one that specifically targets people of Hispanic ancestry and appearance, regardless of their immigration status.


The furor that has risen across the state, country, and the world over the passage and signing of SB1070 threatens to overwhelm and derail any plans you and your staff may have had set for your legislative agenda for the rest 2010.


The furor has overshadowed the discussion of financial regulation reforms and has pushed the discussion of measures to address climate change completely off the radar.


So be it.


It's time to prove that you're not just a good politician, but a great one.


In baseball, every "good" hitter can hit a pitch that they expect the pitcher to throw at them; the 'great' hitters overcome their own expectations and hit whatever the pitcher gives them.


Anybody major leaguer can hit a 3-0 fastball over the middle of the plate for a home run; the great ones can sit on that fastball but then see a hanging curve over the outside corner and take it the other way for a solid double.


Any politician can deal effectively with issues they they plan for; the great ones deal effectively with the ones that come across their plate, no matter their previous plans.


While climate change and financial regulation reform are important issues that need to be addressed, they may have to wait for the new Congress.

The rest of this Congress' time will be focused on the issue that the nativists in the Arizona legislature have heaved into their laps - addressing the issue of the flow of undocumented immigrants into the U.S., and the issue of how to handle the millions that are already in the U.S.


While many, and not just the nativists, advocate "solutions" that only address the immigrants themselves, almost no one advocates for measures that address the underlying cause of almost any non-warfare/natural disaster-inspired migration -

Economics.


Or more specifically, the soul-numbing poverty that afflicts a huge percentage of Mexicans and Central Americans. It's the kind of poverty that motivates men and women to abandon all that they have known, risk death by avaricious smugglers or unrelenting desert conditions, face the constant threat of arrest and deportation by American authorities, all for the dubious privilege of mowing American lawns, cleaning American houses, and picking American foodstuffs at incredibly low wages.


Any plan to address immigration and border issues, such as the latest "plan to end all plans", that address only the effects of immigration with enhanced walls and technology (security measures) and guarantees for businesses and workers (payoffs) but doesn't do anything to affect the underlying causes of immigration is doomed to fail or even to have any real impact.

However, any plan that doesn't include a lock 'em/deport 'em all main plank will incur the wrath and opposition of the Republicans in Congress, and any plan that doesn't protect the bottom lines of Big Business will garner the same wrath and opposition from both the Republicans and the conservative Democrats in Congress. In other words, such a plan would be doomed to fail in Congress.

It is time to push a plan that addresses the underlying causes behind immigration, yet does so in a way that can appeal to enough conservative Democrats (and maybe even a few Republicans) to make it through Congress.


Some multi-tasking is in order.


For example, a program similar to the old Civilian Conservation Corps could be implemented. However, instead of out-of-work Americans building roads in national parks, out-of-work Mexicans could build wind-power or solar power farms and the infrastructure necessary to distribute the power generated across impoverished northern Mexico and southern Arizona, or perhaps on a water desalination plant on the Baja coast that would send much-needed water to the southwestern U.S.

In addition to putting to work the very folks who would be most likely to consider crossing the border, reducing illegal immigration, it would strengthen the infrastructure needed for permanent economic development in one of the U.S.' primary trading partners. That combination would appeal to both the people who are advocating for migrants and the businesses that may object to a diminished supply of cheap labor - their payroll expenses may rise, but so will their revenue as their sales to Mexico and Mexicans rise.

Combine that with an increased military presence on the southern border with Mexico, from El Paso to Yuma. If officially deploying units to the border is politically or diplomatically unfeasible, perhaps the establishment of a "desert operations training center" or something similar. The desert along the border could become the training grounds for divisions about to deploy to the Middle East. They could practice patrolling with local terrain experts as guides, much as they would be doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course, the "local terrain experts" in the southern U.S. would be Border Patrol officers.

Such a move would both serve to quiet the nativists in AZ (and elsewhere) and the "secure the border first" Congressional critics of comprehensive immigration reform and to actually secure the border (most human and drug smugglers would think twice before crossing paths with a division of Marines or soldiers. Some would still try, but that number would probably be significantly reduced from the number of smugglers willing to attempt a desert crossing.)

The government of Mexico would surely object to some of this, but to be blunt, the government of Mexico is one of the few in the Western Hemisphere that the government of the United States can criticize for being too corrupt and inattentive to the needs of its people.

In other words, let them complain.

Now, I understand that one or more aspects of this idea may not be practicable, and this is surely an incomplete proposal, but Mr. President, you are a smart man who is surrounded by dozens of smart men and women.

You can work this out.

Mr. President, thank you for your time, and good luck.

Regards,

[cpmaz]

Update: I actually tried to submit the letter, but it is too long for the White House's contact form. So it is only a blog post, not a letter to the President.

Lucky interns. :)

Republican Secretary of State sued over business practices

From the Arizona Republic -

A small building-insulation company whose chairman is Secretary of State Ken Bennett is facing two suits that allege it engaged in securities fraud and breach of contract and failed to pay six employees more than $143,000.

Ummm...would it be reasonable to point out here fraud is *not* part of the SOS' job description? Just sayin'

Later...

Found a good way to tick off nativists

Remind them that legislators are elected to represent *all* of their constituents, not just the white ones.

Yesterday, the Arizona Republic ran an article speculating that Arizona is primed to gain one or even two seats in Congress after the 2010 Census.

Given the combination of the economic downturn in AZ, the raging paranoia of the "head for the hills, it's the Black Helicopters!" crowd in AZ, and the intimidation of Hispanic residents into not responding to the Census, I think we'll be lucky to gain even one seat, and losing one isn't beyond the realm of possiblity.

Anyway, the comments section of the article was interesting. One commenter, "WVWhiteGuy," took issue with Congressman Raul Grijalva's criticisms of the recently-enacted police state law targeting Hispanics.

I responded with -

"Grijalva's job is to represent the interests of his constituents. And even though you and Russell Pearce and the rest of the nativists may disagree, that includes the interests of constituents born with skin that is darker than lily-white."

Apparently, this concept offends a certain element of Arizona society.

The replies to my comment included pearls of wisdom and tolerance like "Grijalva thinks his constituents are Mexican nationales" and he "gives far more support to illegals than he does to ALL of his district constituents."

And in what I think is a personal record for one of my comments, the comment has received 24 "thumbs down"...and counting. :)

Ahhhh...ticking off nativists. A good way to start a week.

:)

D17 Legislators guide important bills through to the Governor's desk

After one of the most contentious legislative sessions on record, the Democratic contingent to West Washington can look upon their accomplishments this year with a little pride.

State Senator Meg Burton Cahill and State Representatives David Schapira and Ed Ableser each had bills reach the Governor's desk, awaiting her signature.

They include -

SB1232 (Burton Cahill), conforming Arizona's civil rights laws with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act

HB2462 (Ableser), reining in predatory towing companies

HB2080 (Schapira), "Helps students with chronic health problems by expanding parents’ choices of health professionals to certify their children need special accommodations to complete their coursework." (Quoting from a press release)

HB2401 (Schapira), expanding the teacher student loan forgiveness program (originally to encourage/aid future math, science, and special ed teachers) to include students who are elementary ed teachers in areas that have been determined to have a shortage of teachers.

Thanks for their hard work and congratulations on their successes go out to all three members of LD17's delegation.

From the "you can't make this stuff up" department - Burton Cahill's bill, SB1232, was pretty innocuous, almost a "technical corrections" bill, yet when it was passed by the Senate, it was opposed by John Huppenthal, a Republican candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Somewhat surprising for someone who wants to be in charge of educating Arizona's children - most people either have a disabled child in their family or know someone who does. His vote can only serve to tick off a significant part of the education community, a community whose support he is seeking in his attempt to change offices.

According to one source, it turns out that Huppenthal wasn't opposed to the content of the measure. According to that source, Huppenthal told an advocate for the disabled community that he voted against the bill because he personally disliked the Senator who sponsored the bill, Meg Burton Cahill.

That's pretty petty, even by the abysmally low standards of the GOP caucus in the lege.

Of course, this is the same John Huppenthal who stole signs opposing his candidacy and pushed around an elderly Democratic activist in 2008 (he faced charges, but was acquitted...by a Republican judge).

Being merely "petty" may qualify as a good day for Huppenthal...

Later...

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.

Ahhhh...the first lege-free week of the year...ahhhhhhhhhhhh


...In D.C. -

- The House looks to have a relatively quiet week this week. The agenda is very heavy on memorials and congratulations and such, while light on substantive legislation.

- The Senate will continue to consider reform of financial regulations. In addition, the Senate's committee schedule is here. The item of most interest to Arizonans could be Wednesday's hearing of the United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. The topic will be "Drug Trafficking Violence in Mexico: Implications for the U.S."

Edit on 5/2 to add: The AZ Republic has an article up documenting that while nativist rhetoric about cross-border violence is up, there hasn't actually been an increase in border-related violence in Arizona.

End edit.


...Back here in Arizona...

- The Arizona Corporation Commission won't be meeting this week, but their hearing schedule is here.

- The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will be meeting on Thursday. Rate-related items and the Navajo Generating Station dominate the agenda this time around. CAP's Public Policy Committee agenda (preceding the full Board meeting) is here.

- The Tempe City Council will have an active week. They will be part of a special meeting on Thursday to seek public comment on and give preliminary approval to Tempe's budget for the coming fiscal year. Budget-related coverage from the AZ Republic here. The agenda for the Council's regular meeting is here. The Council's calendar is here.

- The Scottsdale City Council will be meeting Tuesday. The agenda includes the likely hiring of the City's next future ex-City Manager. AZ Republic coverage here.

Not scheduled to meet this week: Arizona Board of Regents, Citizens Clean Elections Commission, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System, Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District.

Good news, bad news

Today was one of those days, every piece of good news was accompanied by a piece of bad news...

Good news: The Arizona legislature has adjourned sine die. It'll be another eight months (at least) before the Republicans' next all-out assault on the 4th Amendment in the name of ethnic purity "border security".

Bad news: There may be yet another special session later this year to deal with budget issues, especially if one or more budget-related referenda fail at the ballot box (sales tax hike in may, overrides of Voter Protection Act protections on voter-mandated spending in November).

Good news: It looks like Joe Arpaio will run for governor. As such, he will have to resign as Maricopa County Sheriff. Note: Arpaio says that the report saying that he will definitely run is "just speculation."

Bad news: The possibility of "Governor Arpaio."

Good news: The MLBPA (Major League Baseball Players Association) has noticed and come out strongly against Arizona's new anti-immigrant law.

Bad news: This could be the first step in Phoenix losing the 2011 baseball All-Star Game.

Later...

Early filers

As has been seen in the rash of press releases hitting the blogosphere, a number of candidates have already submitted their nominating petitions to get on the ballot this year.

From the Secretary of State's website (so only federal and state offices are included; local, county and other offices will be covered in other posts) -

US Senate, Republican

DEAKIN, JIM
1734 East Pontiac Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85024 Telephone: (602)885-2569
Filerid: N/A

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 6862
Supplemental Signatures: No

HAYWORTH, J.D.
PO Box 28604
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Telephone: (602)357-0000
Filerid: N/A

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 11458
Supplemental Signatures: No


Congress CD1, Republican

BEAUCHAMP, BRADLEY
PO Box 62
Globe, AZ 85502
Telephone: (928)701-1077
Filerid: N/A

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 1954
Supplemental Signatures: No


Congress CD3, Republican

WINKLER, ED
PO Box 32674
Phoenix, AZ 85064
Telephone: (480)998-8536
Filerid: N/A

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 835
Supplemental Signatures: No


Congress CD5, Republican

SCHWEIKERT, DAVID
15749 East El Lago Boulevard
Fountain Hills, AZ 85268 Telephone: (480)659-9383
Filerid: N/A

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 739
Supplemental Signatures: No


Congress CD7, Republican

MCCLUNG, RUTH
3963 West Prosperity Mine Place
Tucson, AZ 85745 Telephone: ( ) -
Filerid: N/A

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 1358
Supplemental Signatures: No


Governor, Democrat

GODDARD, TERRY
PO Box 1792
Phoenix, AZ 85001
Telephone: (602)254-6342
Filerid: 201000311

Date Filed: 03/12/2010
Signatures: 8589
Supplemental Signatures: No


Governor, Republican

BREWER, JAN
6835 West Union Hills Drive
Glendale, AZ 85308 Telephone: (602)633-4526
Filerid: 201000308

Date Filed: 02/02/2010
Signatures: 8154
Supplemental Signatures: No

JETTE, MATTHEW
2163 South Weaver Drive
Apache Junction, AZ 85220 Telephone: (480)205-0698
Filerid: 201000190

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 8547
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD4 State Senate, Democrat

DOLPHIN, SUE
20758 West Bunker Peak Road
Wittmann, AZ 85361 Telephone: (602)690-3780
Filerid: 201000142

Date Filed: 04/05/2010
Signatures: 597
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD7 State Senate, Republican

GREEN, BOB
4522 East Rowel Road
Phoenix, AZ 85050 Telephone: (480)717-7262
Filerid: 201000291

Date Filed: 03/08/2010
Signatures: 570
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD11 State Senate, Democrat

DICKINSON, RITA
2002 East Rancho Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85016 Telephone: (602)955-2772
Filerid: 201000397

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 659
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD11 State Senate, Republican

DAVIS, RICH
4644 North 22nd Street #2022
Phoenix, AZ 85016 Telephone: (623)239-1865
Filerid: 201000130

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 935
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD12 State Senate, Republican

SILVER, CLARK
18025 West Oregon Avenue
Litchfield Park, AZ 85340 Telephone: (602)451-3160
Filerid: 201000361

Date Filed: 04/22/2010
Signatures: 762
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD15 State Senate, Democrat

SINEMA, KYRSTEN
335 West Windsor Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85003 Telephone: (602)570-7217
Filerid: 201000021

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 676
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD17 State Senate, Democrat

SCHAPIRA, DAVID
3633 South Hazelton Lane
Tempe, AZ 85282 Telephone: ( ) -
Filerid: 201000326

Date Filed: 04/22/2010
Signatures: 473
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD17 State Senate, Republican

ROGERS, WENDY
719 East Erie Drive
Tempe, AZ 85282 Telephone: (480)529-9891
Filerid: 201000107

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 784
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD26 State Senate, Republican

CAGE, CHERYL
5839 West Sonoran Links Lane
Marana, AZ 85658 Telephone: (520)360-9016
Filerid: 201000078

Date Filed: 04/29/2010
Signatures: 567
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD30 State Senate, Democrat

CAMENISCH, TODD
5540 East Paseo Cimarron
Tucson, AZ 85750 Telephone: (520)955-1948
Filerid: 201000294

Date Filed: 04/29/2010
Signatures: 758
Supplemental Signatures: No




LD1 State Rep, Republican

FANN, KAREN
5691 Hole In One Drive
Prescott, AZ 86301 Telephone: (928)308-3995
Filerid: 201000346

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 1514
Supplemental Signatures: No

TOBIN, ANDY
PO Box 28035
Prescott Valley, AZ 86312
Telephone: (928)710-2352
Filerid: 201000025

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 1120
Supplemental Signatures: No

LD8 State Rep. Democrat

KRIEKARD, JOHN
16467 North 109th Way
Scottsdale, AZ 85255 Telephone: (480)473-1176
Filerid: 201000293

Date Filed: 04/28/2010
Signatures: 701
Supplemental Signatures: No


WILLIAMSON, W. JOHN
6480 North 82nd Street, Apartment 205
Scottsdale, AZ 85250 Telephone: (480)607-9726
Filerid: 201000239

Date Filed: 04/27/2010
Signatures: 369
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD8 State Rep., Republican

PENNYPACKER, PAULA
11530 East Winchcomb Drive
Scottsdale, AZ 85255 Telephone: (480)556-6787
Filerid: 201000410

Date Filed: 04/27/2010
Signatures: 917
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD8 State Rep., Republican

GRAY, RICK
PO Box 2363
Sun City, AZ 85351
Telephone: (623)340-8091
Filerid: 201000196

Date Filed: 04/02/2010
Signatures: 701
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD 10 State Rep.. Democrat

JAHNEKE, AARON
4053 West Mission Lane
Phoenix, AZ 85051 Telephone: (602)509-0561
Filerid: 201000396

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 354
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD11 State Rep, Democrat

MEYER, ERIC
7765 North Foothill Drive South
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253 Telephone: (480)607-0660
Filerid: 201000298

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 551
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD15 State Rep., Democrat

ALSTON, LELA
69 West Willetta Street
Phoenix, AZ 85003 Telephone: (602)278-2002
Filerid: 201000116

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 735
Supplemental Signatures: No


HOBBS, KATIE
1511 East Edgemont Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85006 Telephone: (602)318-9033
Filerid: 201000020

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 789
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD16, State Rep., Republican

GULAR, MICHAEL
PO Box 769
Laveen, AZ 85339
Telephone: (602)478-5359
Filerid: 201000131

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 177
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD18 State Rep., Democrat

CONWAY, MICHAEL
1758 East Gary Street
Mesa, AZ 85203 Telephone: (480)707-8570
Filerid: 201000359

Date Filed: 03/03/2010
Signatures: 281
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD19 State Rep., Republican

PERKINSON, SCOTT
3410 East Downing Street
Mesa, AZ 85213 Telephone: (602)818-4710
Filerid: 201000344

Date Filed: 02/16/2010
Signatures: 689
Supplemental Signatures: Yes


LD20 State Rep., Republican

ROBSON, BOB
2713 West Oak Grove Lane
Chandler, AZ 85224 Telephone: (480)786-0809
Filerid: 201000144

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 913
Supplemental Signatures: No

LD21 State Rep., Republican

MESNARD, J.D.
1427 West Homestead Court
Chandler, AZ 85286 Telephone: (480)650-4509
Filerid: 201000365

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 1172
Supplemental Signatures: No

WHITENER, VENESSA
18712 East Egret Circle
Queen Creek, AZ 85142 Telephone: (480)354-8174
Filerid: 201000341

Date Filed: 04/15/2010
Signatures: 878
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD23 State Rep., Republican

FILLMORE, JOHN
8840 East Main
Mesa, AZ 85207
Telephone: (602)885-6691
Filerid: 201000258

Date Filed: 04/14/2010
Signatures: 616
Supplemental Signatures: No

PRATT, FRANK
PO Box 10526
Casa Grande, AZ 85130
Telephone: (520)836-9592
Filerid: 201000228

Date Filed: 03/16/2010
Signatures: 599
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD27 State Rep., Democrat

GILBY, BOB
3027 North Gaia Place
Tucson, AZ 85745 Telephone: (520)743-9153
Filerid: 201000019

Date Filed: 03/31/2010
Signatures: 1176
Supplemental Signatures: No

LD28 State Rep., Democrat

SIDHWA, MOHUR
3661 North Campbell #316
Tucson, AZ 85719
Telephone: (520)954-2216
Filerid: 201000172

Date Filed: 04/01/2010
Signatures: 733
Supplemental Signatures: No

SULTAN, TIM
1347 East Spring Street
Tucson, AZ 85719 Telephone: (520)440-7442
Filerid: 201000279

Date Filed: 03/10/2010
Signatures: 494
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD29 State Rep., Republican

KILBURN, PAT
PO Box 17857
Tucson, AZ 85731
Telephone: (520)343-0022
Filerid: 201000385

Date Filed: 04/22/2010
Signatures: 300
Supplemental Signatures: No


LD30 State Rep., Democrat

DALESSANDRO, ANDREA
2214 East Falcon Vista Drive
Green Valley, AZ 85614 Telephone: (520)648-2092
Filerid: 201000100

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 1213
Supplemental Signatures: No


Attorney General, Democrat

ROTELLINI, FELECIA
3444 North 49th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85018 Telephone: (602)684-0410
Filerid: 201000232

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 7639
Supplemental Signatures: No


Attorney General, Republican

HORNE, TOM
2824 East Mission Lane
Phoenix, AZ 85028 Telephone: (602)885-4959
Filerid: 201000003

Date Filed: 04/26/2010
Signatures: 10656
Supplemental Signatures: No


Superintendent of Public Instruction, Republican

HUPPENTHAL, JOHN
8 Bullmoose Circle
Chandler, AZ 85224 Telephone: (480)330-3215
Filerid: 201000065

Date Filed: 01/20/2010
Signatures: 11053
Supplemental Signatures: No


Arizona Corporation Commission, Republican

BURNS, BRENDA
7424 East McLellan Lane
Scottsdale, AZ 85250 Telephone: (480)948-7799
Filerid: 201000090

Date Filed: 01/22/2010
Signatures: 10783
Supplemental Signatures: No

PIERCE, GARY
2625 North 24th Street #10
Mesa, AZ 85213 Telephone: (480)615-0524
Filerid: 200693527

Date Filed: 04/16/2010
Signatures: 9289
Supplemental Signatures: No

WONG, BARRY
29 West Medlock Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85013 Telephone: (602)850-4300
Filerid: 201000198

Date Filed: 04/23/2010
Signatures: 7893
Supplemental Signatures: No


This is just from the first few days...more updates as necessary.

Lege trying to wrap it up tonight

They're doing Final Read right now (approving Senate changes to bills that the House had previously approved. What I've seen so far looks to be non-controversial, but so did alt-fuels, before it cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars at the beginning of the last decade.

That one was passed during an end-of-session rush, too.

Keep your eyes open.

Full analysis this weekend.

A busy couple of days

A mish-mash of stuff, some immigration-related, some not.

...Congressman Harry Mitchell is having an active week, what with the Senate approving his bill to block this year's automatic pay raise for Congress and the VA ducking and running from a Mitchell-chaired hearing that had been scheduled to look into the VA's lackluster efforts to address the epidemic of suicides and attempted suicides among veterans of the U.S.'s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (Mitchell press release on the matter here).

Can't wait until one of the Rs running against Rep. Mitchell tries to label reining in Congress' pay and protecting America's veterans as being "too liberal."

...In signs that Arizona isn't the only place with whackadoodle nativists (we do seem to have the highest concentration of them, though) -

- A GOP candidate for Congress wants to implant microchips into undocumented immigrants (I'm OK with this...as soon as we find a way to implant souls into extreme GOPers)

- A GOP congressman from California, Duncan Hunter (the younger), wants to deport natural-born American citizens if they were born to undocumented immigrants...because their souls aren't American enough. (I'll concede the Congressman's evident expertise on that subject of souls that aren't "American enough")

- However, there is a least one ray of sanity breaking through the cloud of bigotry that has seemed to sweep over Arizona - Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Pima County has called the newly-enacted law "stupid" and "racist." (Probably too much to hope for, but if he moves to Maricopa County and challenges our would-be tin horn despot, I'll campaign and vote for him.)

...In a potentially scary development, and one that I hope I'm misreading and overreacting to, a co-worker of mine of Latino descent recently visited an office at an East Valley hospital and was asked for ID.

Not a big deal, except that this co-worker has been going to this office for years (literally) and was well-known to the staff there.

Even worse, this person was the only Latino in a full waiting room, and was the *only* one there asked for papers.

I've got an email out to the hospital in question. I'm hoping that this is a case of misreading the situation. As such, I'm not going to name the hospital until I see a pattern of bad behavior.

I'll update if I get a response, or if the behavior is shown to be part of a pattern.

BTW, because some nativist is going to ask: the co-worker is a third-generation Arizonan and has lived their entire life here. Not that it really matters to the nativists who are totally gaga over Arizona's "breathing while brown" law.

...It turns out that the Rs raging bigotry could cost Arizona some national influence. Not in a "Arizona will spend a decade as the nation's punch line" sort of way, but in a "they've intimidated Latinos into not responding to the Census, so Arizona won't be properly represented in Congress" sort of way.

There's more to be snarky about, but I have to head to bed.

Later...

Arizona's version of the corporate bailout bill dead...for now

From Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, via East Valley Tribune (my link) -

Senate Republicans drove the final nail Monday into a House-passed package of tax cuts for business.

Several members of the GOP caucus said they could not go along with a package to sharply cut corporate income taxes, phase out the state property tax and give other breaks to businesses. The plan, as approved earlier this year by the House, eventually would have slashed state revenues by $950 million a year.

The package had been trimmed into something that would have cost the state $600 million per year in lost revenue.

Of course, even in that "compromise", the priorities of House Speaker Kirk Adams and the rest of the Rs in the lege were made clear - they eliminated a cut to the state's personal income tax rate while leaving the corporate cuts intact.

Apparently, enough members of the R caucus realized that a year in which they eliminated KidsCare, closed state parks, and caused the layoffs of thousands of teachers may not be the best year in which to give a massive gift to corporations.

Especially a week after the approved the police state bill and put the state and themselves under a national and worldwide microscope.

Something tells me that the Rs really wanted to approve the corporate gifts, but didn't want to be seen doing so.

AZBlueMeanie at Blog for Arizona has coverage here.

Jon Stewart nails it...Arizona is the meth lab of democracy

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, one of the great thinkers of his day, observed that state legislatures are the "laboratories of democracy." (New State Ice Company v. Liebmann, 1932, FindLaw cite here)

Jon Stewart of The Daily Show, one of the great wiseasses of his day, observed that "Arizona is the meth lab of democracy." (4/26/2010, video on this posting at Talking Points Memo)


Justice Brandeis offered another quote, one that the nativists should keep in mind when they take their shoes off and start pounding on the table and start screaming about "respect for the law!" (source BrainyQuote.com) -

If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.

Of course, that won't happen in Arizona (making the law respectable) until we get some respectable lawmakers in Arizona.

Find a candidate, volunteer to help their campaign, and remember to vote in November.

Schapira first to file signatures in LD17

Press release time (via email) -

Schapira First to File in District 17

TEMPE - David Schapira has filed enough petition signatures with the Secretary of State’s office to qualify as a candidate for the State Senate race in District 17. He is the first candidate in District 17 of either party in either the House or Senate races to qualify. Schapira, a Clean Elections participating candidate, also filed more than the requisite number of $5 qualifying contributions in order to run under Arizona’s Clean Elections system.

An Arizona native, Schapira has drawn on his experience as a teacher and small business owner to serve Tempe and south Scottsdale for two terms in the State House of Representatives. He has received commendation as one of six “Lawmakers Who Made a Difference” and one of five “Emerging Leaders Worth Watching” by the Arizona Republic. He aims to bring his effective, pragmatic approach as a leader to the State Senate.

“I am honored by the way that petitions and contributions poured in from people all over Tempe and south Scottsdale. The people of our state are hungry for a change in leadership now more than ever, and I intend to be a part of that change,”
said Schapira. “For years, the leadership at the capitol has proven that they care more about practicing destructive, exclusive partisan politics and pursuing extremist ideological goals than they do about working on behalf of the people of Arizona. We have to break the status quo before it breaks our state completely.”

In addition to the recognition David has received from the Arizona Republic, he has been named a top legislator by the Arizona Student Association, American Cancer Society, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Arizona Technology Council. David has worked tirelessly at the capitol to make improving Arizona’s public education system a priority. He considers investment in K-12 and university education essential to reviving the state’s stagnant economy.

“Education must come first, and in this economy and job market, it’s even more critical to our advancement as a state. The best way to bring stable, well-paying jobs to Arizona is by offering employers a highly educated workforce. The best way to develop a robust, homegrown economic foundation is through our public universities’ research initiatives.”

David and his wife Rosemary reside in Tempe, and are expecting the birth of their first child this summer.

Learn more at DavidforAZ.com.

Congrats David!