Committees update

These posts will become more frequent as the calendar moves toward the latter part of 2015 - people who are running for office in 2016 want to have everything set up so that they can start walking neighborhoods, meeting voters, and obtaining nomination signatures as soon as the heat breaks in most of AZ...

State level -

- LD21 state representative Rick Gray has formed a committee to run for the Republican nomination for a seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission.

- Yavapai County supervisor Chip Davis of Cottonwood has formed a committee to run for the Republican nomination for one of the state house seats in LD1.  Incumbent state senator Steve Pierce is termed out, so incumbent state representative Karen Fann is looking to move across the quad at the Capitol.

Background on Davis here and here.

Note: Normally, I hold off on coverage of a legislative run this early in a cycle, but Davis is a five-term county supervisor.  That fact alone means this run merits some early coverage, IMHO.


Federal level -

- Republican former state legislator and Arizona secretary of state Ken Bennett has filed for a run for the Republican nomination for the CD1 seat in Congress.  He's currently the chair of the LD24 Republicans in Phoenix but he's not totally carpetbagging here - he and his family have roots in Prescott and many of the parts of rural AZ that make up CD1.

This run is not breaking news as he has been long known to be interested in the seat.

- Former Republican state legislator and former independent candidate for state legislature Tom O'Halleran has filed for a run for the Democratic nomination for the CD1 seat in Congress.


Maricopa County level -

Nothing major of note yet...

- But one Andrew Hettinger has filed to run for Justice of the Peace.  According to his campaign paperwork:

He works as an attorney for Pinal County.

He lives in Chandler.

He is running in the Moon Valley justice precinct, which is in north central Phoenix.

This could be fun as JP candidates are required by law to live in the actual precinct that they are running in.  Hettinger still has some time to make the move, but residency issues could crop up in this race.


- Michelle Robertson of Glendale has filed for a run for the Democratic nomination for Maricopa County school superintendent.  The incumbent is Republican Don Covey.


Local level -

The cities of Scottsdale and Mesa do not report any new candidates at this time.

In Tempe, one Irina Baroness von Behr has formed a committee for a run at a seat on the city council.