Ballot time in Arizona

...and elsewhere, as well, but since I live in AZ and my ballot covers AZ, that means this post will focus on AZ (or at least my little part of it).

There are races here in Maricopa County and elsewhere in the state that are important and interesting, but this post only covers those that are on my ballot.


President -

This one is easy -

Hillary Clinton is easily one of the two or three most qualified people to ever run for president.

Donald Trump is a buffoon (which is a word I use to describe someone when I don't want to use the more colorful part of my vocabulary).

And I thought this even before Trump's recently unearthed admission of a seduction technique that can best be described as "rape".



US Senate seat representing AZ -

Ann Kirkpatrick is nowhere near liberal enough to suit me, but she genuinely works to represent her constituents.

In addition to supporting Donald Trump until it was no longer "cool" to do so, John McCain has never met a war he didn't monger.

Another easy choice.


US Congressional seat, representing CD9 -

Skipping this race.

There are two Republicans in this race.  Be it in this race or ones where an R is running and is uncontested, I will be skipping the race.  Even in Arizona there are Republicans who are decent human beings and are (or were) honorable public servants.

They can no longer get through primaries here.


LD24 seats in the Arizona Legislature -

They face no challengers, but Sen. Katie Hobbs, Rep. Lela Alston, and Rep. Ken Clark do a great job representing the people of LD24 and merit an expression of our support and thanks.


Arizona Corporation Commission -

This is Arizona's utility regulator, and when the CEO of the largest regulated utility endorses three of the candidates, vote for the other two, and only the other two.

Those are Bill Mundell and Tom Chabin.



Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, District 1 -

Skipping this race.


Maricopa County Assessor -

Skipping this race.


Maricopa County Attorney -

Diego Rodriguez.

County Attorney isn't just a "staff" job, where the person holding the position must have a particular skill set (the lawyer stuff), but must have integrity,

Bill Montgomery is the incumbent.  Ask him on which side of the bars we can find Sean Pearce.


Maricopa County Recorder -

Adrian Fontes.

A county recorder doesn't do much that directly impacts voters, except for RUN ELECTIONS.

The current recorder, Helen Purcell, has held the post for decades (literally!).

It has been decades since an election here went of without a hitch.

It seems that in every cycle, something new goes wrong, but there is one constant - she always blames someone else for the problems.

The height of her chutzpah in this regard may have been when she blamed incredibly long voting lines during the presidential primary on voters actually, you know, "voting".


Maricopa County School Superintendent -

Michelle Robertson.

There are two candidates on the ballot.

Both are teachers.

One hates public education and Common Core (in short, he's Diane Douglas with a Y chromosome...and she is unfit to be state superintendent of public instruction).

The other one is Michelle Robertson.

She's highly intelligent, highly educated, and student-focused, and will make a great leader and advocate for Maricopa County schools.


Maricopa County Sheriff -

Paul Penzone, in another easy choice.

The incumbent, Joe Arpaio, a nationally-renowned nativist and publicity junkie, is facing criminal charges over the way he operates the agency.

Penzone is a decorated career public servant.  Arpaio has been reduced to bald-faced lies.

It should be a walkover for Penzone, but it won't be - too many of Arpaio's supporters know he is a hater, but he hates the same way that they do.


Maricopa County Treasurer -

Joe Downs.

Like Robertson above, he's smart and knows his stuff.

Unlike his opponent, he doesn't believe in using public resources to campaign for public office.



Justice of the Peace, Arcadia Biltmore -

Skipping this race.


Constable, Arcadia Biltmore -

Carolyn Lane.  She's unopposed, but she works her a** off and deserves an expression of thanks and support.


CAWCD (Central Arizona Water Conservation District, aka the governing board of the Central Arizona Project) -

For this race, voters can select five candidates.  However, there are three outstanding ones - Alexandra Arboleda, Ben Graff, and Jim Holway.  Voting for only those three will increase the likelihood of them winning seats.


Maricopa County Community College District governing board, At-Large seat -

Linda Thor.



Scottsdale Unified School District ballot questions -

"Yes" on both.

Just because the legislature hates public education and refuses to adequately fund it, doesn't mean we have go along with them.


Mayor of Scottsdale -

Bob Littlefield.

Bob is a die-hard Republican, and when he's mayor, we will disagree on pretty much everything that Democrats and Republicans disagree on.

But he genuinely cares about the city.

On the other hand, Jim Lane (the incumbent) and his accomplices on the City Council seem to mostly care about money from developers, holders of liquor licenses, and others that come before the council.

I may not agree with Littlefield on much, and reserve the right to not vote for him in a future election, but for this one, he meets the basic criteria necessary for all elected officials should meet (but most in AZ fail to meet) -

He gives a damn about the district/city that he is running to represent.


Scottsdale City Council -

Guy Phillips.

He's a tea party type, and one I wouldn't vote for under most circumstances.

However, Lane and his handlers keep running negative campaigns against him, so he gets my vote - much as I don't like his ideology, anybody that Jim Lane dislikes can't be all bad.



Proposition 490 (Scottsdale-specific ballot question) -

It appears to be a harmless cleanup of language in the city charter, but, while I am not familiar with all of the people who submitted an argument, the ones that I am familiar with have never supported a "good government" measure that doesn't directly benefit them.

Oh, and Jim Lane also endorsed this one.

No.


Back of the ballot:

Judges - AZ Supreme Court, AZ Court of Appeals and Maricopa County Superior Court -

Voting to retain all listed, except for Jo Lynn Gentry.

The Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review does a good job of examining their own, and I am going with that.

Next cycle, I may not - Governor Doug Ducey and the majority in the Arizona Legislature are doing their level best to co-opt/corrupt the judicial branch, and they may make enough inroads toward that goal that next time, the Commission may not merit trust.

For now, however, they do.


Arizona ballot questions -

Proposition 205

Passage of this one would legalize the possession of marijuana for recreational use.

This one is controversial, in that many of the people and corporations that profit from the status quo oppose it.  And have expended thousands (OK, millions) of dollars to defeat it.

Given that the vast majority of Arizonans understand that marijuana is not the "great evil" and opponents that profit from pharmaceuticals that are less effective than marijuana or the police state apparatus that has been constructed to wage the "War on Drugs", well, they've had to resort to misleading and false signs, TV spots, and more.

I am voting Yes.


Proposition 206 -

Passing this one would raise the state's minimum wage, in increments, to $12/hour by 2020.  It would also result in employees being able to accrue paid sick leave.

Yes.

Duh.

Kirkpatrick mounting a 2016 run for US Senate in 2016

The first "Wow!" moment of the 2016 election cycle, courtesy a tweet (via Facebook status) from Brahm Resnik of Phoenix channel 12 -

The full story is here.

Update: Campaign Committees

There have been a few developments on the 2012 campaign committee front since the last update.


...In the race for US Senate, Don Bivens, attorney and former chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, has formed a committee.  According to Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post's The Fix, the committee is an exploratory one, and Bivens has said that he will make a final decision on running around Labor Day.

...In legislative developments -

- Former state legislator David Bradley has formed an exploratory committee for a run for the Democratic nomination for LD28 state senate.

- Martin Quezada has formed an exploratory committee for a run for the Democratic nomination for LD13 state representative.

- Lorenzo Sierra Jr. has formed an exploratory committee for a run for the Democratic nomination for LD13 state representative.

- Michael Snitz has formed a committee for a run for the Democratic nomination for LD14 state representative.

Note:  all of the districts listed will change once the Independent Redistricting Commission puts together the new maps.

Active Congressional committee fundraising totals (April thru June) (incumbents italicized):

Raul Grijalva (D) - $88233 raised, $70724 on hand
Chuck Gray (R) - $3359 raised, $16443 on hand
Trent Franks (R) - $59507 raised, $41068 on hand, $372477 in debt
David Schweikert (R) - $2230 raised, $17881 on hand, $501800 in debt
David Schweikert (R) (2nd committee) - $250777 raised, $336262 on hand
Gabrielle Giffords (D) - $281177 raised, $787949 on hand
Travis Grantham (R) - $13300 raised, $13240 on hand
Kirk Adams (R) - $230525 raised, $209225 on hand
Ann Kirkpatrick (D) - $221289 raised, $215723 on hand
Paul Gosar (R) - $166544 raised, $138392 on hand
Ed Pastor (D) - $93158 raised, $1391488 on hand
Ben Quayle (R) - $282964 raised, $370277 on hand, $7487 in debt
Matt Salmon (R) - $162289 raised, $155744 on hand, $16889 in debt
Gabriela Saucedo Mercer (R) - $22397 raised, $21351 on hand, $485 in debt
Wenona Benally Baldenegro (D) - $8446 raised, $4603 on hand

Note: because incumbent US Representative Jeff Flake is now running for US Senate, his fundraising reports are not available online.

Note2: All numbers rounded to the nearest dollar.

Note3: I didn't list the district of the Congressional committees because those are going to change in a few months.

Observation:  Aren't the Republicans the ones who campaign on their opposition to debt?  Just sayin'...

- No changes in municipal campaign committees in Tempe and Scottsdale, though that should change soon - sources report that there is a poll in the field regarding the Tempe mayor's race. Some say it's a push poll, others say it's legit. I'm not a Tempe resident, so I didn't get the calls and cannot evaluate it directly.

Later...

2012 Congressional Speculation

With Senate candidate speculation running wild across Arizona (Flake in, Shadegg out, Arpaio flirting, Democrats waiting until summer to see what happens with Gabrielle Giffords' recovery), now folks are starting with speculation regarding possible Congressional runs.

Some of the names so far, mostly in a run for Jeff Flake's seat (CD6) sort of way, but not really, since redistricting could make the current CD6 a totally different district (with a couple of other committees thrown in for good measure) -

Republican Kirk Adams, speaker of the Arizona House, from East Mesa

Republican Russell Pearce, president of the Arizona Senate, from Central/West Mesa

Republican Scott Smith, Mayor of Mesa

Republican Chuck Gray, former state senator from LD19 (East Mesa), close to Pearce so probably won't jump into the race if Pearce actually runs

Republican Jay Tibshraeny, current Mayor of Chandler,  former state senator, and previously considered an heir-apparent for Flake's seat if Flake moved on/out.  Redistricting could affect his decision to run/not run (that caveat could apply to almost every possible candidate, so consider it applied for each one)

Republican Rich Crandall, current state senator from East Mesa.  Crandall, Adams, and Gray are all from the same district, LD19, but they aren't close friends by any stretch and could easily end up knocking each other off, helping Smith (if he jumps in)

Republican Gabriela Saucedo Mercer has opened a committee to run against Democratic incumbent Raul Grijalva in CD7.  Haven't heard of her before this and don't know much about her.  However, if she's a serious candidate (and not just a fringe tea party type), we'll know more later in the year
Republican David Schweikert has opened a reelection committee for his seat

Democrat Harry Mitchell hasn't ruled out a run for a rematch with Schweikert, looking to reclaim the seat he formerly held

Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, like Mitchell a former member of Congress, may also run again

Republican Hugh Hallman, Mayor of Tempe, has ambitions for higher office, but any run for Congress will depend on redistricting and which other candidates jump in

Democrat Neil Giuliano, former Mayor of Tempe and former Republican, could also jump in, especially if Mitchell decides against a run.  I don't know how close he and Giuliano are, but Mitchell is the political force of nature in Tempe, so his decision will affect that of the other potential candidates

Democrat Phil Gordon, current Mayor of Phoenix whose term expires this year.  Noted for his ambition and his Phoenix-based campaign machine, if he doesn't go for the Senate seat, is seen as likely to pursue a Congressional run.  Of course, he could go for Governor in 2014, or for McCain's Senate seat in 2016, or...? :)

Republican State Senator Rick Murphy, a former (and future?) Congressional candidate, has opened a $500 Threshold Committee for a run at the Peoria Unified School District Governing Board.  Someone like Murphy standing for a public school committee slot is like someone like me standing for chair of the AZGOP.  Except that I don't want to kill off and bury the AZGOP, just help defeat them at the ballot box


There will be other names out there once the new district maps are drawn, and once the field for the soon-to-be open U.S. Senate seat sorts itself out.

Later...

AZ-Sen starting line: Some candidates have a head start

While any candidate who jumps into for the US Senate will be sure to start raising money, some potential candidates already have a head start.  They already have federal campaign committees formed, and even if the committees are for some other office, the cash can be transferred to a Senate run.

The most recent "cash on hand" reported for the federal campaign committees of selected possible candidates -

Republicans -

JD Hayworth - $148,224.47

Jeff Flake - $627,851.61

John Shadegg - $154.99

David Schweikert - $16,308.33

Ruth McClung - $107,649.87 (included because she has so much cash on hand)

Jonathan Paton - $12,389.26

Ben Quayle - $7607.04


Democrats -

Ed Pastor - $1,391,936.29

Gabrielle Giffords - $285,501.24

Raul Grijalva - $30,621.77

Ann Kirkpatrick - $13,896.86


Just for giggles -

Joe Arpaio - $2,829,160.00

That number is worthy of giggles because while it dwarfs every other potential candidate's cash on hand, it doesn't matter - it's for his county sheriff candidacy and cannot be transferred to a federal committee.


While there has been a little internet chatter over a possible Pastor candidacy and his well-stocked campaign warchest and some of the other potential candidates have little or no cash for a federal campaign, once a legit candidate enters the race he or she will be able to raise money quickly.

Of course, they'll have to.  :)

Ann Kirkpatrick on KNXV-TV

From Phoenix's channel 15.

Another Veterans' Group Grades Harry Mitchell - A+, of course

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) Action Fund has given out its grades to Congress in its 2010 Congressional Report Card.

The grades for the AZ delegation can be found here.

Summary:

Harry Mitchell - A+ (whooo hoooo!)

Ann Kirkpatrick - A+

Ed Pastor - A

Gabrielle Giffords - B

Raul Grijalva - C

Jon Kyl - D

John McCain - D

Trent Franks - D

Jeff Flake - F

John Shaddegg - F


The interesting part?  The lowest-graded Democrat in Arizona, Raul Grijalva, still out-paced the highest-graded Republicans from our state, Franks, McCain, and Kyl.

Apparently "anti-war" isn't synonymous with "anti-warrior" and "pro-war" isn't synonymous with "pro-warrior."

No matter how much the Rs protest to the contrary.

Arizona Republic editorial board to its readers: Arizona may be in lousy shape, but you should vote for the status quo

Liberals like to claim that the Arizona Republic is a "conservative" paper, but it's not. (Though to be fair, many of them remember the not-so-distant days when the Rep was officially named the "Arizona Republican" or less officially served as the press release outlet for the Arizona Republican Party.)

Conservatives like to claim that the Rep is a "liberal" paper, but it isn't.  (It just isn't a mouthpiece for the "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" wing of the AZGOP.)

Instead, the Arizona Republic is a "corporate" paper, dedicated to defending corporate profit margins.  Since most corporations operate in such a way as to derive the maximum profit from the political status quo, the Republic has become a staunch defender of that status quo.

Their latest list of election endorsements clearly illustrate this tendency.

- They passed over Terry Goddard in giving their endorsement in the race for governor to Jan Brewer.  They called Goddard an "articulate, dedicated servant of the people of this state" yet gave the nod to Brewer, citing her ability to "handle the legislature" (apparently, the Rep's editorial board slept through all of 2009) and her disbanding of the state's Department of Commerce in favor of a meaningless (and authority-less) "Commerce Authority."  What they also liked was her support for "enhancing prospects for job creation" - better known as blanket tax cuts directed to corporations.

- They ignored Rodney Glassman (literally!  He wasn't even mentioned in the article!) in giving their endorsement for U.S. Senate to John McCain.  In the opinion piece, they cited "McCain's role in all those great national and world debates," such as the debates over the war in Iraq and campaign finance reform.  What they didn't cite were McCain's accomplishments for Arizona.  They couldn't cite those accomplishments, because there aren't any.  This particular endorsement also isn't a surprise, even aside from its "status quo" characteristics - the Rep's editorial board has been in the McCain family pocket for decades (is Dan Nowicki the Republic's reporter who is embedded with McCain's staff, or is he the McCain staffer embedded with the Republic?  Either way, the effect, and the final product, is the same...)

- The Rep's endorsement of Ann Kirkpatrick in the CD1 race also serves to illustrate the Rep's "status quo" bias - she's an incumbent, and while a Democrat, she's a conservative one who thoroughly supports Big Business.  Note: While I too support and recommend voting for her, it's because she is the better candidate, not a great candidate.

- The logic the Rep's editorial board used when passing over Penny Kotterman when endorsing John Huppenthal for State Superintendent of Public Instruction astounds me, even when allowing for their "status quo" bias.  They cite his 18 years of legislative experience focusing on education issues and then follow it up with this quote -

We believe the sort of reform advocated by John Huppenthal is best for improving Arizona's often dismal comparative standing on the crucial questions of how best to improve schools.

Ummm...do they understand that Huppenthal and the "reforms" pimped by him are some of the major reasons for Arizona's "dismal comparative standing" on most education-related metrics?  And that his experience in the lege has included years of trying to slowly destroy public education in Arizona?

Their endorsement is as sensible as a doctor sitting down with a patient who has been diagnosed with lung cancer after decades of smoking and suggesting that the patient could cure the cancer by smoking more cigarettes.

- In a bit of a surprise, the Rep's editorial board endorsed Felecia Rotellini over Tom Horne for Attorney General.  They complimented her as "smart and unflappable," which is very true, but Tom Horne is a current office holder and an establishment Republican.  This would seem to disprove my "status quo bias" position, until one remembers that, like Rotellini, Terry Goddard, the current Attorney General, is smart, unflappable, and a Democrat. 

- However, the Rep did spring one big surprise on voters, and not in a good way.  They twisted themselves like a pretzel to find a way to ignore Jon Hulburd and give their CD3 endorsement to Ben Quayle.

First, they opened up their piece with -

Ben Quayle, a Republican, may be the best-known congressional candidate in the country who isn't a member of the "tea party." That shouldn't matter to voters in District 3, which stretches from north-central Phoenix to New River. They don't need a celebrity. They need the best representative they can elect.

In the next paragraph, they follow that up with -

If this were a job interview, Democrat Jon Hulburd would have the large advantage. He rose to become a partner at Fennemore Craig, one of Phoenix's top law firms. He left to start an import business. He has career and community accomplishments that Quayle can't match.

So naturally, after pointing out Quayle's celebrity status and saying that CD3 doesn't need a celebrity in Congress, and Hulburd's vastly superior resume and qualifications, they gave their endorsement to Quayle -

But elections aren't just about resumes. They're about ideas. And on that score, Quayle is the better candidate to succeed John Shadegg. Quayle is well-versed in the issues. He speaks with passion and conviction.

So, the Rep soft-pedals Quayle's lack of qualifications for any elected office, much less a seat in Congress, and completely ignores his pre-candidacy career as a writer for the website Dirty Scottsdale, under the porn-riffic nom de plume "Brock Landers."

Could the Quayle family's previous ownership of the Republic have influenced the endorsement?  Nahhhh, couldn't be...

The headline for the Rep's endorsement was "Ben Quayle offers candor, conviction."

Given that Quayle's previous "candor" indicated a deep disrespect for women and could lead to convictions of the criminal variety if he becomes part of the free-for-all social environment in D.C.'s political subculture, instead of being a surprise, perhaps the Rep's endorsement of his [possible] ascension to Congress would be in perfect keeping with their desire to maintain the status quo.

Less than a week ago, the Republic actually brought themselves some credit with their list of endorsements for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District - the candidates they endorsed were intelligent, educated, experienced, and highly-qualified for the job.

Apparently, however, those qualities are desirable only in candidates for lower-profile (though extremely important) offices. 

I may agree with some of the Rep's coming endorsements, but where I will support the candidates who are better for Arizona, they'll be supporting the candidates who they see as most protective of their preferred status quo.

Crickets chirping

There's been a lot of bluster and name-calling from Republican candidates during this year's election season -

"Obamacare!"

"Immigrants!"

"Cut taxes!"

"Immigrants!!"

"Unions!"

"Immigrants!!!"

"Lather, Rinse, Repeat!"


Well, it turns out there is a quick and efficient way to get Republicans to shut up - challenge them to stand up and actually explain their positions civilly.


- Candidate for governor Terry Goddard has challenged Jan Brewer to a series of debates all over the state, but she has refused to participate in any more than the one that she was required to participate in as a condition of accepting Clean Elections funding.

She has refused to do so, but given her thorough faceplant of a performance in the CE debate, her reluctance in understandable.  Though not acceptable.

- Treasurer candidate Andrei Cherny has challenged Doug Ducey to a series of debates, but thus far, he has also declined to participate, perhaps out of fear that his financial misdeeds (here and here) would become a topic of discussion.

- Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick has challenged Republican nominee Paul Gosar to some debates, but the career dentist and tea party favorite is avoiding a direct confrontation with the incumbent in CD1.

- Jon Hulburd, the Democratic nominee in CD3, has challenged Ben "Dirty Scottsdale" Quayle to some debates, but apparently, the Republican nominee is hoping Daddy's name recognition and money connections will keep him from having to mount an actual campaign.

- CD2 Congressional candidate John Thrasher reports that Republican incumbent Trent Franks has agreed to a debate.  Just not to "minor" details like a place and a time...


In fact, the only R candidate who has accepted a debate challenge outside of one required by Clean Elections rules is John McCain, who will be debating Democratic challenger Rodney Glassman on September 26.

Other than that one example, however, the only sound one hears when the R candidates are challenged to put up or shut up is the sound of

Crickets chirping.

Health care vote coming up in Congress

Later this week, or perhaps early next week, the US House will vote on a health care reform bill. Its passage (assuming it passes, a likely occurrence but far from a guaranteed one) won't signal the end of the HCR debate - the Senate will still have to deal with it.

However, now is the time to help ensure HCR's passage through the House - contact your Congressional representative and urge them to support it.

My brief letter to Congressman Harry Mitchell, doing just that -

Dear Congressman Mitchell,

Within the next week or so, Congress will be voting on a health care reform bill.

Last year, you supported an HCR bill with a strong public option (Thank you!), and I am writing to you to urge you to continue to do so.

The current system of health insurance caters to the whims and desires of corporate bigwigs and lobbyists, while denying care for the patients who need it.

Throughout your political career, you have been known for standing up for the needs of your constituents. Right now, thousands of your constituents need you to stand strong one more time, this time against against the falsehoods and smears of those who are profiting from the current dysfunctional system of health insurance.

Congressman Mitchell, thank you for all that you have done for the people of your district.

Regards,

[cpmaz]

At this point, I expect that long and involved missives aren't necessary, but short notes to let our Congressmen and -women know that people are still watching and care about HCR are definitely in order this week.

Congressman Mitchell's online contact/email form is here.

For those who live in districts other than CD5...

Ann Kirkpatrick (CD1) can be contacted here
Ed Pastor (CD4) can be contacted here
Raul Grijalva (CD7) can be contacted here
Gabrielle Giffords (CD8) can be contacted here

If you live in CDs 2, 3, and 6, you are represented by hardcore Republicans who are opposed to any kind of health care reform, no matter how much their constituents urgently need it to pass. Whether you support or oppose HCR, those reps don't care - they made up their minds before it was even proposed.

Later...

Health care reform: It's not time to get out the tar and feathers...yet

Desert Beacon in Nevada puts it far better than I can here...but that's not going to stop me from trying anyway. :)

Most of the recent developments regarding health care reform in the Senate have been disheartening to those of us who support substantive reform.

Between Joe Lieberman behaving as if he is relevant, the death of a single-payer plan, and the way that the Senate plan has morphed from a plan to "reform" health care to a plan to "enhance" insurance industry profits, it's easy to be discouraged.

Don't be, not yet anyway.

This whole mess still has to go to conference committee to be merged with the bill that passed the House.

What is more important than the Senate bill is the final bill, the one that reaches the President's desk.

Many people in the center and on the left may not understand that, but you can be sure that the Republicans understand it all too well. They are less interested in seeing that a "bad" bill passes the Senate than in seeing *no* bill pass the Senate.

They know that it is easier to fix the shortcomings in a bad program than to start one from scratch (witness the months-long kerfluffle over health care reform).

Now is the time for all of us to contact our representatives in Congress again (I know a couple of office staffers who aren't going to be happy about that line :)) ) and let them know that the only acceptable reform is real reform, not an insurance industry wish list. Let them know that their constituents need them to stand strong in supporting substantive reform.

We've given up on single-payer (with all due respect to Senator Sanders, his amendment was never going to pass even if he hadn't withdrawn it). but a non-mandatory public option is a must, and it's a reasonable compromise.

Well, "reasonable" to most anyone who doesn't work for the insurance industry, like Jon Kyl, John McCain, and Joe Lieberman (ok, so it's Lieberman''s wife who works for the industry. He works for her.)

We can get that in conference, but first, we have to *get* to a conference committee.

For that, we need the Senate to pass *something.*


Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (CD8) can be contacted via this online form.

Congressman Raul Grijalva (CD7) can be contacted here.

Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick (CD1) can be reached here.

Congressman Harry Mitchell (CD5) has a contact form here.

Congressman Ed Pastor (CD4) can be reached via this generic House contact form.

I'm not bothering to list the contact info for any of the Arizona Republicans in the House or Senate. They've all made it clear that they are opposed to any form of health care reform, or at least any that isn't structured to increase insurance company profits and reduce choice for average Americans. If you want to contact them, then use a search engine to find their official websites and work from there.

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 is shaping up to be a busy week as most political entities try to clear as much work as possible off of their dockets before the holiday season hits full force.


...The U.S. House of Representatives is back in session this week, starting Monday afternoon. The official agenda doesn't list "health care reform politicking", but that activity is certain to grab most of the media's attention this week and every week until a final bill is passed by both chambers.

The House does have some regular work to do this week, and while none of the items at hand shape up to be as interesting or contentious as health care reform, this will still be a busy week for politics-watchers.

Of interest to Arizonans -

H.R. 1834, the Native American Business Development Enhancement Act of 2009, sponsored by AZ1's Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. The purpose of the bill is to "..amend the Small Business Act to expand and improve the assistance provided to Indian tribe members, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians..." CRS summary here. Heard under suspension of the rules, so a 2/3 majority is required for passage.

H.R. 3791, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2009. The bill is sponsored by AZ5's Rep. Harry Mitchell. CRS summary is here. CBO analysis here (cost estimate: $2.7 billion thru 2014, $2.1 billion thereafter, assuming funds are appropriated. This is only an authorization bill). This bill will be the subject of a House Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday at 3 p.m. (EST).

- Of more general interest, but certain to generate some serious controvery -

H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act of 2009. CRS summary here. CBO estimates here (expected to increase federal spending by $210 billion over 10 years).

Possible consideration of the conference report on H.R. 2847, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. CRS summary here. This one has some "interesting" provisions, like prohibiting the use of funds "to implement, administer, or enforce any EEOC guidelines covering harassment based on religion."

Who wrote this stuff? Bush appointees?


...Over in the U. S. Senate, expect some serious arm-twisting over health care reform. The Senate's committee schedule is here.


...Back here in Arizona, the Arizona Legislature may or may not be holding a special session this week. And whether or not they do, in fact, hold a session this week, few Capitol watchers expect any significant progress toward a real fix for the budget mess until after the new year.

However, special session or no, the makework schedule continues unabated.

- The Ad Hoc Committee on Energy and Water Development will meet on Monday at 8:30 a.m. in SHR1.

- The Ad Hoc Committee on Mining Regulations will meet on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR1. The meeting will be chaired by the mining industry's personal representative to the State Senate, Sylvia Allen. She will be asking mining industry lobbyists and executives what kind of government regulations they want for their business.

Look at the agenda (linked above). I'm not exaggerating.

- The Ad Hoc Committee on Agriculture Regulations will meet on Monday at 3 p.m. in HHR1. Agribusiness' personal rep in the State Senate, Steve Pierce, will be in the same place doing the same thing for his keepers that Sylvia Allen was doing for hers two hours earlier.

- The Ad Hoc Committee on Private School Tuition Tax Credit Review will meet on Monday at 1 p.m. in HHR5. It's already apparent that Speaker Adams' hand-picked committee to look into STOs and the tax credit program is less an "inquiry" and more a "pep rally."

One of the scheduled presenters at the hearing is Dr. Charles M. North, an economics professor from Baylor University.

I thought that Waco, Texas (home of Baylor U) was a *little* far to go in search of an economics expert who could discuss the economic impacts of STOs and tuition tax credits on Arizona. U of A, ASU, and NAU have economics faculty who are competent. Even renowned.

And UA, ASU, and NAU are a LOT closer.

Hmmm...I wonder who's paying for Dr. North's trip to AZ? I would love to get a look at the expense records of the lege and a couple of STOs to find out.

Anyway, a little quick research on Dr. North found he has authored publications like "Going to College, Getting a Job: What Happens when Mom and Dad Take Their Kids to Church," "Must the poor always be with us? What do we do?" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger? The Role of Vouchers in Regulating Private Schools."

And that was just stuff from his official bio at Baylor, linked above.

Instead of handing out copies of the agenda before this meeting, why don't they just hand out copies of the script, so everyone can follow along???

- The House Government and Senate Government Institutions Committee of Reference will meet on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in HHR5. The meeting is for the sunset reviews of the Arizona Legislative Council, the Office of the Auditor General, and the Arizona State Library, Archive and Public Records.

- The Ad Hoc Legislative Committee on Agency Information Technology will meet on Thursday at 9 a.m. in HHR5.

...Anyway, I've got something else to do this afternoon, so I will complete this post later today...

Edit later on 11/15 to complete this post with info from county, local, and other state political bodies/agencies...

...The Arizona Corporation Commission is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday. The agenda is a long one. Many of the items will impact readers all over the state (rate hikes and related items) but the one that could have the most direct impact on readers in my vicinity (LD17 and environs) is this one -

26. Arizona-American Water Company (W-01303A-08-0227 and SW-01303A-080227) – Application for a Determination of the Current Fair Value of its Utility
Plant and Property and for Increases in its Rates and Charges Based Thereon For Utility Service by its Agua Fria Water District, Havasu Water District, Mohave Water District, Paradise Valley Water District, Sun City West Water District and Tubac Water District; Application for a Determination of the Current Fair Value of its Utility Plant and Property and for Increases in its Rates and Charges Based
Thereon For Utility Service by its Mohave Wastewater District.

The ACC's full hearing schedule is here.


...The Citizens Clean Election Commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. No agenda posted online as of this writing.


...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has its normal schedule of meetings for the week - an "informal" meeting with an executive session component on Monday and a "formal" meeting scheduled for Wednesday. Both agendas look to be pretty mundane, but there is a *lot* of stuff here as they try to clear the decks in preparation for the holiday season.


...The Board of Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System has a special session on tap for Monday. It will primarily be an executive session discussing the contract of Betsey Bayless, the CEO of MIHS. On Wednesday, the Board has a "retreat" scheduled - discussion of objectives, best practices, and the like.


...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project doesn't have a full board meeting scheduled this week, but it will still be active.

- On Wednesday, CAP's Systems Operations Advisory Group will meet at 9 a.m.

- On Thursday, their Public Policy Committee will meet at 10:30 a.m.

- On Thursday, the Board (or such members as show up) will hold a work/study session on Recovery Planning/Projects.


...The Tempe City Council will meet Thursday. The agenda looks pretty boring except for initial consideration of a resolution expressing support for a consolidation plan from the City Manager for Tempe city government.

The Council's Calendar is here.


...The Scottsdale City Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, and the agenda looks to be an interesting one.

- Item 10, on the consent agenda, covers the referral to a special election of charter amendments. Assuming approval, the election would be held on March 9, 2010.

- Items 13 and 14, also on the consent agenda, are related to lawsuits against the City. 13 is funding for the settlement of one suit, 14 is for paying an attorney to fight another one.

An AZ Republic article on the lawsuit behind #14 here.

- Item 23 relates to discussion and possible initiation of a Zoning Ordinance text amendment to update current regulations of live entertainment. This one was requested by Council member Lisa Borowsky.

- Item 24 concerns the appointment of an Acting City Manager (candidates David Ellison, David Richert, and Brent Stockwell, all current City employees) and the establishment of a process for finding a permanent City Manager (includes the creation of a Mayor-appointed "City Manager Recruitment Ad Hoc Committee). This one has a possible executive session component associated with it.

- Item 25 (no hyperlink available) is "requested" by Council member Borowsky but it looks like it is straight out of Mayor Jim Lane's "outsource everything" playbook.

Request: At the request of Vice Mayor Borowsky, discussion and possible action or direction to staff on reorganizing the Government Relations Department, including budgetary matters, possible initiation of the RFP process to use outside contractors to provide government relations services, and location of the Government Relations Department within the city organizational structure.

The City's Charter Review Task Force is scheduled to meet on Monday. Agenda here.

The City's Community Meetings notice is here.

Not scheduled to meet this week: Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District. The Arizona Board of Regents has *something* going on, but I'm not sure what.

H.R. 3962 passes - YESSSSSS!

After more than 12 hours of debate on a Saturday, and nearly 100 years of delay, dallying, and outright obstruction, the House passed a significant health care reform measure.

With a tally of 220 in favor, 215 against, and none voting present or not voting, H.R. 3962 passed the House of Representatives. 39 Democrats crossed over and voted with the Republicans, while 1 Republican, Joseph Cao of Louisiana, voted with the majority Democrats.

All of AZ's Democrats voted in favor of health care reform; all of AZ's Republican opposed health care reform.

Harry Mitchell's statement of support (pre-vote) is here.
Gabrielle Giffords statement of support (pre-vote) here.
Ann Kirkpatrick's statement on her vote is here.
Jeff Flake's statement about his vote here.
Trent Franks' statement on the vote here.

The others, Pastor, Grijalva, and Shadegg, didn't have relevent statements up on their House websites as of the writing of this post.

Biggest disappointment: By a vote of 240 to 194, with 1 voting present (AZ's John Shadegg...more on that in a moment), the House amended H.R. 3962 with language proposed by Bart Stupak (D-MI) to ban payments for abortions under the public option.

Shadegg's plan behind the "present" vote was that by voting that way, he could help defeat the amendment without actually voting against it. He thought that would be a good tactic to defeat the underlying bill. He thought that the anti-choice amendment made the bill palatable for some reluctant Dems.

As for AZ's delegation, the five Democrats voted against the Stupak amendment while Republicans Franks and Flake voted in support. [Thanks to commenter Eli Blake for spotting the typo here. This is the corrected version.]

As was noted by most of the speakers who opposed the amendment, funding for abortions was already pretty much banned anyway (Section 222, or page 110 of this .pdf, courtesy of the House Rules Committee). Stupak's amendment was actually a ploy to whittle away at private access to a legal medical procedure.

One ray of hope here: The amendment could still be stripped out in conference committee, which will be needed because the Senate's version of health care reform is *somewhat* different than the House's.


There's a lot more to say on this, but my cold is kicking my butt, so let me close with this:

Thank you, Congresswomen Giffords, Congresswoman Kirkpatrick, Congressman Pastor, Congressman Grijalva, and especially (because he is my representative) Congressman Mitchell.

Your votes today to support the interests of your constituents ahead of the interests of big insurance companies illustrates why your constituents elected you in the first place.

And why they'll continue to elect you for as long as want to serve as their representatives.


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...


...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 arm-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.

Congressman Harry Mitchell on Health Care Reform

Courtesy an email sent today -

Dear [cpmaz],

As you may be aware, Congress has begun to debate health insurance reform and may have a vote on a reform bill as early as the end of July. Currently, there is a bill being processed in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 3200, the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, and there are two bills making their way through the U.S. Senate. While I continue to review these proposals, you, too, can read these bills in their current forms here.

As I meet with people throughout the district, it seems that everyone has a personal story about health care. Like most Americans, I believe that rising costs and the threat of losing coverage is cause for great concern. There are too many examples of folks being denied the care their doctor prescribes because their insurance company says no, or of businesses being unable to create more jobs because the cost of health insurance will bust their budget, or of parents who cannot afford to pay for routine medical treatment to keep themselves and their children healthy.

Those conversations, along with recommendations received from doctors, nurses, patients, and health care providers in Arizona have convinced me that our system needs reform. In fact, since 2000, health care premiums have more than doubled and small businesses have faced a 129 percent increase in health care costs.

Let me be clear, I believe reform needs to protect what works and fix what doesn't. Reform should not only improve access to affordable and quality care for all Americans, but it also needs to preserve individual choice and protect competition in the marketplace. Reform should not leave individuals with fewer options, should not add to the national deficit, and should not leave doctors with inconsistent and low reimbursement rates as is often the case with Medicare.

While content of H.R. 3200, the America’s Affordable Choices Act, continues to be amended in committee, I will be reviewing and monitoring changes before I decide whether I will support this legislation. However, there are important benchmarks that should be met in order to gain my support:

• Choice: Reform must preserve patient choice. You should be able to choose your own coverage and doctors. If you like them you should be able to keep them, even if you change or lose your job or move to a new state. And you should be free to change coverage as you see fit.

• Competition: Reform should encourage competition and should not leave individuals with fewer options. In its current form, H.R. 3200 contains a public alternative that is funded at the same rate of Medicare which is troubling for patients, doctors, and hospitals alike. For example, in 2008, Scottsdale Healthcare lost $56 million in Medicare underpayments. While a public alternative, if designed carefully and properly, may help increase competition, one that reimburses according to Medicare rates could undercut private plans, weaken the financial stability of local hospitals and potentially leave individuals with fewer options.

• Small business: Reform must not overburden small businesses that create jobs that are essential in jump starting Arizona’s economy. According to The Arizona Republic, while small businesses make up 73 percent of Arizona businesses, only 32 percent of Arizona small businesses provided health coverage benefits in 2006, down from 50 percent in 2000. Health care reform should not exacerbate the problems small businesses are currently facing.

• Affordability, wellness, technology and best practices: Reform should ensure that our health care system is affordable and covers pre-existing conditions. To ensure the highest quality of care for all Americans, reform should reward healthy lifestyles and personal responsibility, and take full advantage of technological advances and best practices that will help reduce costs for doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies.

Finally, I also believe that in the long term reform should not add to the national deficit. I believe that much of the cost of instituting reform should come from savings within the current system, by eliminating waste and inefficiencies, yet there may likely be the need find additional revenue sources to pay for it. As a member of Congress with a strong record of opposing tax increases, I will closely watch the debate on paying for reform.

As the debate in Congress continues, I value your input and ideas. I encourage you to visit my healthcare resource page on my website to receive more information about the health care reform process and invite you to contact my office to share your story and opinion.

Sincerely,

Harry

Let me translate this into English -

Those of you reading this who support health care reform should contact Harry and let him know (politely) that you support a public option in any health care reform package, and urge him to support it too.


And for those of you who live in other CDs -

CD1 - Ann Kirkpatrick's contact page is here; she can use the encouragement too.

CD2 - Trent Franks' page is here; I don't expect it to help, but why not let him know that there are more than Kool Aid drinkers in his district?

CD3 - John Shadegg's page is here; ditto.

CD4 - Ed Pastor's contact page is here; I expect him to support a decent bill if one makes it to the floor, but I'm sure a "Thank You, Congressman Pastor" would be appreciated.

CD6 - Jeff Flake's contact page is here; Franks or Shadegg are more likely to vote for health care reform than Flake (and there isn't a snowball's chance in Phoenix of either of them voting for it), but whatthehell...

CD7 - Raul Grijalva's contact page is here; like Pastor, he is probably going to vote for it when it reaches the House floor, but a word of thanks would be appreciated.

CD8 - Gabrielle Giffords' contact page is here; as with Ann Kirkpatrick and Harry Mitchell, she can probably use a little encouragement.

Later...

AZ U.S. House members' budgets

Info courtesy Politico.

The linked article is dated June 19, so for the sake of easy math, I'm assuming the numbers are current as of June 15. The presumption is that the amount spent represents the amount spent through 5.5 months of a 12-month year, 0r 45.83% of the year.

That might not be perfectly accurate (I don't know for sure what Politico's cut-off date was), but since everyone is subject to the same assumption, it works for comparison's sake.

Representative
2009 Allotment ($)
Total Spent ($)
% of budget spent

Jeff Flake (R-AZ6.)
1,559,332.00
301,492.87
19.33%

Trent Franks (R-AZ2)
1,604,247.00
278,691.39
17.37%

Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ8)
1,527,622.00
270,642.79
17.72%

Raul Grijalva (D-AZ7)
1,508,218.00
276,943.30
18.36%

Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ1)
1,515,010.00
135,196.04
8.92%

Harry Mitchell (D-AZ5)
1,515,410.00
264,989.60
17.49%

Ed Pastor (D-AZ4)
1,483,786.00
268,599.51
18.1%

John Shadegg (R-AZ3)
1,512,691.00
298,370.28
19.72%

Other than a few outliers (like Kirkpatrick's <9%), the AZ delegation and Congress as a whole is pretty consistent. At nearly the halfway point of the year, most House members have spent 17 - 21% of their budgets, leading me to believe that either -

1. Some of their bigger expenses are yet to come; or

2. Their office budgets are incredibly inflated, perhaps so that members can generate good press in December with press releases touting their frugality as evidenced by how much money they are returning at the end of the year.

The coming week -- everybody but the lege edition

Edit on 6/8 to add link to Franks' resolution...

Yesterday's schedule post was for the lege alone; today's is for everybody else.

And while there is some interesting and important stuff going on, this one should still be shorter than the yesterday's post.


...In the U.S. House, the agenda is pretty full. While there are some "show" measures -memorials and congratulations and such,- there are also a number of "working" measures in the pipeline this week.

* H.R. 1709, the STEM Education Coordination Act of 2009 (Note: "STEM" is an acronym for "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics")

* H.R. 885, the Improved Financial and Commodity Markets Oversight and Accountability Act

* H.R. 466, the Wounded Veteran Job Security Act

* H.R. 1741, the Witness Security and Protection Grant Program Act of 2009

* The conference report on H.R. 2346, the Supplemental Appropriations Act. $$$ = arguments

* H.R. 2410, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011. Again, $$$ = arguments. If that wasn't enough, since this will indicate/guide the country's foreign relations priorities for the near future, expect the Reps to nitpick this one...loudly.

* H.R. 1886, the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2009 (aka "PEACE Act"). Given the nature of our relationship with Pakistan, expect hesitation and even outright opposition to this one from both sides of the aisle.

Still, even the money bills may not generate as much controversy as one of the memorial bills.

The House will be considering Rep. Louise Slaughter's H.Res. 505, "Condemning the murder of Dr. George Tiller, who was shot to death at his church on May 31, 2009." While the Republicans could just give this one a pass, I expect at least a few of them to use this measure as a way to blame the victim.

AZ's Trent Franks (R-CD2) will be introducing a resolution (H. Res. 515) condemning "the murder of Army Private William Long and the wounding of Army Private Quinton Ezeagwula, who were shot outside the Army Navy Career Center in Little Rock, Arkansas on June 1, 2009." Privates Long and Ezeagwula were shot by another domestic terrorist the day after Dr. Tiller was assassinated; my guess is that Franks is trying to use this bill to deflect attention from Tiller's murder.

My only disappointment with this one (H.Res. 505) is that the only Arizona Representative who has seen fit to add his/her name to the list of cosponsors is Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1).

They should ALL be on record as condemning politically-motivated violence.


...Back here in AZ, the Arizona Corporation Commission has a busy week planned, including a Securities and Utilities open meeting on Thursday.


...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has a special meeting planned for Wednesday at 10 a.m. The agenda is a short one (thus far), with just two items on it - the first having to do with filing a notice of claim against the City of El Mirage and the second having to do with approval of the County Assessor representing the MCBOS regarding the matter of some property tax claim errors in the Buckeye Valley Fire District.


...The Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District will be meeting on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. for a Truth-in-Taxation hearing (2% hike proposed) and a special meeting to approve the district's FY2010 budget. Or maybe this one. The first version of the budget assumes approval of the 2% hike; the second version assumes disapproval.

Expect disapproval; the majority of the board is made up of Republican Kool-Aid drinkers who are only interested in undermining education in AZ, not supporting it.


...The Board of Directors of the Central Arizona Project will be holding Stakeholder Working Group Meetings on Friday and next Monday at the Mountain Preserve Reception Center, 1431 East Dunlap Ave. in Phoenix.


...The Directors of the Maricopa Integrated Health System and the Citizens Clean Elections Commission are not scheduled to meet this week.


...The Tempe City Council is scheduled to meet on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The agenda looks pretty routine thus far, but somebody with a better knowledge of Tempe issues should take a look at the agenda; they might spot something I missed.

Of course, the Special Budget Meeting that's scheduled to follow the regular meeting will probably be less mundane - it's for final approval of the city's FY2009-2010 property tax rate.


...The Scottsdale City Council is holding a special meeting on Tuesday at 5 p.m. The agenda includes a Non-Major Amendment to the Downtown Character Area Plan, a Planned Unit Development Text Amendment, and a series of Text Amendments to R1-7 Zoning. R1-7 zoning is the City's primary residential zoning ordinance.

This sort of stuff would be boring almost anywhere else, but it brings out the long knives in a city like Scottsdale.

Later...

The week ahead...

Note: all info culled from online sources and subject to change without notice as events unfold. Check the appropriate organization's website for updates.

...In the U.S. House, the agenda looks to be a busy and somewhat contentious one.

- H.R. 1388, the "GIVE" Act, has passed the Senate with amendments. Those amendments are coming up for House approval. That will give the Three Amigos from AZ (Shadegg, Flake, and Franks), as well as the GOP caucus as a whole, another opportunity to vote against public service and volunteerism.

- Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick's (D-AZ1) H.R. 1513, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009, will be heard as a suspension bill (2/3 support required to pass).

- Rep. Jeff Flake is bringing forward his sixth privileged motion "raising a question of privileges of the House. " The text isn't available online, it is probably related his call for both FBI/DOJ and ethics investigations into the campaign contributions made by PMA, a lobbying firm, and their relation to earmarks.

- H.R. 985, the Free Flow of Information Act. This one came up last year and passed the House, but later died in the Senate.

As with last year's version, this bill creates a federal journalists' shield law.

Also as with last year's version, this bill specifically provides coverage for corporate media personnel and specifically excludes bloggers and other citizen journalists.

It'll pass, but it's still inadequate.

- H.Res. 279, "Providing for the expenses of certain committees of the House of Representatives in the One Hundred Eleventh Congress." It provides over $300 million for House committee operations. Call this one the "Peacock Act" in honor of all the preening and posturing that will be associated with this one.

- H.R. 1664, "To amend the executive compensation provisions of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to prohibit unreasonable and excessive compensation and compensation not based on performance standards." Sounds good, until you read the fine print - the Secretary of the Treasury decides what is "unreasonable and excessive." It'll pass the House but face serious hurdles in the Senate.

- And in what is sure to be the most contentious of all, the House will be considering the "Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FY 2010." Whatever final form the bill takes after a Rules Committee hearing on Wednesday, the Republicans and most of the Blue Dog Dems (including AZ5's Harry Mitchell) will probably oppose the measure.


...Back here in the AZ Legislature, it will be a mostly quiet week on the committee front, as only the House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet. On the Senate side, a few committees will meet, but only to consider executive appointments and to hear about the parts of the federal stimulus package that fall into their bailiwicks.

The House COW (Committee Of the Whole) calendars (here and here) offer up a couple of interesting nuggets.

HB2352 exempts Class II Injection Wells from the Aquifer Protection Permit requirement. From the "fact sheet" for the bill -

"Injection wells discharge liquid byproducts in deep, underground porous rock. Class II wells inject fluids associated with oil and natural gas production. The majority of the liquid that is released is a salt water (brine) solution. In order to prevent contamination, class II wells inject brine deep underground."

An APP permit is required when "one owns or operates a facility that releases pollutants directly into an aquifer, onto the land surface, or in between an aquifer and the land. Currently, injection wells are considered a polluting facility, along with ten other facility types."

In committee, every Republican supported increasing contamination in our drinking water, and every Dem opposed it.

Expect the same trend in the COW session.

Another interesting bill could be HB2101, a measure to require that counties with a population of greater than 175,000 residents have five member boards of supervisors. The current threshold is 200,000. As it turns out, it only affects Pinal County, which under the current law would be converting to a five-member board in 2012 anyway. The county supervisors association opposed it, too, because of the increased costs to the county during a time when all budgets are tight. There are also some questions about whether or not the USDOJ would approve any new districts (that darn Voting Rights Act! :) ).

Again, in committee, all Dems opposed it and all Reps favored it.

Again, expect the same in COW.

The highlight of the week in the AZ lege, though, could be the Democrats' unveiling of their budget proposal on Monday at 10:30 a.m. That one is sure to set up some cross-chatter/smack-talk between the two caucuses. Once the Reps "official" release theirs (which looks to be so harsh that they may have trouble getting it past some of the more vulnerable members of their caucus), the mutual criticism society will start in earnest.


...The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will be meeting twice this week.

At Monday's "Informal" meeting (10:00 a.m., Supervisors' Auditorium, 205 W. Jefferson in Phoenix), the highlights include more budget balancing moves and an executive session, possibly to discuss the latest source of antagonism between them and the Maricopa County Attorney.

The agenda for Wednesday's meeting (9 a.m., Supervisors' Auditorium) is more mundane, yet still highlights the ongoing feud between the supes and the County Attorney and Sheriff.

One item (#16) covers the executive compensation package for Wade Swanson, the newly-hired director of the County's General Litigation Department. You know, the civil litigation duties taken away from Andrew Thomas.

AZRep coverage of the issue here.


...Anyway, those look to be some of the highlights of the upcoming week, though stuff could crop up out of the blue, like when Mayor Phil Gordon of Phoenix said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's anti-immigrant jihad is making Maricopa County look like Selma, Alabama in the 1950s.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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