In the news...

...Congrats all the way around to LD17's legislative delegation of Senator Meg Burton Cahill, Representative Ed Ableser, and Representative David Schapira (Democrats, one and all). Each earned a grade of 100% from the Arizona League of Conservation Voters in their Legislative Scorecard for the 2008 session. While there were many high-scoring districts, LD17 was the only district where more than one legislator earned a grade of 100%.

On the opposite end of the scale was LD3, with Sen. Ron Gould and Reps. Trish Groe and Nancy McClain (Rs one and all - of course) earning an average score of 27%.

...While it's been a lot of fun to watch the LD18 Republicans tear themselves apart (LOTS of fun :) ), the media coverage of all of the negative campaigning and polls conducted by Republican firms has all but ignored Tammie Pursley and Judah Nativio, the strong Democratic candidates in the west Mesa district (for House and Senate, respectively). However, the EV Tribune ran a full story on Nativio on Thursday. It was a pretty good piece, one that pointed out that the race for the LD18 senate seat won't end on September 2nd when the contest between immigration attorney (and brother-in-law of Congressman Jeff Flake) Kevin Gibbons reaches its conclusion.

The real race will just be beginning.

...Friday morning at 10, the AZ Democrats will be holding a rally to highlight John McCain's close ties to Big Oil. The rally will take place from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on the southwest corner of 48th St. and Thomas, across from the Mobil station.

...Apparently nobody told McCain and the Republicans that they've been calling themselves the party of private property rights - they're getting sued for misappropriating and misusing someone's private property.

From AP -

Jackson Browne sues McCain, RNC over song in ad

Jackson Browne doesn't want John McCain running on anything fueled by his lyrics.

The singer-songwriter sued McCain and the Ohio and national Republican committees in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Thursday, accusing them of using his song "Running on Empty" without his permission.

Perhaps their "respect" for private property rights just doesn't apply to the property of famous liberals...

...In an example of willful irony (OK, it was shameless hypocrisy, but I'm trying to be tactful here - this isn't supposed to be an unmitigated McCain-bashing post), McCain has criticized the Russian invasion of Georgia (the country, not the state), saying things like "In the 21st century, nations don’t invade other nations."

Iraq, John. Iraq.

...Darragh Murphy, head of PUMA PAC, an organization that purports to be a group of grassroots Hillary Clinton supporters working to secure her nomination at the Democratic Convention in two weeks, has some credibility problems.

It turns out that in 2000, she supported John McCain in the Republican Presidential primary to the tune of $500.

Can you say "astroturf"?

This stuff and other stuff about PUMA PAC has been going around the internet for a more than a month now, but she was blathering (and getting ripped apart) on Hardball on Thursday. So I figured that it was my turn (I know a couple of Clinton delegates who read this blog).

...And in goofy news of the day, a Chandler resident wants his city to sue the Obama campaign because he feels that the campaign's logo is so similar to the City of Chandler's logo that it constitutes trademark infringement. (AZ Republic)

I think it's BS, but you decide (logos courtesy the AZRep article linked above) -

Later!

Wow, those superdelegates - they get the best seats in the house!

The DNCC announced today that Arizona's own Governor Janet Napolitano will be onstage at the Democratic National Convention. On Tuesday, August 26, she will be one of the speakers presenting Sen. Barack Obama's economic plan to the convention delegates and to America.

From the DNCC press release -

Tuesday night’s featured speakers include Convention Co-Chair Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, both early supporters of Barack Obama, who will outline his detailed economic plan to grow the economy, create jobs, restore fairness and expand opportunity.

Other Tuesday speakers include -

Keynote speaker Mark Warner, former Governor of Virginia.

Senator and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton of New York.

Governors Ted Strickland of Ohio and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania will speak about how the failed BushCo economic policies of the last eight years have seriously jacked up our economy (note: "jacked up" is my term, not the DNCC's, and it's a euphemism.)

Senator Bob Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania and Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts will speak about how Sen. Obama's economic plan has been shaped and influenced by the needs and concerns of middle-class America.

Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana and Federico Peña, former Mayor of Denver and Secretary of both Energy and Transportation will speak on the relationship between energy and America's economic vitality.

Other, previously announced, speakers include Michelle Obama, Craig Robinson (Michelle Obama's brother), Sen. Claire MacCaskill of Missouri, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. They'll speak on the opening night of the convention. Monday night will also feature a tribute to Sen. Ted Kennedy.

On Wednesday, Sen. Obama's as-yet-unannounced pick for VP will speak. The announced theme for Wednesday is national security.

On Thursday, Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado will speak and Sen. Obama will give his acceptance speech at Invesco Field.

Later!

"It was a whitewash."

tuesday afternoon, the dogs and ponies were on full parade on West Washington as the Senate Ethics Committee held its hearing on the ethics complaint against Sen. Jack Harper.

Before I get into some of the gory details, here's the summary - the Senate Ethics Committee, by a strict party-line vote, dismissed Sen. Ken Cheuvront's ethics complaint against Sen. Jack Harper.

There was no surprise there - no Republican-dominated ethics committee is ever going to hold a fellow Republican responsible for his actions, no matter how craven.

This was my first chance to see Harper in action up close. He lived down to expections, and what's more, he brought one of the few half-decent Senate Republicans down to his level. Sen. Jay Tibshraeny of Chandler. Tibshraeny is very conservative, usually numbering among the most conservative in the body. However, he has a reputation for conducting himself with intelligence and professionalism.

Tuesday's hearing changed that - he obviously places base partisanship ahead of professionalism these days.

Anyway, the hearing had an interesting dynamic to it - if somebody who wasn't aware of the particulars of the hearing had walked in during the first hour, they'd have thought that Sen. Cheuvront was the one facing an ethics inquiry. Republicans Robert Blendu and Barbara Leff grilled him mercilessly, expending most of their energies with inquiries into and criticisms of Cheuvront's actions on the night in question.

While they eventually did ask Harper a few questions, those questions were softballs. I'm not sure if it's related, but there were a number of moments when the woman who was sitting with Harper walked over to consult with Blendu and/or Leff (sorry, but I didn't get her name.)

It should be said now that for his part, Harper did apologize.

For his part in the "divisiveness" of the last few days of the Senate's session and for his "less than stellar acting" when he pretended that his cutting off the mics was a mistake.

He didn't actually apologize for the actions that precipitated Tuesday's hearing.

Note: in her coverage of the hearing, Amanda Crawford of the AZ Republic's Political Insider said that Harper apologized for his less than stellar "actions." Watch the video archive - he said "acting." That video should be posted here within a day or two.

He excused his own actions by saying that he was "following the advice of counsel," counsel who had informed him that the the Democrats didn't have the right to retain the floor.

That "counsel" was Majority Leader Thayer Verschoor. Not exactly an impartial observer there.

Among the other highlights of Tuesday's performance -

- Harper opined that that ethics committee complaints are only for those senators "who enrich themselves" financially (as opposed to those who shame the Senate professionally)...

- Harper derided EqualityAZ emails to its supporters, asking them to lobby committee members, categorizing the emails as "attempts to intimidate"...

- When asked direct questions by Democratic members Sen. Martha Arzberger and Sen. Richard Miranda, he spouted off on other subjects. For instance, when asked why he didn't simply warn Cheuvront that he felt the debate was off topic, he answered that he wasn't required to recognize points of order from the floor.

Huh???

- Harper admitted that he listens to EqualityAZ Radio, offering a recording to anyone who wanted one.

- When he was asked a direct question, Harper waited until Tibshraeny, the committee's chair, officially recognized him. Harper said that Senate rules require that Senators not speak until specifically called upon by the Chair. The first couple of times he did this, it was cute, even a little funny.

After two hours of it, it was just downright annoying.

- Of course, that was nowhere near as annoying as Harper's habit of refering to senators by district number, not name.

A habit he continued even when Blendu asked him to use names.

- During the explanation of his vote, Blendu brought up offshore oil drilling.

Huh (squared)??

Senator Cheuvront summed up the day's proceedings thusly -

It was a whitewash.

Overall impressions of Harper, Leff, Blendu, and to a lesser but still definite extent, Tibshraeny -

Schoolyard bullies in three piece suits.


Zelph at AZNetroots has coverage here.

Later!

Events and other election stuff (and an Ethics Committee hearing into Jack Harper's behavior)...

...Tuesday, August 12 - As chronicled by Zelph at AZNetroots, the hearing by the Senate Ethics Committee, putatively to investigate the actions of Sen. Jack Harper (R-Surprise!) is scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. At the end of the Senate session in June, Harper abused his power as the chair of the Senate meeting to cut off Democratic Senators Paula Aboud and Ken Cheuvront. He was trying to railroad an anti-same sex marriage constitutional amendment on to the November ballot; they were working to prevent that. When Harper arbitrarily shut off the Dems' microphones, he violated Senate rules.

However justified the hearing may be, it's nothing but a sham as two of the three Republican members of the five-member committee, Sens. Barbara Leff and Robert Blendu, have already announced that they don't think that Harper committed any violations. Still, it could be interesting to watch the hearing; while the outcome is all but determined, some of the nuances and shadings of the proceedings could be fun (like who shows up to watch, how long they make Harper squirm before giving him a free pass, etc.) Video should be available here.

...Tuesday, August 12 - The LD17 Democrats will hold their monthly meeting at the Pyle Center in Tempe (SW corner of Baseline and Rural). The special guest speaker will be Congressman Harry Mitchell. Other highlights include Adralyn Wendel from the coordinated campaign office, campaign updates, and T-SHIRTS!

...Tuesday, August 12 - Rebecca Schneider and Chris Gramazio, Democratic challengers to Congressman Jeff Flake (R-CD6), will hold a debate at the main branch of the Chandler Library, 22 S. Delaware St.

...The Ed Hermes for County Supervisor campaign will be holding phone banks on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and canvassing in LD20 on Sunday, August 17. For more details, contact the campaign at 480-626-8100 or stop by the campaign HQ at 7305 W. Boston St., Chandler.

...Friday, August 15 - There will be an open house at the coordinated campaign office in Tempe (123 E. Baseline - SE corner Mill and Baseline). Stop by from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and meet Congressman Harry Mitchell, LD17 State Senator Meg Burton-Cahill, and LD17 State Representatives Ed Ableser and David Schapira as well at Ted Maish and Rae Waters (LD 20 Candidates), Phil Hettmansperger (LD 21 Candidate), Tammy Pursley and Judah Nativio (LD 18 Candidates), and Ed Hermes (County Board of Supervisors Candidate).

...In "non-event but still pretty informative (and funny) news, the AZ Democratic Party has launched ShadeggforSenate.com, dedicated to the future political aspirations of Congressman John Shadegg (R-Calgon, take me away!). It's a sharp needle aimed toward the balloon of Shadegg's career in D.C., but it has a tough act to follow in the Maricopa County Democratic Party's Joe'sGotToGo.com, aimed at Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Later!

County Supervisor secretly records meeting with constituents

In a story that broke on Thursday in the AZ Rep's Political Insider, Maricopa County Supervisor Fulton Brock (R-SD1) secretly (and bizarrely) taped a meeting with representatives of community groups from his district.

From the article -

Maricopa County Supervisor Fulton Brock secretly videotaped a sometimes-testy sit-down with four advocates from Maricopa Citizens for Safety and Accountability, the Arizona Advocacy Network, and ACORN.

{snip}

"That’s something you would expect of the old Kremlin," said Linda Brown, executive director of the advocacy network. "It’s a tactic of an adversarial approach towards the citizens you are representing. It certainly doesn’t show good faith. I think most voters would be shocked that our own elected officials -- these are people that serve at the pleasure of the citizens, for the citizens -- are conducting themselves in a way that is, in essence, spying on representatives of the community."

Brock told the Insider that he wanted the meeting recorded in case something "irregular" happened.

"I just wanted to protect myself, the county, the sheriff, and other elected officials ... from anything that might be irregular," he said. "My only instruction was to video(tape) the meeting in case something got out of hand."

A call to Brock's office has yet to be returned (to be fair, he may not be dodging the call - I placed the call late on a Friday afternoon. His weekend may have started early.)

I spoke to one of the meeting attendees, Linda Brown, ED of the Arizona Advocacy Network. She reiterated what was said in the Republic's piece, that until the end of the meeting (when the mics were uncovered) the meeting was a "positive" one where the representatives of the different groups told Brock a little about their groups and their own backgrounds. They also expressed concerns about the "climate of intimidation" created by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his anti-immigrant sweeps.

They recounted incidents of families not attending church or parents not bringing their children to school; Brock followed up by noting that people now flee when the County's health services van shows up for immunization clinics (he later back off from in any way implying that there is anything even remotely resembling a 'climate of intimidation' in the county.)

Ms. Brown found the attempted secrecy and deceptiveness of Brock's actions to be unusual (to put it mildly) and somewhat unethical (to put it tactfully.)

By all accounts, Brock's move was also rather amateurish - the recording was accomplished by taking mics that were designed for tabletops and placing them on the floor under the table in front of each of the community activists. They were found when one of the activists accidentally kicked a mic.

Maybe Brock is auditioning to play the bad guy in a sequel to the Get Smart movie...he is probably looking for a job to transition to after this fall's election, anyway. :)

Ed Hermes, the Democrat challenging Brock this fall, stated that it was "clear that Brock went to great lengths to cover up" the fact that he was recording the meeting, and that it was "unfortunate that he [Brock] could't be upfront and honest" with members of the public.

I found Brock's quote from the article to be a telling one - his first priority was to protect other elected officials, not to help his constituents or his community.

Based on the original AZ Rep piece, the writer of the article (Yvonne Wingett) was able to view the recording of the meeting. Perhaps it will be posted on the County Supes' website - after all, even though the fact that it was being recorded was kept secret from most of the participants, the meeting itself took place in a public meeting area of the county complex and was streamed live to the offices of all of the Supervisors.

Later....

Things I'm grateful for today...

Among the things that I'm grateful for today -

...John Edwards' admission that he had an affair. Not that I'm glad that he had the affair (and my sympathies go out to Elizabeth Edwards and the Edwards family), but it's forced the MSM to break away from their wall-to-wall coverage of the Brett Favre unretirement saga.

...God knows that I *never* thought I would be in a position to say this, but I'm grateful for Paris Hilton this week. Her response to a McCain ad that compared Barack Obama to her and Britney Spears made the McCain campaign look like a bunch of ignorant fools. Yup, the McCainiacs got punked by a celebutante; when they sit around and evaluate their efforts this week, they're going to have to admit that they came off looking like the intellectual (and comedic!) inferiors to someone best known for her partying and for her DUI busts, all while not looking as good ("wrinkly white-haired guy" LOL).

...Yet another incumbent GOP congressman lost in a primary race, this time in Tennessee. Outgoing (and now disgruntled) Rep. David Davis blamed Democrats for his loss, conveniently ignoring the fact that his opponent successfully tied him to Big Oil. This situation might give John Shadegg and his cohorts pause - while they showboat on the House floor in an attempt to place the blame for energy prices on Democrats, even other Republicans know where the blame belongs.

...Regarding the State Senate race in LD18, the Republicans there are turning on each other with a viciousness normally reserved for Democrats and Mexicans. There have been duelling press releases, mailers, countermailers, robo-calls, email blasts, and blog posts (here, too). And all of that doesn't even include the invective that supporters of each candidate have been throwing at the other candidate and the other candidate's supporters directly. Shark Week may be officially over, but whenever Nathan Sproul is involved (AZ's Karl Rove wanna-be), there's always chum in the water or mail box.

So what can a Democrat or Independent do?

How 'bout grab some popcorn, enjoy the show, and remember to vote for Judah Nativio and Tammie Pursley in November.


What? You read the title of this post and were expecting something sappy and syrupy? You ought to know better by now. :))

Later...

A mixed bag for AZ's GOPers...

One business-backed initiatve thrown off the ballot, while another business-backed initiative is certified and will be placed on the ballot.

From a press release from the AZ Secretary of State's office -

Secretary of State Jan Brewer today officially certified Proposition 202, the Stop Illegal Hiring initiative as having met the minimum number of qualified signatures to be placed on the ballot. The Secretary also formally notified the “Medical Choice for Arizona ” Initiative (Prop. 101) that the measure lacks the minimum number of signatures to qualify for the November General Election ballot.

The "Stop Illegal Hiring" initiative is a business-backed measure to alter the state's existing anti-immigrant employer sanctions law. (AZRep) It is roundly opposed by Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) and the "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out wing" of the Republican Party. (Maricopa County Republican Party)

The "Medical Choice for Arizona" initiative proposed an amendment to AZ's constitution that would have barred any law that "restricts a person's freedom of choice of private health care systems or private plans of any type." In short, it's a local version of John Shadegg's H.R. 4460, a scheme to allow insurers based in one state to sell policies in other states without regard to other states' laws.

The Medical Choice initiative was a favorite of the "Chamber of Commerce" wing of the GOP - it was supported by GOP moneymen like Jim Click ($25K) and and by 'free market' organizations like Woodland Group LLC ($10K), an Indiana-based astroturf group. (HuffingtonPost). Woodland Group is a major player among Indiana-based 527 groups, easily out-contributing the next five Indiana-based groups combined in 2004). (Center for Public Integrity) It's a big player nationally too, contributing over $1.8 million during the 2002 elections. (Congressional Research Service report, courtesy PolicyArchive.org.)

As of the end of May, the committee behind the initiative had raised and spent approximately $400K, with tens of thousands more since.

All in all, a split decision for the "Chamber of Commerce" wing, one they can probably live with - there's dozens of ways to get around state insurance regulations, but Arizona's employer sanctions laws totally screws with their efforts find and control a cheap labor force.

As for Pearce and his wingnuts? Sit back and enjoy the screaming, hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing - they don't care about helping insurance companies as much as they care about hurting people with brown skin.

Later...

Democratic Volunteer Award Winners

Courtesy a press release sent by Emily DeRose, Communications Director for the Arizona Democratic Party -

Arizona Democrats announce Volunteer Awards winners

At the Arizona Democrat Party's annual Volunteer Awards Dinner on Saturday in Flagstaff, the Pine Mountain Amphitheater provided a dramatic backdrop as volunteers were honored for their service to the party and its candidates.

"Simply put, we could not function without the efforts of our volunteers. We can never thank them enough, so we cherish opportunities like this to celebrate their accomplishments," said Don Bivens, Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. "And, thanks to their hard work, we'll all be celebrating a bluer Arizona this November."

A list of the winners and runners up follows:


Outstanding Headquarters Volunteer

Jim Jaster, Pima County

Jim Jaster has been a volunteer Facilities Manager for the Pima County Democratic Party for eight years. Out of the goodness of his heart, he has fixed everything from clogged toilets to holes in the floor.

1st Runner Up (a tie): Chris Baker, West Valley Democrats; and Meera Paskal, ADP Headquarters.


Outstanding County Chair

Vince Rabago, Pima County

Vince Rabago is the Chair of the Pima County Democratic Party. He is known in the area for his forward-thinking strategies to promote the Party in his County.

1st Runner Up (a tie): Mark Manoil, Maricopa County; and Charlene Fernandez, Yuma County.


Outstanding Young Volunteer

Sami Hamed, Pima County

Now 28, Sami Hamed has been a precinct committeeperson since he was 18. He has volunteered on campaigns from school board to Congress, and serves as the Governor's appointed member of the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind.

1st Runner up: Stacy Hettmansperger, Maricopa County

2nd Runner up: Ruben Gallego, Maricopa County


Democrat of the Year

Jim Woodbrey, Pima County

Jim Woodbrey, First Vice President and Program Chair of the Santa Rita Area Democratic Club, is a go-to volunteer for Southern Arizona. If there is something needed by the Democratic Party or its candidates, Woodbrey is on the top of the list of resources.

1st Runner up: Ken and Barbara Smith, Navajo County

2nd Runner Up: Dan Flores, Coconino County


Outstanding Club or Organization

Nucleus Club of Pima County

For more than forty years, the Nucleus Club of Pima County has sponsored events for Democrats, featuring prominent speakers from the party.

1st Runner Up: Pinal County Democratic Club

2nd Runner Up: Young Democrats


Outstanding District Chair

Doug Mings, LD 17

As Chair of Legislative District 17, Doug Mings has taken his party from the minority to the majority among registered voters in his district.

1st Runner Up: Mohur Sidhwa, LD 28

2nd Runner Up: Debra Boehlke, LD 4


Outstanding Precinct Committeeperson:

Jeffrey Tucker, Capistrano Precinct

Jeffrey Tucker became a precinct committeeperson the hard way, by standing outside the poll in his new precinct on Election Day to solicit write-in votes. He serves as district secretary and chair of LD 20's new finance committee.

1st Runner Up: Wayne Culver, Village Precinct

2nd Runner Up: Shaya Rodriguez, Globe #6 Precinct


Outstanding Campaign Volunteer:

Maureen Cotner, Maricopa County

Maureen Cotner is recognized for her service to several campaigns, including Debra Boehlke's bid for State House in 2006, Robert Boehlke's current bid for State Senate, and Angela Cotera's campaign for State Senate.

1st Runner Up: Demitri Downing, Pima County

2nd Runner Up: Brandan Spradling, Maricopa County


Lifetime of Democratic Service:

Genie Zavaleta, Maricopa County

A tireless advocate for political and basic human rights for immigrants, "Genie" Zavaleta, has been a fixture in Democratic politics in LD 17 for decades. She has been described as "the most effective PC that D17 has ever known."

1st Runner Up: Fred Von Blume, Maricopa County

2nd Runner Up: Bill Risner, Pima County

Congrats to all of the winners and nominees for their work on behalf of Democratic and community causes. They all deserve our recognition and thanks.

Note: Whoooo hooooo! Two highly-deserving D17'ers, Genie Zavaleta (Lifetime of Democratic Service) and Doug Mings (Outstanding District Chair), were recognized for their dedication and hard work! There are certain to be a lot of hearty congratulations at next week's D17 meeting (Tuesday, 7 p.m., Pyle Center in Tempe).

Headlines

...The big news (for those of us who plan on being in Denver in 3 weeks, anyway), the DNC has announced its public credentialing plans for Sen. Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field. Half of the credentials will go to Colorado residents, and 2/3 will go to residents of Mountain West states (which includes AZ).

Interested AZ residents should call (720) 362-2500 or email CommCredentials@DemConvention.com. The initial contact will ask for your name, state of residence, telephone number and email. It should be noted that travel and lodging for recipients will be their responsibility.


...Has anyone noticed the irony of Arizona House Speaker Jim Weiers and his cohorts wanting Governor Napolitano to call a special session of the legislature to find funding for 500 school vouchers, but want to spend millions of dollars to avoid funding ELL education for more that 130,000 students? Yes, I know that other have covered this before, but the story just hasn't died down (apparently Weiers may be serious about this - as opposed to just engaging in a little election-year posturing.)


...The McCain campaign can deny it all that they want, but all indications are that they've written off any hope of winning over any African-American voters. As such, there is no need for them to maintain even a pretense of civility.

From Florida Capital News (emphasis mine) -

McCain security ousts reporter

Tallahassee Democrat senior writer Stephen Price on Friday was singled out and asked to leave a media area at the Panama City rally of presidential candidate Sen. John McCain

Price was among at least three other reporters, and the only black reporter, surrounding McCain's campaign bus — Gov. Charlie Crist and his fiancee, Carole Rome, were already aboard — when a member of the Arizona senator's security detail asked the reporter to identify himself. Price had shown his media credentials to enter the area.

{snip}

When another reporter asked why Price was being removed, she too was led out of the area. Other state reporters remained.

Thanks to jobsanger for the heads-up on this story.

More later....

Mail Call...

Time for the second of this year's "mail call" posts, and this one is a big one - the primary ballot is here.

While exciting for political geeks, the ballot itself is actually a bit of a disappointment - the Democratic ballot in the LD17 section of Scottsdale contains as many "no candidate races" as it does actual primary contests.

There are four contests - Corporation Commission, Maricopa County Attorney, Mayor of Scottsdale, and Scottsdale City Council (those last two are non-partisan races - they're on all ballots in Scottsdale.)

Uncontested by Democratic candidates are the offices of Maricopa County Recorder, Assessor, School Superintendent, and Treasurer.

Those seats haven't been contested by Democrats since before 2000, the earliest I could find results for on the Maricopa County Recorder's website.

Now, these offices aren't exactly the highest profile offices. I can only name the holder of one of them - Helen Purcell, the County Recorder.

And that's only because, political geek that I am :) , I spend so much time on her office's website.
As for the rest of them, they're notable mostly when they do something that they shouldn't.

Having said that, in spite of the relative anonymity of the jobs, it's still disappointing that no challengers could be found (hey! To anyone who is considering a run for office, you might want to consider this - state legislators earn $24K per year; the four county officer positions mentioned in this post earn over $67K per year. Just something to think about...)

Anyway, I'll mull over the choices on the primary ballot (the County Attorney and Scottsdale City Council races are especially tough) and fill out and return my ballot in the next week or so.

This post does provide a good excuse to list the contact info for the various Democratic candidates on ballots in Scottsdale, Tempe, and west Mesa (all info courtesy the candidates' websites or their AZ Rep questionnaires) -

Congressman Harry Mitchell (CD5)
http://www.harry2008.com/
123 East Baseline Road (SE corner of Mill and Baseline)
Suite D-102
Tempe
480-755-3343
info@harry2008.com

Representative David Schapira (LD17)
480-626-8100
http://www.davidforaz.com/ds/index.htm
info@davidforaz.com

Representative Ed Ableser (LD17)
http://www.edableser.com/
1-877-868-3392
info@edableser.com

Ed Hermes, candidate for SD1 County Supervisor
http://www.edhermes.com/Home.html
7305 W. Boston
Chandler
480-626-8100

Joel Sinclaire, candidate for SD2 County Supervisor
25249 North Ranch Gate Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
(602) 821-3800
Joel@ElectSinclaire.com
ElectSinclaire.com

Stephanie Rimmer, candidate for State Representative (LD8)
http://www.stephanierimmer.com/
stephanie@stephanierimmer.com
602.432.2486

Judah Nativio, candidate for State Senator (LD18)
http://www.electnativio.com/
3440 East Southern Ave. #1109
Mesa AZ 85204 480-861-2160
judah@electnativio.com

Tammie Pursley, candidate for State Representative (LD18)
http://www.pursleyforchange.com/08/
(602) 373-1707
1544 N. 1st Place
Mesa, AZ 85201

Dan Saban, candidate for County Sheriff
602-390-3136
http://www.sabanforsheriff.com/2008
info@sabanforsheriff.com

Gerald Richard, candidate for County Attorney
4003 E. Agave Rd.
Phoenix, Arizona 85044
602-513-2743
http://richardforcountyattorney.com/
info@richardforcountyattorney.com

Tim Nelson, candidate for County Attorney
4340 East Indian School Road
Suite 21-119
Phoenix, AZ 85018
(602) 672-2938
http://www.timnelson2008.com/
info@richardforcountyattorney.com

For more information on candidates for statewide office or in other LDs, visit the AZ Dems' website.

John Shadegg - Master Of The Misapplied Metaphor

Ahhh...the greatest joy of even-numbered years - the ill-thought out campaign press release just begging to be shredded by wiseass bloggers like me (even though in this case, it's an 'official' press release)...

As mentioned in the post immediately prior to this one, John Shadegg (R - Calgon Take Me Away) and many of his cronies in the Republican caucus took to the floor of the House to protest the House's adjournment for its summer district work period (oh, and you may have heard of the two shindigs taking place in Denver and Minneapolis :) ) before voting to allow offshore oil drilling near the American coastline. (Washington Post coverage here)

Two of the main doubts that Democrats (and most people in the country) have related to offshore drilling is the great risks that it poses for the fragile ecosystems along America. The damage resulting from the inevitable leaks and spills could be devastating, and in spite of industry claims about the safety of modern drilling equipment, even existing offshore drilling efforts result in thousands of gallons of oil spills every yearl

And that doesn't even count the water and air pollution that results from the 'normal' operations of offshore drilling rigs. (Sierra Club)

After that bit of background, on to the "misapplied metaphor" part of the post...

Shadegg's press release on the events on the House floor is titled "Shadegg’s Boston Tea Party for American-Made Energy" and contains the following quote -

“Ladies and gentleman, all of you who are here in the House Chamber today, listening to us speak without the TV cameras on, and without the microphones on, are watching history. How many of you remember the Boston Tea Party? This is the Boston Tea Party!"

Perhaps one of Congressman Shadegg's friends or advisors could remind him of a little of the relevant history of The Boston Tea Party - in 1773, a group of 50 or so activists (Sons of Liberty) dressed up as Mohawk Indians, strolled down to Boston Harbor, and dumped tons of British tea into Boston Harbor.

Given that one of the biggest concerns with oil drilling is the likely contamination of coastal waters and beaches, perhaps the use of a historical analogy where the substance at issue was dumped into coastal waters may have been ill-advised.

To add more context to the misapplication - the Boston Tea Party was organized to protest the higher prices for tea charged by the East India Tea Company. Those prices had nearly as great an impact on American life then as do the high prices of oil charged by petroleum companies today, the same petroleum companies that Shadegg and his friends have been working to protect.

Oh, and to complete the Shadegg's metaphorical misapplication - oil is nicknamed "Texas Tea."


Nope, definitely *not* the best analogy there, John.


BTW - many bloggers have written about Friday's events (mostly conservatives crowing about it all), but Airbare8 at rochesterturning.com in NY had the most apt description of Shadegg and his cronies to be found anywhere -

He called them "The Floundering Fathers."

God, I wish I'd thought of that one. :))


Later!

Congressional Republicans are working for Big Oil

...at least they aren't hiding it anymore. That's a good thing, right?

After the House adjourned for its summer work period (reconvening on September 8 after both Presidential conventions), a number of House Republicans took to the House floor to protest the fact that the Democrats hadn't passed any measures allowing oil drilling offshore or in ANWR, moves that aren't guaranteed to reduce energy prices for Americans, but would be certain to enhance the already record-level profits of Big Oil.

CBSNews.com has coverage here, and in a moment of moral weakness (referred to as "honesty" by normal folks), they posted a banner above the story of the Republicans' faux indignation. That banner told the real story of the day's events.

It read simply - "Presented by ExxonMobil". See pic below.

The honesty epidemic spread all the way down to individual Congresscritters, such as AZ's own John Shadegg (R - Calgon take me away). Shadegg was quoted in the article -

"I love this," Shadegg told reporters up in the press gallery afterward. "Congress can be so boring. ... This is a kick."

In essence, Shadegg finally admitted openly that sitting in a darkened room with only other extremist Republicans to talk to is more interesting to him than doing the job he was hired for - representing the residents of Arizona's Third Congressional District in Congress.

If Shadegg decides to get serious about retaining his seat (more likely, if one of his "financial supporters" tugs on the leash to get his attention), he's going to spend the next five weeks trying to take back the gifts that he's been handing to the Bob Lord campaign.

Later...

Those Republicans, working to protect America from those darn lawyers*

*well, except for the lawyers who are working for the Republicans as they try to undermine the Constitution...

On Thursday, the House passed H.R. 1338, the Paycheck Fairness Act. The bill passed on a nearly-party line vote of 247 - 178. Every Democrat present supported the bill, as did 14 Republicans.

It should be noted that all four Democratic members of AZ's delegation - Gabrielle Giffords, Harry Mitchell, Raul Grijalva, and Ed Pastor - were present and voted in favor of he bill, and all four Republican members of AZ's delegation - Rick Renzi, John Shadegg, Trent Franks, and Jeff Flake - were present and voted in opposition to the bill.

As predicted last week, the Republicans, led by Buck McKeon (R - CA), trotted out the straw man of "oil drilling" and the boogeyman of "trial lawyers" as their rationalizations for opposing the bill.

"Trial lawyers" was the big club during the floor debate, though when the bill went through the House Rules Committee on Wednesday, the Reps proposed seven amendments related to energy (most were to open protected federal lands to oil drilling), however, none of those were made in order by the Committee (that darn 'relevancy' requirement! :) ).

On the floor, however, they kept stressing the point that while of course they opposed pay discrimination against women in the workforce, they had to oppose this bill because it "lines the pockets of the trial lawyers".

Funny, but while they objected to the enforcement provisions in the bill (i.e. - lawsuits), they couldn't be bothered to propose an alternative enforcement scheme; they just wanted to kill the bill (that darn 'protect big business at all costs' plank of the Republican Party platform! :) ).

Their anti-trial lawyer screeds might have had more credibility if they had proposed added gender-based pay discrimination to the list of predicate acts under Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 96 of the U.S. Code.

For those of you who aren't Michael Bryan of Blog for Arizona, that section of federal law contains the provisions of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

Just ignore the sound of popping blood vessels coming from the corporate types and their myriad lobbyists and water carriers on Capitol Hill (that darn 'forfeiture of assets' provision :)) ).

OK, OK, so I know that would never happen, even though it would certainly be appropriate in some of the more egregious cases. However, the point is a simple one, and it is a valid one.

The Republicans, who proclaimed very piously their support for equal pay for equal work and for laws guaranteeing such, gave lie to their protestations by working to ensure that current equal pay laws border on unenforceable.

It seems that the "law and order" Republicans only favor enforcing the laws of the land only against poor people and immigrants, not against corporate bigwigs.


Anyway, a press release on this subject from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi can be found here; a release from Republican leader John Boehner is here. President George Bush has threatened to veto the bill, though anything can happen during an election year.


The best news for an Arizona Republican, related to this bill, is that Jeff Flake finally had one of his "anti-earmark" amendments pass (by voice vote, of all things).

The addition of that provision didn't stop him from voting against the underlying bill though.

Anyway, have a good night...

John Washington, candidate for mayor of Scottsdale, withdraws from race

Community activist John Washington has announced that he is ending his write-in candidacy for the office of Mayor of Scottsdale.

From his press release -

It is with great respect and appreciation for my supporters and our citizens of Scottsdale that I hereby withdraw from the September 2, 2008 General Election race for Mayor.

My goal in running for mayor was to drive a higher level of conversation about the issues that are important to the citizens of Scottsdale. I am pleased the other candidates have embraced these issues, among them:

· Openness and honesty in creating public policy.
· Respect for, and value of citizen input.
· Financial responsibility, and good stewardship of taxpayers’ money.
· Traffic, growth, building height, population density.
· Value of Scottsdale’s history, identity, and community character.
· The importance of Scottsdale’s character to tourism and to our quality of life.

These issues have also become central themes during Council candidate forums and discussions. Our citizens have applauded these discussions with renewed interest in their government. I am proud to have accomplished this important goal. I also realize, though, that important work lies ahead during the last weeks before the election.

Our citizens better understand the issues facing the next Council. However, there are many Council candidates, and few opportunities for one-on-one conversation with them. Therefore, I want to focus my energy on expanding dialogue between the candidates and our citizens, encouraging our citizens to vote, and encouraging them to vote based on candidates’ track records rather than on campaign promises.

I am pleased to endorse Tom Giller (www.TomGiller.com) and Nan Nesvig(www.NanNesvig.com) for Scottsdale City Council. Tom and Nan have stood alongside our citizens, defending our neighborhoods and our quality of life. Through their efforts and personal sacrifice they have demonstrated their passion for, and their commitment to Scottsdale and her residents. I look forward to working with Tom and Nan during the next four years.

I encourage you to get to know Tom and Nan, and to give them your support and your vote on September 2. As I have learned, it is a lot of work for a candidate to get his or her message out to our citizens to help them make informed decisions. Please help Tom and Nan get on Council so they can look after our interests.

Your questions are welcome, and I will maintain www.ScottsdaleCitizen.com as a portal for information on the election.

Thank you for your support!

John Washington
480.229.1831
john[at]ReactionResearch.com

I'll concede that this isn't much of a surprise as he didn't have a snowball's chance of winning, but as an observer/writer, I'm going to miss his presence in the race. He changed the dynamic of the race and could have forced it to go to a November run-off election.

With his withdrawal, the two remaining candidates, incumbent Mayor Mary Manross and Councilman Jim Lane, will only have to plan their campaign expenditures for a sprint to September 2 rather than a possible marathon to November.

BTW - that sprint starts tomorrow when mail ballots for the September election go out.

BTW2 - It's interesting, but also not much of a surprise, that Mr. Washington didn't endorse either of the other two candidates. He entered the race in the first place because he isn't particularly impressed with either one.

Look for him to stay active in Scottsdale community goings-on, with an eye toward a run for Council in two years (no inside info there, just a guess on my part. :) )

John Shadegg - apparently already checked out

As if his retire/unretire two-step in February didn't make it clear to the voters of CD3 that he's no longer interested in working for them, John Shadegg took the opportunity in a Wednesday interview with PolitickerAZ to reinforce the point.

From the interview -

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) is making no bones about it: He has his eye on John McCain’s U.S. Senate seat.

“I see my friends in the Senate deeply engaged in fights where even in the minority you matter,” said Shadegg, who won a seat in Congress in the GOP’s 1994 rout but has since seen his party lose its majority. “Yeah, I could find that very interesting, very appealing.”

Asked point-blank if he would take McCain’s current position if given the opportunity, Shadegg responded: “Yes.”

Shadegg has spent most of the year mailing it in, even when he has been in D.C. *working* for his constituents (some examples here, here, here, and here).

More evidence of this? During the current session of Congress, the 110th, records show that he has spoken on the floor of the House or has submitted statements for the record 58 times - 50 times in 2007, and only eight since his flirtation with retirement in February. By contrast, Harry Mitchell, an icon in Arizona but only another freshman in D.C. is on the record 104 times since January 2007, 51 of which happened this year. For the most part, first-termers from both parties are expected to be seen and not heard, so that total number (104) isn't particularly high or low.

For those of you who are among the math-challenged, that means that 53 of the entries took place last year. :)

All of which shows that by that measure, Mitchell and Shadegg were approximately equally active last year; however, since Shadegg moved to hang it up, he's less than 1/6 as active as Mitchell.

In other words, when Shadegg tried to walk away, he should have kept going - it would have been better for his constituents in CD3 (not that he cares about them) and it would have looked better for him when he starts running for another office (which probably *is* something that he cares about.)

Ya know, maybe he should just withdraw now to give the Republicans in CD3 a chance to run a write-in candidate. Otherwise, he's just ceding the district to his Democratic challenger, Bob Lord.