Republican Secretary of State sued over business practices

From the Arizona Republic -

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

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

Later...

Found a good way to tick off nativists

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

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

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

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

I responded with -

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

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

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

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

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

:)

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

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

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

They include -

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

HB2462 (Ableser), reining in predatory towing companies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Later...

The coming week....

As usual, all info gathered from the websites of the relevent political bodies/agencies, except where noted, and subject to change without notice.

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


...In D.C. -

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

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

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

End edit.


...Back here in Arizona...

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

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

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

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

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

Good news, bad news

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

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

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

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

Bad news: The possibility of "Governor Arpaio."

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

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

Later...

Early filers

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

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

US Senate, Republican

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

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

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

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


Congress CD1, Republican

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

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


Congress CD3, Republican

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

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


Congress CD5, Republican

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

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


Congress CD7, Republican

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

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


Governor, Democrat

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

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


Governor, Republican

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

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

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

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


LD4 State Senate, Democrat

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

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


LD7 State Senate, Republican

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

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


LD11 State Senate, Democrat

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

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


LD11 State Senate, Republican

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

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


LD12 State Senate, Republican

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

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


LD15 State Senate, Democrat

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

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


LD17 State Senate, Democrat

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

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


LD17 State Senate, Republican

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

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


LD26 State Senate, Republican

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

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


LD30 State Senate, Democrat

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

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




LD1 State Rep, Republican

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

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

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

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

LD8 State Rep. Democrat

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

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


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

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


LD8 State Rep., Republican

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

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


LD8 State Rep., Republican

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

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


LD 10 State Rep.. Democrat

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

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


LD11 State Rep, Democrat

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

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


LD15 State Rep., Democrat

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

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


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

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


LD16, State Rep., Republican

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

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


LD18 State Rep., Democrat

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

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


LD19 State Rep., Republican

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

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


LD20 State Rep., Republican

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

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

LD21 State Rep., Republican

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

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

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

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


LD23 State Rep., Republican

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

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

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

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


LD27 State Rep., Democrat

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

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

LD28 State Rep., Democrat

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

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

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

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


LD29 State Rep., Republican

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

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


LD30 State Rep., Democrat

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

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


Attorney General, Democrat

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

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


Attorney General, Republican

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

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


Superintendent of Public Instruction, Republican

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

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


Arizona Corporation Commission, Republican

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

Lege trying to wrap it up tonight

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

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

Keep your eyes open.

Full analysis this weekend.

A busy couple of days

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Later...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AZBlueMeanie at Blog for Arizona has coverage here.

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

Schapira first to file signatures in LD17

Press release time (via email) -

Schapira First to File in District 17

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

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

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

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

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

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

Learn more at DavidforAZ.com.

Congrats David!

Kyl and McCain abandon average Arizonas for Wall St. bigwigs

Yeah, they served this one up like a BP fastball during baseball's homerun derby so it doesn't seem fair to hit it out of the park.



Too bad.



Earlier today, the U.S. Senate failed to invoke cloture (limit debate) on financial reform. The bill is something that Wall St. interests have been working diligently with the Republicans in the Senate to beat back. (AP coverage, via Yahoo! News, here)

Today, all of the Senate's Republicans, including Arizona's Jon Kyl and John McCain, and one Democratic defector (Ben Nelson of Nebraska) teamed up to put Wall Street's interests before that of Main Street's.

This is nothing new from the McKyl brothers, but it is still a little disappointing and more than a little surprising. In this year where the only people held in lower esteem than long-time elected officials (you know, like Senators McCain and Kyl) are Wall Street executives, this should have been an easy call for our Jon and John.

OK, it probably *was* an easy call for them - both have well-documented histories of placing the interests of deep-pocketed donors above the interests of the people they were sent to D.C. to represent.

"Hola officer!"

Much of the furor surrounding the enactment of SB1070, Russell Pearce's anti-immigrant police state bill, including my own, has stemmed from a worry that the language of the bill will allow/compel law enforcement officers to ethnically profile Arizona's Hispanic residents and visitors ("Where are your papers!").

Language has been put in the bill that purports to bar such profiling, but the rest of the measure was written is such a way (i.e. - saying that LEOs can stop people and question their immigration status based on "reasonable suspicion", without explicitly defining that term) as to render the language barring profiling utterly meaningless.

As such, there is a "trust" gap that has developed between the law enforcement and the non-nativist communities.

Anyone who isn't a hardcore R nativist is worried that they could be stopped at any moment by a LEO and if they aren't carrying proof of citizenship/legal entry into the US, they will be arrested.

While there are certain to be a few Arizona LEOs who abuse the new law (like those who work for Joe Arpaio, Paul Babeu, or in Chandler, for starters), most of Arizona's law enforcement officers are honest, hardworking men and women who are dedicated to serving and protecting the community.

To let them know that we appreciate what they do for us, and that we won't hold the actions of a few bad apples against all of them, when you encounter a police officer, greet them with a warm and hearty


¡Hola Officer!


This idea was inspired by something that I read on Facebook earlier today. I tried to track down the originator to give full credit, but was unable to find it again. My thanks to the originator, and apologies for not finding the original reference.

Arizona Republicans - consistently inconsistent

Just a quick hit...

It's been fun (of the "partisan political geek" variety, anyway) watching the Republicans in CD5 campaign against Rep. Harry Mitchell for being "too partisan" (voting with his fellow Democrats too often) while they have been railing against their own Sen. John McCain for not being Republican enough.

The entertaining problem with that: their accusations contradict each other.

- In the 110th Congress (the last completed session of Congress), Republican John McCain voted with his party 88.2% of the time (source: Washington Post).

- In the same 110th Congress, Harry Mitchell voted with his fellow Democrats only 80.7% of the time (same source)

BTW - "consistently inconsistent" is a euphemism for "consistently hypocritical." Just in case you didn't pick up on that. :)

Speculation on SB1070 and its impact on professional baseball in AZ

Well that didn't take long...

Because of the huge presence of professional baseball in Arizona and Arizona's economy - the Diamondbacks and Spring Training (which most people are aware of), as well as the Arizona Fall League, Arizona Rookie League, Arizona Instructional League (less a league than a post-season version of spring training) and next year's All Star Game, I gave the MLB Commissioner's Office a call at 12:11 p.m. AZ time.

I wanted to ask them about any impact of the new anti-immigrant law here ("Hand Over Your Papers!") on MLB's plans in AZ.

After being referred to the voicemail of someone with their PR organization, I left a message identifying myself, my blog, and my question. No one has gotten back to me yet (it's only been 120 minutes at this writing, so that isn't a criticism), but within 4 minutes, by 12:15 p.m. AZ time, this blog had received a hit from, you guessed it, Major League Baseball.

The info -

Search Engine Phrase random musings
Search Engine Name Google
Search Engine Host www.google.com
Host Name
IP Address 64.95.235.19
Country United States
Region New York
City New York
ISP Major League Baseball

Anyway, while it may be too soon for MLB to have formulated a position on the new law, they probably will have to, and do so very soon.

While the impact of the law on the Diamondbacks and Spring Training may be significant (look for screaming the first time someone from MCSO stops Albert Pujols or Miguel Cabrera on the street outside of Chase Field and demands to see his papers), there isn't much that can be done over the short term, at least until MLB can figure out how to break leases and agreements. (Look for them to do so when they realize how onerous and oppressive this new law is)

The Arizona Fall League and the Arizona Instructional League shouldn't see much of a short-term impact either - Latin players who are good enough for the AFL tend to be in demand for their countries' winter leagues, and those leagues have first dibs on players from their leagues, and there are enough MLB-sponsored baseball academies in Latin America to handle instructional duties. In addition, they don't have a significant economic or cultural presence in AZ. If MLB moves those operations, only hardcore fans will notice.

The Arizona Rookie League could be a disaster in the making for MLB. It is a league for young, frequently first-year, players. A significant portion (guessstimate: slightly >50%) are 17 and 18-year old Latin players journeying out of their home countries for the first time. Many speak little or no English, and the ones that do, do so with an accent.

In others words, prime targets for dedicated Hispanic hunting squads MCSO sweeps.

Given the inroads that MLB has made into Latin American countries in recent decades (>30% of MLB players are Latin, and the number is still growing), how well will pics of their native sons languishing in one of Arpaio's cells or restraint chairs play there?

Of course, given the low visibility of the League and its players in AZ, and the open bigotry of too many of Arizona's "leaders", there won't be much of a furor in AZ, and if anything, the Pearces and Brewers of AZ will be happy at the idea of imprisoning Dominican (and Venezuelan and Mexican and so on) teenagers and will view international criticism as a source of pride.

That league, the Rookie League, starts play in late June and continues into August, well after the law is expected to go into effect (90 days after the lege adjourns for the year).

In other words, but the end of the summer, potentially a significant percentage* of the next generation of MLB players could find themselves in jail or detained by police to be grilled over their immigration status, all for daring to be born on the wrong side of a line on a map.

That leaves MLB's big club, if they choose to use it.


Next year's All Star Game, planned for Chase Field in Phoenix on July 12. 2o11.


The direct impact of the game and related activities on Phoenix's economy is expected to be in excess of $60 million, with millions more in less-direct economic impacts.

By doing this (enacting an anti-immigrant police state law) more than a year out, the nativists in the lege have created a window of opportunity for MLB to move the game if it so chooses, though it will have to be soon to allow the new site time to adequately prepare (Southern CA might be a good choice - great facilities, experience with big events, and, if MLB wants to send a message, a large Latino population).

Now we wait who MLB wants to keep happy - a few thousand nativists in Arizona, or the hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of its players and fans worldwide who don't think that Latinos, whether or not they are baseball players, should be oppressed because of their ethnicity.


*Note - There are 6 North American-based leagues that are primarily made up of first year pros - Arizona, Gulf Coast, Appalachian, Pioneer, Northwest and New York-Penn (Northwest and NY Penn tend to have college age players, the others tend to be younger). There are also MLB-sponsored summer leagues in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, but those players tend to be 17 or younger and solely from those two c0untries. Usually, players who graduate from the Venezuelan and Dominican summer leagues move into the Arizona or Gulf Coast leagues for a season to acclimate to the United States before moving into a full-season minor league.