Rodney Glassman's latest video

More on the Glassman campaign here.

Got some good news, got some bad news

OK, for some it's "bad news, good news"...

...Good news for the Schweikert campaign - this is his third campaign for Congress, and Jackass 3D was #1 at the box office this weekend.  Sequels had some strength this weekend.

...Bad news for the Schweikert campaign - the election wasn't this weekend.


...Bad news for the Ken Bennett campaign - setting up an office in the basement of a lobbyist's office doesn't look good for a candidate for an office that is supposed to be all about integrity.

...Good news for Bennett - He's already set up his desk for his post-election job.


...Bad news for Ben "Tater Tot" Quayle in CD3 - a new poll shows him *behind* Democrat Jon Hulburd in the Republican-leaning district.

...Good news for Quayle - if he goes on to lose the race (and since his "unfavorables" are above 50%, that's a strong possibility), he should remember that the son of another famous politician lost his first campaign, a campaign for Congress.  When George H.W. Bush tried to buy a seat in Congress for his son George W., the future "worst president ever" failed miserably to win what should have been a "safe" seat for any credible R candidate. 

...Of course, that good news for Quayle isn't good news for the rest of us.


...Good news for the Brewer campaign - she's found a way to move attention away from concerns about her health and her ability to serve a full term in the Governor's office..

...Bad news for the Brewer campaign - that way involves irritating voters by hiding from them, decreasing the chance that after the election, she will have the opportunity to serve a full term.

Pic courtesy the Terry Goddard for Governor Facebook page...

At least she was consistent all day - she blew off senior voters during the day, and educators and students during the evening.

Letter to the editor regarding Harry Mitchell

Recently, but more than a week ago, I submitted a letter to the editor to the Arizona Republic.  It was considered for publication, but apparently was passed over.

No problem.  There are other outlets for my insightful (yet humble) observations.  :)

The letter as submitted -

Dear Editor,

I urge everyone in the 5th Congressional District to support one of Arizona's longtime public servants, Congressman Harry Mitchell.


People, including me, may not agree with every single vote that he casts in Congress, but I've never disagreed with the motivation behind those votes - looking out for the best interests of his constituents.

Whether it is fighting for America's (and Arizona's) veterans, striving for fiscal responsibility in Washington, or working to strengthen our schools, Mitchell has always put his constituents first, and deserves our renewed support.

While his detractors like to ridicule him for "having his heart in the right place," they should consider the idea that in an ideal world, every elected official should have their hearts in the right place..

Voters can send a message by voting to reelect Harry Mitchell.

CD5 is one of the places that still values public service instead of vilifying it.

Volunteer to help Harry keep helping us.

Public comment submitted to the Scottsdale City Council on Arizona American Water agenda item

The following comment was submitted to the Scottsdale City Council regarding item number 22 of Tuesday's agenda, consideration of options regarding the operations and facilities of Arizona American Water (see this earlier post for more info).

The comment -

Mayor Lane and members of the Council,


By now, you are familiar with the history behind item 22 of this week's agenda - the discovery of contaminated groundwater in south Scottsdale, the clean up efforts, and particularly, the failures of Arizona American Water (AAW) to perform its duties in this regard.

Failures that exposed thousands of Scottsdale residents to contaminated drinking water.

On Tuesday, October 19, you will be considering two possible options for dealing with those failures.

One option is to engage in a "Treat and Transport" agreement with Arizona American Water. The City would handle the "treatment" (cleanup) of AAW water before forwarding it to AAW's system so that AAW could then deliver it to their customers.

The second option would be to acquire AAW's assets in the affected area through a condemnation proceeding and to bring those customers into the municipal water delivery system.

The report from City Staff cites low short-term costs and resource consumption as advantages of the "Treat and Transport" option while citing the opposite as among the disadvantages of the "condemnation" option.

City Staff favors the "Treat and Transport" approach (http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/2010/10/15/20101015sr-azwater1016.html), however, I am urging you to give serious consideration to acquiring AAW's Scottsdale assets through condemnation.

To be certain, condemnation of private property is a serious issue and not something to be undertaken on a whim or lark. However, in this case it is wholly appropriate.

With its failures, AAW's operation has become a public health risk, one that merits the removal of AAW from Scottsdale (at a fair price, of course.)

The draft agreement included in the Council Report on this item does include insurance provisions, but those provisions do not cover liability incurred for failure to properly treat contaminated water.

The very reason that this item is before you.

Either option would result in the City assuming that liability. However, the "Treat and Transport" option would cause the City to incur that risk while AAW would retain the profit from the City's efforts to clean the contaminated water.

Much like the federal bailout of Wall Street, that kind of socialization of risk and privatization of profit hurts the public interest far more than it helps it.

Inevitably, a number of lobbyists for AAW will decry any move to condemn AAW's Scottsdale operation as an inappropriate interference with the "free market" and an improper abrogation of "private property rights."

And if the issue at hand concerned a Brown Avenue retailer selling overpriced yet substandard trinkets to tourists, I would agree with them. While sales to tourists are important to Scottsdale's economy, they aren't a matter of life or death.

However, the matter at hand it water, something we all need to survive. "Substandard" isn't good enough.


Those lobbyists will be looking to safeguard AAW's short-term interests, and that is their job.

Your job is to look after the long-term interests of the residents of Scottsdale.


Thank your for your time.


Regards,

[cpmaz]

The above comment is sure to annoy certain people (such as regular reader Thane :) ), but while I would strongly oppose a move to take property from one private owner in order to transfer it to another, more politically-favored, private owner (see Kelo v. New London), this truly is a matter of the public good.

Short Attention Span Musing

...Corporate influence has reached even to some of the races at the bottom of the ballot.  The Arizona Multihousing Association is running robocalls in the University Lakes Justice of the Peace race.  They're using John "Hut" Hutson, a former member of the Tempe City Council, to smear the JP candidacy of current State Senator Meg Burton Cahill.  Earlier this year, they sent out a questionnaire to all JP candidates.  A document with questions crafted to determine if judicial candidates are predisposed to favor them and if they would accept PAC money from them. (It includes the question "Will you accept PAC funds?")

Most of the sitting judges that I have heard saw the questionnaire thought that completing the survey could constitute an ethical violation for them.  They were less sure about candidates for judicial office who aren't already judges.

Still, it will be interesting to find out if her opponent, a retired barber, filled out the questionnaire.

...David Schweikert's apologists "supporters" have been responding to charges that Schweikert has profited from the misery of the housing crisis in Arizona by say that the real estate vulture hasn't done anything unethical, nor did he force any homeowners into foreclosure, and that in fact, all of his vultured properties were purchased directly from banks and other mortgage-holders.

They seem to have gone silent on the subject, other than to claim that accusations are all lies and that Schweikert is a saint with a perfect hairdo.  That change in tactic is interesting given the timing - it occurred at the same time that news broke about how most banks engaged in poor, even fraudulent, practices when foreclosing on homes in many states.

Wonder how many of his vultured "legally-obtained" properties were improperly foreclosed on by banks?  Of course, given that this is Arizona, the land of practically-nonexistent consumer protection laws, we may never know...

...Finally in sad news, Arizona lost a statesman and voice for the voiceless on Friday with the passing of State Senator Jorge Luis Garcia.  This year, he was a candidate for a seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The praise for Garcia and the condolences for his family and friends has been pouring in.

From State Senator Meg Burton Cahill - " I join so many others in Arizona in sadness regarding our state senate Democratic Leader Jorge Garcia's death. I will miss his strength and grace under pressure...He was a public servant and statesman - always working to make sure those of little "voice" at the capitol were represented. I will miss his urging of "Have a peaceful day" daily."

From Tim Schmaltz, CEO of the Protecting Arizona's Family Coalition (PAFCO) - "He was a relentless advocate for the poor and vulnerable, a fellow social worker, and just a fine decent man. He had a gentle soul and cared deeply about family and community and vulnerable people. He was a great champion and ally. May he rest in peace! And may his family be comforted by much love and care. Amen."

(both quotes via Facebook)

From State Representative Kyrsten Sinema - "We have lost a friend today, and Arizona truly is grateful for Sen. Garcia’s tireless work on behalf of Arizonans, working every day to help others. He will be missed as a steward, as a colleague and as a family member. We offer our condolences to his loved ones."

(Courtesy the website of the Arizona House Democratic caucus)

From State Senator Rebecca Rios - "Senator Jorge Luis Garcia was a compassionate and humble man who tirelessly fought on the behalf of others.  We will miss him greatly. We extend our condolences to his wife, Maria, children, Yvette, Dominique and Rolando and four grandchildren."

(Courtesy the website of the Arizona State Senate Democratic caucus)

From Don Bivens, chair of the Arizona Democratic Party - "We all mourn the tragic loss of Senator Jorge Luis Garcia. So many of us owe Jorge a debt of gratitude -- for his leadership, for standing up for the vulnerable among us, and for the lives he has touched. Democrats have lost a longtime friend and colleague. Arizona has lost a true public servant who had much more yet to give. And his family has lost a devoted husband, father and grandfather. We offer our deepest condolences to his loved ones during this difficult time."

(Via email)

The Arizona Republic's guestbook for Sen. Garcia is here.




I didn't know him well, but did meet him a few times during my activities as a blogger at the lege, and always found him to be warm, intelligent, and perceptive.

Some thoughts from southern Arizonans who knew him far better than me:

AZBlueMeanie at Blog for Arizona offers his perspective here.

The LD30 Democrats have their memories of Garcia here.

Tedski at Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion has his here.

Carolyn Classen, writer of "Carolyn's Community" at the Tucson Citizen, offers her memories here.


My deepest condolences go out to his family, friends and colleagues.

Scottsdale considering condemnation of AZAmWater assets within Scottsdale area

...and a astroturf "grassroots" private property rights group is mobilizing to stop it.

One of the items on Tuesday's agenda for the Scottsdale City Council has to do with "Arizona American Water Company Delivery Service Options." (warning: large .pdf.  It make take a while to download, even with a high speed connection)

Arizona American Water provides water service to a small portion of Scottsdale, but one that is the source of problems out of all proportion to its size. 

The affected area is part of the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Site.  It covers a section of south Scottsdale where industrial concerns disposed of waste in a way that contaminated the groundwater in the area.

Arizona American Water (AAW) operates one of the facilities built to treat (clean) the contaminated water, the Miller Road Treatment Facility (MRTF).

AAW would treat contaminated water and then mix it with the drinking water that they sell to portions of Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.

in 2007 and 2008, there were incidents at the MRTF that resulted in a significant quantity of un- and undertreated being pumped to residential customers in AAW's service area. (Info on the incidents here, here, here, and here.)

After the second incident, there was a lot of pressure on the Scottsdale City Council to look at acquiring the Scottsdale part of AAW's service area and to fold the customers into the City's water delivery system.

AAW and its parent company, American Waterworks (corporate headquarters in New Jersey), immediately objected and loudly proclaimed that the affected area wasn't for sale.

The Council at the time directed City sfaff to study the matter and to get back to them about it.

That's happening Tuesday, when City staff will present its report, evaluation, and recommendation that the Council choose one of two possible options.

1. Direct staff to bring forward a resolution authorizing a Treat and Transport Agreement with Arizona American Water Company “the Company” whereby the City will receive and treat the Company’s Central Arizona Project raw water allotment and deliver the finished water to the Company’s system at a metered Point of Delivery; OR

2. Direct staff to bring forward a resolution whereby the Council will authorize a condemnation proceeding to acquire all or a portion of Arizona American Water Company assets located within the Paradise Valley Water District and make appropriate findings of public use and necessity.

In the interim, an astroturf group (aka - a fake grassroots group) called the ORANGE Coalition (an acronym for "Organized Residents Against Needless Government Encroachment) was established, to fight all government uses of eminent domain and similar acquisitions of property.  The group was formed as a non-profit corporation, effectively shielding its financing from public scrutiny, with its "domestic address" listed with the AZ Corporation Commission as "1025 LAUREL OAK RD., VOORHEES, NJ 08043" (since updated to a mail drop in Scottsdale).

That address is significant because it is the address of American Waterworks' corporate headquarters.  And while the group's address has since been updated, one of the directors of the group, Daniel Kelleher, still lists his address as that of the corporate HQ.  Kelleher is a "retired" executive of American Waterworks who has been retained by the company to fight efforts by local governments to acquire any of its "problem" operations in order to protect the affected residents/customers.

More background on the ORANGE Coalition here and here.

The ORANGE Coalition has put out a few email blasts, exhorting members of the community to come to the defense of AAW and protect it from condemnation proceedings, all in the name of private property rights.

None of their email messages mention AAW's penchant for pumping poison into its customers' homes.

In addition to the efforts of AAW/ORANGE to fill the City Hall Kiva with supporters on Tuesday night, there has been a media push - the Arizona Republic published an unsigned editorial criticizing the "condemnation" option and praise the "treat and transport" option, while KTVK (Channel 3) will be running a report on a "government takeover" of private property in Scottsdale a day or so before the Council meeting (based on a promo during Friday's late newscast).  A more neutral (at least, a less obviously slanted) AZRep article on the matter is here.

Tuesday should be interesting in an "election year gymnastics" sort of way - Council members Wayne Ecton and Bob Littlefield are up for reelection in just a few weeks, and while they probably don't want to tick off their business community supporters by arguing and voting for condemnation, they also don't want to be seen as throwing thousands of Scottsdale residents under the corporate bus in the name of ever-greater profits.

Council member Ron McCullagh was/is one of AAW's customers and was the moving force behind consideration, and I expect that he will support the condemnation option.

Mayor Jim Lane will oppose condemnation, and Council member Lisa Borowsky will follow his lead, as will Council member Marg Nelssen.

That leaves Council member Suzanne Klapp, and I don't have a read on her on this matter.

Prediction time:  A 4-3 or 5-2 vote in favor of the "treat and transport" option - it's got that mix of being seen as "doing something" while "not being too rash." 

The perfect two-step for an election year.

Felecia Rotellini on KNXV-TV

Rotellini is the Democratic nominee for Attorney General.

From KNXV-TV, ABC15 in Phoenix.



More videos as they become available...

Could the Republican reliance on secret third party contributions undercut the 2010 "wave"?

Two step recipe for screwing up what should have been a walkover election season for the Republicans: 

One - nominate a number of unelectable candidates (like this one).

Two - get caught being arrogantly, overwhelmingly, sleazy.  Sleazy to the point of being anti-American.


One of the expected effects of the Citizens United v. FEC ruling earlier this year was the infusion of massive amounts of corporate money into this (and future) election cycles.

That expectation has come to fruition, in spades, with nearly $200 million spent by "outside" groups on U.S. Senate and House races just since September 1.

And while Democrats are leading in traditional, candidate-focused, fundraising and spending, they are being outspent by 9:1 or 10:1 depending on who is doing the scorekeeping.  All observers agree however, that Republican-leaning groups are totally swamping their Democratic-leaning counterparts.

Into that mix, add the $75 million that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is spending to buy Republican control of Congress, money raised anonymously from questionable, possibly foreign, sources.

Now stir and simmer for a bit, and then do a little polling on the subject.

Two polls came out in the last couple of days that independently reinforce each other.

One, commissioned by Allegheny College and conducted by Zogby International, shows that nearly 2/3 of Americans across all partisan, age, and economic demographics, oppose the idea of groups spending heavily in districts in which they aren't located.

The other, commissioned by MoveOn.org and conducted by SurveyUSA, shows that 84% of all voters believe that they have a right to know who is funding political advertisements and most will be less likely to trust candidates supported by anonymous backers.

Looking at the data (and I've done an admittedly superficial overview here), the conclusion seems to be that Americans of all strips are saying -


1. Outside groups butt out!

2. If you're going to ignore that, tell us who you are and who is paying for your message, otherwise we may not vote for your candidate.


It remains to be seen if the average voter is going to look at the overwhelming support that anonymously-funded outside groups have provided for GOP candidates (almost all of whom are pushing regressive economic policies that will benefit large and foreign corporations) before casting their ballots.

Guess we'll just have to wait for the November 3rd and beyond election post-mortems to figure that out.

Jon Hulburd on KNXV-TV

Hulburd is the Democratic nominee in the Third Congression District, squaring off against Ben "Brock Landers" Quayle in the contest to replace the retiring John Shadegg.



Later...

Rebecca Schneider on KNXV-TV

Schneider is the Democratic nominee in the Sixth Congressional District, challenging Jeff Flake.



Almost done.

Andrei Cherny on KNXV-TV

More to come...

Terry Goddard on KNXV-TV

More to come...

Penny Kotterman on KNXV-TV (Phoenix channel 15)

KNXV-TV has offered candidates up to 5 minutes of airtime to speak to voters.

Here is the spot of Penny Kotterman, Democratic nominee for Superintendent of Public Instruction.



More later...

New Favorite Website - Iamacrook.com

An ode to Doug Ducey, Republican candidate for state treasurer and renowned former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery...renowned for screwing over Cold Stone's franchisees.

From the fine folks (and sharp wits) at the Arizona Democratic Party, Iamacrook.com.

It covers things like...

A Ducey-led Stone Cold Creamery accepted federal bailout money and won't pay it back...

Ducey regularly didn't pay his taxes, paying the arrears on his Paradise Valley mansion and compound after he opened his campaign for state treasurer...

Ducey's opposition to solar tax credits and other efforts to create jobs in Arizona...

Ducey's opposition to Arizona's employer sanctions law, the law that targets those who encourage illegal immigration by hiring undocumented immigrants...


Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times has more on Ducey here.

The Democratic nominee is for state treasurer is Andrei Cherny.  His campaign's TV spot on Ducey's record at Cold Stone -



Later...

The gloves coming off in Scottsdale...again

Things in Scottsdale got ugly in 2008, and it looks to be getting the same way in 2010.

In case anyone is thinking the nastiness of the state's and country's political discourse this year hasn't trickled down to local races, think again.

From the Arizona Republic -

Two candidates running for Scottsdale City Council have fired back against a recent political advertisement that accused them of raising taxes and increasing spending.

The ad in Thursday's Scottsdale Republic targets candidates Ned O'Hearn, Linda Milhaven and Councilman Wayne Ecton. Ecton did not immediately respond. Paid for by the Keep Scottsdale's Future Bright committee, it is plastered with the headline "Warning!" and discourages readers from voting for the three, which the ad describes as "the tax and spend trio."

The group, Keep Scottsdale's Future Bright, is chaired by Tom Mason and its treasurer is Mike Fernandez.

Mason is a Scottsdale-based real estate agent and a contributor to Mayor Jim Lane's campaign committee.

Fernandez is a long-time activist in Scottsdale politics, acting as chair or treasurer of a number of committees that are "against" something or other.  He has also contributed to the coarsening of Scottsdale's political discourse, utilizing the City Council agenda's "public comment" section to launch personal attacks against certain members of the council and their families, including current target Wayne Ecton.

In the ad in question, they criticize each of three candidates, Linda Milhaven, Ned O'Hearn, and (of course) Wayne Ecton for different votes (Ecton is a current member of the City Council and O'Hearn is a former member of the Council) or activities (Milhaven is a former chair of the Scottsdale Cultural Council).

The best (in a "they really should do their homework" sort of way) was the criticism of Ecton's vote for a retirement-incentive program that encouraged senior City employees to retire early. 

The program came in for criticism from some who thought the program was too generous to exiting City employees (one week's pay for each year of service).  The program was used to rationalize firing John Little, the former Scottsdale City Manager.

The ENTIRE council voted for the program, not just Ecton. 

Yet, Mason, Fernandez, et. al. have targeted their criticisms for only one of the current members running for reelection.  Bob Littlefield, one of the clique favored by Lane, Fernandez, Mason, Lamar Whitmer, et. al., is getting a free pass.  Late council member Tony Nelssen would have been up for reelection, but his untimely passing ended his campaign.  As he was part of the same bloc as Littlefield, I have no doubt he would have received the same free pass.

It will be interesting to see what the Mason/Fernandez group discloses in its campaign filings.  I expect their list of contributors to be a short one.

Later...