Blog For Arizona

Tucson and Cincinnati confront the same model pension initiative (Prop. 201)

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I mentioned in passing in Tucson City Council Election Preview that the Virginia-based ballot initiative activist Paul Jacob, and his Liberty Initiative Fund, according to his website, is supporting a group called Cincinnati for Pension Reform, which launched a petition drive hoping to gather the 7,443 voter signatures required to place a pension reform charter amendment on this November’s city ballot.

The Tea Party-backed amendment that would semi-privatize Cincinnati’s ailing pension system gathered enough signatures earn a place on the November ballot. German Lopez for the City Beat blog at the Cincinnati Enquirer on August 12 wrote, Pension Amendment Earns Spot on November Ballot:

City officials acknowledge the issues with the current pension system, but they claim the tea party-backed amendment would exacerbate cost problems and reduce payments to future city retirees.

“Under the guise of ‘reform,’ a well-financed out-of-state group is pushing an amendment that spells economic disaster for the future city retirees and the city’s budget,” Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls said in a statement. “Current and future retirees need an income they can live on. This amendment is a budget-buster for retirees and the city.”

City Council condemned the amendment in a resolution unanimously passed on Aug. 7.

Complete your HB 2305 petitions this week and turn them in by this weekend

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I have seen some emails and Facebook posts containing incorrect information about the citizens referendum ("citizens veto") of HB 2305, the Voter Suppression Act. The deadline to file the petitions with the Secretary of State is Thursday, September 12. However, because the petitions have to be checked for completeness, the signatures verified against the voter registration records, and organized for delivery to the Secretary of State, you should make every effort to complete your petitions this week and to deliver them to your local county Democratic Party headquarters or the Protect Your Right To Vote Committee (protectourvoteaz.org) by this weekend. (Information below the fold).

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports that Election law referendum organizers say they’re ‘on track’:

The deadline is approaching fast but organizers of a citizen referendum drive against a wide-ranging elections bill say they’re on track to get enough signatures to put HB2305 on the 2014 ballot.

Arizona Libertarian Party Vice Chair Barry Hess, a member of the coalition attempting to refer HB2305 to the ballot, said the Protect Your Right to Vote Committee has collected and verified nearly 86,405 signatures, the number it needs to put the law on hold and force a public vote in the November 2014 election. He said he fully expects the committee to exceed its goal of 120,000 signatures, to provide a cushion against invalid signatures.

“We’re going to the ballot,” Hess told the Arizona Capitol Times. “We are close enough that there’s not a question, with verified signatures.”

(Update) Who is really behind the Initiative to Bankrupt the City of Tucson (Prop. 201)?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I posted last week that this ruling was coming, (Update) Lawsuit to challenge the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson, but now it is official; the Pima County Superior Court entered its Order on Tuesday. Jim Nintzel at the Tucson Weekly writes, City Pension Initiative Headed For November Ballot:

The court battle over the proposed initiative to scrap the city’s pension system is over. Pima County Superior Court Judge James Marner issued a ruling today putting Prop 201 on the ballot, so voters will get to decide the issue in November.

The city’s unions had tried to strike enough signatures from the petitions to knock the Sustainable Retirement Benefits initiative off the ballot, but didn’t quite manage to get enough of them disqualified. After all was said and done, backers of the proposal had 13,777 valid signatures, which exceeded the required 12,730, according to Marner's ruling.

Meanwhile, the latest campaign-finance report from the Yes on 201 Committee shows that it’s not exactly a local effort. All but $1,900 of the $159,925 received by the committee has come from either the Liberty Initiative Fund or the National Taxpayers Union, two Virginia-based groups.

Washington Post: Republicans should get out of the way of Obamacare

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Washington Post takes a break from its war fever to address GOP efforts to sabotage "ObamaCare" in an editorial opinion today. Republicans should get out of the way of Obamacare:

You wouldn’t think state leaders would need convincing to accept mountains of federal cash to help people with meager incomes obtain health insurance. But many Republican leaders and activists have waged a disruptive and harmful campaign to complicate, delay and undermine the ACA, which starts phasing in when state insurance markets begin enrolling customers in a month.

The most prominent efforts have been in Congress, where conservatives’ latest move has been to insist on holding the government budget process hostage to obtain cuts in funds intended for ACA implementation. But the most disruptive activity has been at the state level. Twenty-one states have refused to expand their Medicaid programs, blowing a large hole in the ACA’s coverage strategy. The Urban Institute estimates that 5 million people won’t get coverage as a result.

As The Post’s Sandhya Somashekhar reported last week, Republicans at the state level also have applied a variety of less visible measures to impede the law’s implementation. Some won’t enforce consumer protections, including a ban on insurance companies rejecting patients with pre-existing conditions. The result will be illegal discrimination. Another tactic has been restricting the work of federal “navigators,” consumer assistants who help people understand their options and get coverage. The result will be more people without health insurance.

The Arizona Daily Star's suspect pension analysis

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I thought the The Brodesky/O'Dell tag team (AKA, the B&O Journalistic Railroad) had left the Arizona Daily Star for greener pastures? Rob O'Dell's classic "fun with facts and figures" that I made up style of reporting shows up in the Star this morning under the byline of Darren DaRonco. City pension plan could cost taxpayers more.

Some questions about this "Star analysis": Who exactly conducted this analysis? Just labeling it a "Star anlalysis" tells me nothing about the capabilities of the individual(s) who conducted the analysis. If it is Star employees, I am confident that they do not possess the background and experience in economics and pension fund management to know what the hell they are talking about.

And why is the "Star analysis" not linked online so that independent experts may peer review your economic analysis? I know some experts who would be happy to review it, as would I.

The article itself concedes that the "Star analysis" is flawed:

Dana Woolfrey, of Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Co., wrote in an email that while the Star’s projections aren’t “unreasonable,” there are variances between the city’s numbers and those the Star used. She described the Star figures, which were taken directly from city financial reports, as more conservative as they relate to employee contributions versus city contributions in future years.

She also said the Star’s projections fail to sufficiently account for savings the city would experience by extending the average time employees would pay into the system by five years.

She wasn’t sure a person could conclude the city would make up the difference.

(Update) Lawsuit to challenge the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

On August 16, 2013, Judge James E. Marner ruled in the case of Yolanda Parker et al. v. City of Tucson et. al. (C20134029), the lawsuit to challenge the sufficiency of the initiative petitions filed by the Committee for Sustainable Retirement, the local front group for ballot initiative activist Paul Jacob and the Liberty Initiative Fund. You can read the 13 page Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law ruling Here (.pdf).

Judge Marner disqualified a large number of signatures. The Tucson City Clerk was ordered to remove invalid petition sheets and to recalculate the number of signatures eligible for verification and submit the appropriate number of signatures in the form of random sample to the Pima County Recorder's Office by no later than August 23, 2013. Upon receipt of the newly calculated error rate, the Tucson City Clerk was to recalculate the projected number of valid signatures as mandated by A.R.S. §19-121.01 and certify the initiatve as either qualified or disqualified to appear on the ballot.

Counsel for the Committee for Sustainable Retirement, Lisa Hauser, filed a Motion For Stay and Motion For Reconsideration on August 22, 2013. You can read the motion Here.

Equal Marriage Arizona initiative suspended

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Earlier this month, I posted about the Equal Marriage Arizona initiative (C-05-2014) that was filed in June, and the investigative journalism of Lila Shapiro at the Huffington Post, Tim Mooney, Former Gay Marriage Foe, Launches Equality Campaign To Suspicion.  Ms. Shapiro's exceptional reporting set off alarm bells among the LGBT community both in Arizona and nationally.

Discussions between the cochairs of Equal Marriage Arizona and the leadership of the LGBT community in Arizona has led to the suspension of the Equal Marriage Arizona initiative based upon mutually shared interests and concerns. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports, GOP-backed marriage initiative stalls amid concerns from gay community:

A ballot initiative to legalize gay marriage that is being pushed by the political right has been suspended due to suspicion from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community about the campaign timing and the motives of the campaign’s backer.

The Equal Marriage Arizona Initiative, an effort led by Republicans and Libertarians, has been collecting signatures to trigger a vote in 2014 to amend the Constitution to allow same-sex marriages in Arizona.  Now it is in negotiations with LGBT leaders to gain their support before moving forward, said the campaign co-chair, Erin Ogletree Simpson.

Arizona Hospitals to benefit from Medicaid (AHCCCS) expansion

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Another reason to give Frank Antenori and his band of "I hate poor people" wingnuts the middle-finger salute on their petitions to refer Governor Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) resotoration/expansion plan to the ballot. It improves the financial ability of hospitals to provide medical care, as opposed to Antenori's plan -- poor people can just go to the emergency room for "charity care" -- which is causing hospitals financial distress, and bankrupting patients who cannot pay for their medical care. Arizona hospitals to gain revenue under Medicaid expansion, state says:

Arizona hospitals should net $108 million in the first six months of 2014 under a Medicaid expansion plan, even after paying their new assessments, according to a state study.

The report details how much each of the state’s hospitals would be expected to pay to underwrite the legislatively approved plan to increase the number of people with government-funded health coverage by about 300,000.

In virtually all of those cases, the hospitals will get more in payments for taking care of Medicaid patients than they will pay out.

Tucson City Council Election Preview

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Like a tree that falls in the woods, if election results are not published in the "paper of record," the Arizona Daily Star, did the election ever really occur?

I realize the Tucson City Council Primary Election was uncontested, but there are people who still want to see the election results -- you know, that whole transparency in elections thing. For those of you who care about election results, you can see the results here:

Democratic primary

Ward 3
Karin Uhlich, incumbent, 3448

Ward 5
Richard Fimbres, incumbent, 2542

Ward 6
Steve Kozachik, incumbent, 4830

Republican Primary

Ward 3:
Ben Buehler-Garcia, 1572

Ward 5:
Mike Polak II, 710

For Republicans who still make noise about going to ward-only elections, this would be a harbinger of a rout in November. Lucky for them, lobbyist Jonathan "Payday" Paton's attempts to have our Tea-Publican overlords in the state of Maricopa legislature dictate to the citizens of Tucson how we must conduct our city council elections have all been struck down by the court.

Credit where credit is due - Do not sign the Health and Welfare Budget Reconciliation Referendum

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

After lambasting the Arizona Daily Star editorial page in the previous post, I want to give credit where credit is due to Sarah Garrecht Gassen, an editorial writer for the Star.

For some unexplained reason, the Arizona Daily Star rarely publishes its own editorial opinions, choosing instead to copy and paste editorial opinions from other newspapers around the country. I am not aware of any other large circulation newspaper that does not publish a daily editorial opinion.

On Sunday, Sarah Garrecht Gassen had a signed opinion (which I assume means that it is not on behalf of the Editorial Board) taking the United Republican Alliance of Principled Conservatives to task for defrauding voters in getting them to sign its petititon to put Governor Jan Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) Restoration/Expansion Plan on the ballot as a citizens referendum. Now that is informing Star readers. Petition jeopardizes health care for thousands of Arizonans:

A petition drive promoted to “stop Obamacare in Arizona” will not keep Arizona from following the federal health-care law.

At libraries, parks, shopping centers and restaurants around the Tucson area you may see signs and people urging you to sign a petition that would put the expansion of Medicaid in the state on the ballot in November 2014.

Many of their signs, accompanied by American flags, assert that signing the petition will help “veto Obamacare in Arizona.”

It won’t.

The latest bullshit study from a Libertarian 'think tank' (sic)

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

There's nothing like having billionaire wingnut benefactors to pay you to write propagandistic pseudo-scientific crap. Almost everything that comes out of right-wing think tanks starts with the predetermined conclusion they wish to make, and then they work backwards to fabricate a pseudo-scientific framework to give the study the veneer of credibility. The scientific method, however, requires systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses. You don't start with a conclusion.

The latest bullshit study from a Libertarian "think tank" (sic) comes from the Cato Institute, recycling a previous bullshit study from 1995 claiming that "welfare is better than work." Josh Barro at Business Insider, no socialist liberal, destroys this propagandistic pseudo-scientific crap. There's A New Study That Says Welfare Pays Better Than Work — Here's Why It's Total Nonsense:

The Cato Institute is out with an update to their 1995 study which purports to show that, in most states, welfare pays better than work.

They add up benefits available through eight programs to a low-income woman with two children, and find total benefit values well in excess of full-time minimum wage work, or even, in some states, middle-skill work.

The study is called "The Welfare-Versus-Work Tradeoff," and it's meant to show why people don't get off welfare. And it's B.S., for three reasons.

(Update) Lawsuit to challenge the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Last week, Judge James E. Marner ruled in the case of Yolanda Parker et al. v. City of Tucson et. al. (C20134029), the lawsuit to challenge the sufficiency of the initiative petitions filed by the Committee for Sustainable Retirement, the local front group for ballot initiative activist Paul Jacob and the Liberty Initiative Fund.

Judge Marner struck a number of the petitions submitted as invalid for the reasons stated in his ruling. The Tucson City Clerk was ordered to remove these invalid petition sheets and to recalculate the number of signatures eligible for verification and submit the appropriate number of signatures in the form of random sample to the Pima County Recorder's Office for determination of an error rate as mandated by A.R.S. §19-121.01. The Tucson City Clerk was to accomplish this by no later than August 23, 2013 (today).

Counsel for the Committee for Sustainable Retirement, Lisa Hauser, who never much cares for what a Judge has to say, filed a Motion For Stay and Motion For Reconsideration on August 22, 2013 -- which is her way of saying "sorry Judge, but you are wrong and I am right, as always." You can read the motion Here.

The Court has set a time for hearing of the motion on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. You can read the Ruling Here.

Time to revive Baja Arizona statehood

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Remember back in 2011 the Baja Arizona "partition and separation" movement spearheaded by former Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Paul Eckerstrom? The media had a good time mocking this statehood effort. The Daily Show even came to Tucson for a segment.

Well, where are all the chuckleheads in the media now? A Tea Party "partition and separation" movement in the state of Colorado has qualified for the ballot. Oh, so its funny when liberal Democrats in Baja Arizona want their own state -- we at least have an historical territorial claim for partition and separation under the Gadsden Purchase (the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty of 1853) -- but suddenly it's oh so serious when some Tea Party wingnuts want to partition and separate from Colorado (and Wyoming and Nebraska) to create an ideological ghetto for Tea Party wingnuts?

Several rural, predominantly Republican counties of north and and northeastern Colorado announced their plans to create a 51st state back in June.

The Washington Post reports today, incorrectly using the terminology "secession" as every reporter apparently feels compelled to do, Colorado county to vote on secession:

Residents in a conservative northern Colorado county will vote this November on whether to secede and create a new state, after a local commission on Monday approved ballot language backed by tea party activists.

(Update) Lawsuit to challenge the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

On August 16, 2013, Judge James E. Marner ruled in the case of Yolanda Parker et al. v. City of Tucson et. al. (C20134029), the lawsuit to challenge the sufficiency of the initiative petitions filed by the Committee for Sustainable Retirement, the local front group for ballot initiative activist Paul Jacob and the Liberty Initiative Fund.

You can read the 13 page ruling Here (.pdf).

Long story short, Judge Marner is striking a number of the petitions submitted as invalid for the reasons stated in his ruling. The Tucson City Clerk is ordered to remove these invalid petition sheets and to recalculate the number of signatures eligible for verification and submit the appropriate number of signatures in the form of random sample to the Pima County Recorder's Office for determination of an error rate as mandated by A.R.S. §19-121.01. The Tucson City Clerk shall accomplish this by no later than August 23, 2013.

The Equal Marriage Arizona initiative is a sham

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Last month, the Arizona Capitol Times published a puff piece about the cochairs of Equal Marriage Arizona, Erin Ogletree Simpson (a Log Cabin Republican) and Warren Meyer (a Libertarian), who are the political neophytes fronting for the Equal Marriage Arizona initiative (C-05-2014). The report borrows the "Nixon goes to China" narrative: only conservatives who have dehumanized and demonized gays for years can successfully argue for equal marriage rights for gays now. Push for same-sex marriage initiative comes from the right (subscription required).

This piece of fiction masquerading as "objective" reporting never explored nor answered the critical questions: (a) Who are these political neophytes fronting for?, and (b) Who is really behind the Equal Marriage Arizona initiative?

For the answers, we must turn to the investigative journalism of Lila Shapiro at the Huffington Post. Tim Mooney, Former Gay Marriage Foe, Launches Equality Campaign To Suspicion:

Tim Mooney doesn't fit the profile of a typical gay rights advocate. The Republican strategist worked on Utah's campaign against same-sex marriage in 2004, and helped Rick Perry become governor of Texas.

Yet Mooney is the unlikely figure behind a pair of under-the-radar ballot initiatives to legalize same-sex marriage in Arizona and Florida. The campaigns, called Equal Marriage Florida and Equal Marriage Arizona, began in June, just before the Supreme Court announced its landmark ruling on same-sex marriage.

In recent months, as word of these efforts has spread through the gay rights community, veteran strategists have responded with suspicion and alarm, and have declined to lend their support.

2nd Saturdays Downtown Tucson Tonight

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

For those of you collecting signatures on petitions for the referendum ("citizens veto") of the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305, here is an event in Downtown Tucson this Saturday night attended by thosuands of people each month. You know what to do! http://www.2ndsaturdaysdowntown.com/event-info/schedule/ — in Tucson.

(Update) Lawsuit to challenge the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The hearing of the lawsuit to challenge the sufficiency of the initiative petitions filed by the Committee for Sustainable Retirement, the local front group for ballot initiative activist Paul Jacob and the Liberty Initiative Fund with additional financial support from the National Taxpayers Union, (Case No. 20134029) will continue in front of Judge James E. Marner on Tuesday, August 6 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 808 of the Pima County Superior Court.

The complaint alleged that 10,222 signatures verified by the City Clerk are invalid because of petition circulators with criminal records whose civil rights were not restored, or out-of-state circulators not registred with the Arizona Secretary of Stgate, leaving the intitiative proponents 5,284 signatures short of the 12,730 valid signatures required to be placed on the ballot. Lawsuit to challenge the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson.

The Arizona Daily Star reported on the first day of the hearing on Saturday, Signatures are focus in Tucson city pension suit:

Two city employees filed a lawsuit last week alleging that ineligible felons and out-of-state circulators collected thousands of signatures for the Committee for Sustainable Retirement Benefits.

Attorneys for the two sides spent a portion of the day Friday debating whether it was the responsibility of the committee to prove its signatures are legitimate, or whether the law requires the challengers to prove they are invalid.

The employees are asking the judge to disqualify around 10,000 signatures they assert were improperly collected or modified.

If those signatures are booted, it would place the measure far below the 12,730 signatures required for the November ballot.

Jim Nintzel breaks down the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Tucson Weekly cover story last week was all about the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305. Jim Nintzel provides the best breakdown of any media reporting on this awful bill to date. Ballot Boxing.

Jim Nintzel is also the host of the Political Roundtable on Arizona Illustrated, and on Friday he hosted a panel discussion on the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305, with guests Jeff Rogers, former chairman of the Pima County Democratic Party; Barrett Marson, CEO of Marson Media and a Republican strategist; and Ann-Eve Pedersen, president of the Arizona Education Parent Network.

Video below the fold (segment begins at 3:30 mark).

Lawsuit to challenge the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Qualified Tucson electors Yolanda Parker, John Springer, Jr., and Chris Anderson have filed a challenge to the sufficiency of the initiative petition filed by the Committee for Sustainable Retirement, the local front group for ballot initiative activist Paul Jacob and the Liberty Initiative Fund, with additional financial support from the National Taxpayers Union. Petitioners are represented by the law firm Coppersmith, Schermer & Brockelman, PLC.

A copy of the pleadings are Here, excluding attached exhibits.

The complaint for injunctive and mandamus relief pursuant to A.R.S. §§19-122(C) challenges the petition signature sheets submitted by by the Committee for Sustainable Retirement and counted by the statutory defendants, including the City Clerk for the City of Tucson.

The complaint alleges that the Defendants illegally accepted petition signature sheets and counted the signatures thereon that:

(1) were circulated by persons who are not qualified to register as electors in the state of Arizona;

(2) were circulated by persons who have not registered as out-of-state circulators with the Arizona Secretary of State prior to circulating petition sheets as required by A.R.S. §19-122(C);

(3) petition signature sheets were improperly notarized and contained circulator affidavits that pre-dated the dates the electors signed the petitions;

(4) petition signatures lacked information required by statute, or were rendered void because the circulator filled in or supplemented information on the petition.

(Update) The face of voter suppression in Arizona

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Senator Michele Reagan (R-Scottsdale) is the sponsor of the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305, and has filed her own committee to defend her Voter Suppression Act, the purposefully misleadingly named Protect Our Secret Ballot committee (HB 2305 has nothing at all to do with secret ballots). The face of voter suppression in Arizona.

It turns out that more Tea-Publicans want in on the action suppressing voters in Arizona. The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Elections law supporters start second committee to defend it:

The referendum effort against the state’s controversial new election law is now facing a two-pronged opposition, as a second political action committee filed paperwork this week to fight the referendum.

The new committee, Stop Voter Fraud, is headed up by a former staffer for Jonathan Paton’s 2012 failed congressional campaign, Robert Mayer, and Arizona GOP counsel Lee Miller. The group seeks to defend sweeping changes to the state’s election laws that were adopted in the last session.

Sen. Michele Reagan, R-Scottsdale, who sponsored several provisions of the bill that was ultimately signed into law, is chairing another committee, Protect Our Secret Ballot.

Miller confirmed that he and Mayer created the new committee over differences among the law’s defenders about potential strategy.

(Update) City of Tucson Ballot Measures

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Ahhh, so sad. The red light runners initiative by Tucson gadfly John Kromko and his group Tucson Traffic Justice failed to qualify for the ballot. Red-light cameras won't be put to vote.

So that leaves "Plan Tucson," the general plan for the City of Tucson for the next decade, which will be on the ballot for public approval as required by state law.

And it leaves two propositions:

Proposistion 201 (Initiative Petition #2013-I004) Sustainable Retirement Benefits Act (.pdf). The Committee for Sustainable Retirement in support of the initiative ("The Committee") is the local group fronting for this out-of-state operation by a Virginia-based advocacy organization started by longtime ballot initiative activist Paul Jacob, the Liberty Initiative Fund, and financed in part by the National Taxpayers Union. This is the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson, and turn us into Detroit. Finance Director Kelly Gottschalk estimates the change would cost taxpayers $24 million extra in the first year alone and tens of millions more each year for more than a decade, placing the city in line for potential financial ruin.

The right to vote is sacrosanct - now defend your right to vote

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Petitions for the referendum (citizens veto) to block the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305, are circulating throughout the state. You can sign the petition at your County Democratic Party offices, and you can also pick up a petition to gather signatures.

For more information here in Pima County please call Shasta McManus, Executive Director of the Pima County Democratic Party, at 520-326-3716 or you can pick up petitions at 4639 E 1st St. in Tucson. In Cochise County please call Pat Fleming, Chair of the Cochise County Democratic Committee, at 520-249-5228. You can also call Barbara Lubin with the Arizona Democratic Party at 602-234-6800 and pick up petitions at 2910 N. Central Ave. in Phoenix.

Below is a letter from Arizona Democratic Party Chair, Bill Roe:

It's lawsuit season against our lawless legislature

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I don't know whether a study has ever been done to determine which state legislature gets sued the most often for violating its state constitution and laws, but I have to imagine that Arizona's lawless legislature ranks high on the list. Back in May, the Arizona Republic reported on how much this is costing taxpayers. Controversial Arizona laws rack up big legal fees. More often than not, Arizona loses these cases.

Now that the legislative session is over, it's lawsuit season, that time of year when our lawless legislature gets sued for violating Arizona's constitution and laws in pursuit of the Tea-Publican far-right ideological agenda. This comes from the authoritarianism mindset of movement conservatism. Like the Sun King, Louis XIV of France, these Tea-Publican radicals believe "I am the state." Or if you prefer, Judge Dredd , "I am the law."

Just in the past week, three lawsuits have already been filed against our lawless legislature.

Questions for Martha McSally: What is your position on same-sex marriage?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Blog for Arizona's Pamela Powers Hannley wrote a richly detailed post about Martha McSally in October 2012, after McSally avoided giving her an interview that she had scheduled with her campaign. Martha McSally: Warrior woman hides from questions, constituents, inconsistencies.

As I recall, Pamela was criticized for her reporting on McSally's annulment of marriage in Santa Cruz County, and "Rumor has it that McSally and Henry had a sham marriage of convenience." And then there was this:

There are multiple rumors on the Internet about McSally being a Lesbian. I don't care if she is gay and is in the closet. I do care if she had a sham marriage to avoid being outed-- since Don't Ask Don't Tell was in full swing in the late 1990s. I also care about this issue because McSally's rhetoric is decidedly anti-gay-- particularly when it comes to gay marrriage-- yet another "cookie cutter" Republican issue. Is McSally another one of those Republicans who talks loudly against gays and then turns out to be one?

I for one do not care what a person's sexual preference is, but I do care if a candidate for office is "pulling a Mehlman."

The face of voter suppression in Arizona

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Senator Michele Reagan (R-Scottsdale) wants to be Arizona's next Secretary of State. Her role models are Katherine Harris (R-Florida) (2000), Ken Blackwell (R-Ohio) (2004), and Scott Gessler (R-Colorado) (2012), Republican Secretaries of State with notorious records for voter suppression.

Sen. Reagan is the sponsor of the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305, and she is damned proud of it. Last Friday, The Arizona Republic published a "My Turn" guest opinion by Sen. Reagan that can be boiled down to her shouting "voter fraud!" as the reason for her Voter Suppression Act. Reagan: 3 oft-forgotten election-bill facts.

This despite the fact that our current Secretary of State, Ken "Birther" Bennett, testified to a U.S. Senate panel in December last year that Arizona prosecuted a whopping fifteen cases of voter fraud in the last eighteen months. And none of these were cases of non-citizens voting, but rather "snowbirds" who voted in Arizona and in another state. 2.3 million ballots were cast in the 2012 election in Arizona. Ken Bennett's passion for voter fraud turns up fifteen cases.

A citizens referendum (or "citizens veto" in other states) has been filed by the Protect Your Right to Vote Committee to block Sen. Reagan's Voter Suppression Act. The Libertarian Party, the Green Party, the Democratic Party, the non-partisan League of Women Voters, organized labor, and a wide array of Latino and voting rights organizations are in the process of collecting enough signatures to be filed by September 12.

Update on the referendum to block the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

On Saturday, the Arizona Democratic Party held its Summer State Committee Meeting in Cottonwood, Arizona. A presentation on the referendum to block the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305, was filmed by Blog for Arizona's Pamela Powers Hannley, who will post more about this meeting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghG6vesppWs.

Packets of information were provided to County Party Chairs and to state committee members at the meeting, along with walk lists for precincts. The Arizona Democratic Party effort will supplement the paid canvas being organized by the Protect Your Right to Vote Committee.

This is a call to action to Democratic volunteers, and to anyone who supports the sacrosanct right to vote for which Americans have fought and died to preserve. Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their country and this state. Democrats should contact your local Democratic County Party Office (see contact information below) and your Legislative District chairs.

You may also contact the Arizona Advocacy Network to volunteer (see announcement below the fold).

(Update) Who is behind the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I previously posted about Who is behind the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson? A Virginia-based advocacy organization started by longtime ballot initiative activist Paul Jacob, the Liberty Initiative Fund, is behind the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson.

In reviewing the financial disclosure filings with the City of Tucson, it turns out Paul Jacob has company, the National Taxpayers Union, an allegedly "nonpartisan" (for 501(c) tax status) right-wing anti-tax organization.

The Committee for Sustainable Retirement in support of the initiative ("The Committee") is the local group fronting for this out-of-state operation. The 6-12-13 Contribution and Expenditure Report listed contributions of $4,000 and $5,000 from the Liberty Initiative Fund, and a contribution of $8,000 from the National Taxpayers Union. The Committee then filed a 6-14-13 "Correction" to that report, claiming that the Liberty Initiative Fund was its single source contributor.

On 6-17-13, The Committee filed a Contribution and Expenditure Report that listed a $15,000 contribution from the aforementioned National Taxpayers Union. On 6-21-13 The Committee filed another Contribution and Expenditure Report for an additional contribution of $11,000 from the Liberty Initiative Fund.

The June 30, 2013 Campaign Finance Report was filed by the Committee on 6-26-13, and lo and behold, it filed a No Activity Report with a bunch of zeroes and a total of $25 cash on hand. The Pre-Primary Election Report is not due until August 23, 2013.

Committees update

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

Note: when I write "nothing significant" (or a reasonable facsimile thereof), it's not an insult to the candidate committees that have formed at a particular level.  For the purposes of this post, "significant" mostly means "a candidate that we've heard of before"

Committees of note formed recently...

 

Federal level -

Martha McSally (R) declared her candidacy for the CD2 seat currently held by Ron Barber.

 

State level -

Red light runners want the 'right' to jeopardize other motorists in Tucson

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

First of all, isn't Tucson's political gadfly, John Kromko, still on probation for forgery and fraud on petitions in the last campaign he was involved in? Kromko gets probation in forgery case (March 01, 2011). Just asking.

Secondly, where do red light runners get off thinking they have a "right" to run red lights and to jeopardize other motorists on the road?

I don't know how many times I have come to a stop at one of these intersections and the next thing I know cameras are going off like paparazzi on Academy Awards night as multiple cars run the red light, usually making left turns (and yes, the light was red -- I looked).

Former state lawmaker John Kromko dropped off nearly 23,000 petition signatures Friday afternoon at the City Clerk's Office to place a measure banning traffic cameras on the November ballot. Petitions turned in to put Tucson traffic-camera ban on November ballot:

The initiative would prohibit all traffic-enforcement cameras in Tucson and would amend the city code to require that every ticket issued by the Tucson Police Department have an actual officer witness the infraction.

Kromko's group, Tucson Traffic Justice, needs 12,730 valid signatures from registered voters living within city limits to make the ballot.

Referendum to block the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305 filed today - it's on!

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports, Election law opponents move toward a referendum:

Critics of the state’s new election law today filed papers to create a political committee that will challenge the legislation through a referendum.

The new group, Protect Your Right to Vote, faces a daunting task: to gather 86,405 valid signatures by Sept. 12 to halt the law’s implementation until voters get the chance to weigh on it in the 2014 general election.

The group filed a referendum petition with the Secretary of State today.

The referendum committee is chaired by Julie Erfle, who writes for the blog site Politics Uncuffed and is the widow of a police officer killed in the line of duty.

* * *

The new group is expected to attract the support of various political groups, including the Libertarian and Democratic parties.

Who is behind the initiative to bankrupt the City of Tucson?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

A Virginia-based advocacy organization started by longtime ballot initiative activist Paul Jacob, the Liberty Initiative Fund, is behind the initiative in Tucson that would affect the pensions of new hire employees (the Arizona Constitution and case law precedents prevent the City of Tucson from changing the contractual obligations of the pension for any current employees or retirees). Here's a copy of the initiative: 2013-I004.pdf.

More about the Liberty Initiative Fund’s Paul Jacob here. [Paul Jacob writes a weekly column for Townhall.com, and was the term limits movement’s leading voice, running U.S. Term Limits, the nation’s largest term limits group.]

This ill-conceived pension initiative would bankrupt the City of Tucson. Initiative to change pension system could bankrupt city, Tucson official warns:

A planned citizens initiative that would force the city to put more money into funding employee pensions could bankrupt the city, officials say.

* * *

While the city would see substantial savings under the proposal 15 years down the road, Finance Director Kelly Gottschalk said, the increased cost leading up to that 15-year mark is so high it's unlikely the budget could hold out long enough to experience any benefit.

She estimates the change would cost taxpayers $24 million extra in the first year alone and tens of millions more each year for more than a decade, placing the city in line for potential financial ruin.

Citizens Referendum to block the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

If you have vacation plans in in July and August, you should consider rescheduling. Get a good pair of shoes and a hat, and stock up on water and sun block. It is time for you to fight for voting rights in Arizona.

It is going to take every man and woman who honors the brave sacrifice of those who marched and died for your right to vote to go to work to make this citizens referendum happen. "We shall overcome."

Arm in arm, Martin Luther King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, leading the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., March 1965. (Credit: William Lovelace—Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Election bill foes join forces, eye referendum:

There’s plenty for a broad array of opponents to hate in an omnibus election bill passed at the end of the session, and a diverse coalition is now banding together for a probable citizen referendum drive against HB2305.

Democrats and Latino activist groups oppose a provision making it illegal for campaigns or political organizations to collect voters’ early ballots, as well as a provision intended to purge the Permanent Early Voting List of people who don’t actually use their early ballots. Libertarians and Greens are worried about dramatically increased signature requirements that they say will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for most of their candidates to get on the ballot.

Sen. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, said it is a near-certainty that the coalition of HB2305 opponents will file a referendum.

“We have our shoes on. All we need to do is tie the laces and we are moving forward,” Gallardo said. “The chances of this happening are pretty much there.” Arizona Libertarian Party Chairman Warren Severin said the decision is essentially a done deal.

“There will be a referendum on this,” Severin said.

Initiatives and Referendums for 2014

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Arizona Republic reports again today that the Libertarian Party, the Democratic Party, and possibly the Green Party are exploring legal action and possibly a citizens referendum to challenge the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305. Opponents vow to fight new ballot hurdles.

There is presently a citizens referendum being circulated by teabagger asshats Ron Gould and Frank Antenori to challenge Governor Jan Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration/expansion plan, by an organization laughingly called the "United Republican Alliance of Principled Conservatives." One, Republicans are anything but "united" on this issue, and two, "principled conservatives" is an oxymoron given the present condition of the so-called conservative movement. The Secretary of State lists this citizens referendum as "Health and Welfare Budget Reconciliation," R-01-2014. 86,405 valid signatures are needed by the September 11, 2013 deadline.

So what are the initiatives currently circulating out there for the 2014 ballot? There are two being circulated by professional petition circulator Fox Petitions for undisclosed groups.

Democrats, Libertarians and Greens unite to fight the Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

To quote a great American patriot, Bugs Bunny, "Of course you realize, this means war!"

The GOP Voter Suppression Act, HB 2305, may produce united opposition to their nefarious designs to infringe upon Arizona citizens' constitutional rights to initiative, referendum and recall, to disenfranchise minor party candidates and to reduce voter options on the ballot, and to suppress the votes of certain classes of voters, in particular Latino voters. A citizens referendum is under discussion.

A column by Laurie Roberts in the Arizona Republic today reports, Democrats, Libertarians teaming to fight election law:

Democrats and Libertarians are threatening to mount a campaign to block House Bill 2305, the election “reforms” signed into law on Wednesday.

2013 Legislative round up: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

In normal years, the three categories above are enough to cover the activities of the lege.  There hasn't been "good" coming out of West Washington for years, so everything that could be labeled as "Well, it coulda been worse" (surprise vetos, watered-down bad ideas, bad bills that actually failed, etc.) were lumped into the "good" category.

This year, some actual "good" happened at the Capitol.

Which is good, of course, but it creates a dilemma -

Is it better to put the "coulda been worse" items into the "good" category, and possibly diminish the perception of the actual good items, or put the "coulda been worse" items into the "bad" category, and risk raising the perception of the truly bad items?

This was a vexing matter, until I remembered one thing -

I'm not Sergio Leone, so I'm not restricted to three categories.

Did keep the title though - "The Good, The Coulda Been Worse, The Bad, and The Ugly" just doesn't pack as much oomph. :)

 

On to the meat of the post...

Special Session is over, appropriations bills sent to Governor

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Special Session for the budget is over, but the regular session is continuing (no sine die yet). The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Senate passes Medicaid expansion, sending it to the governor:

The state Senate approved Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid expansion plan on an 18-11 vote this afternoon, sending it to the governor for her signature.

* * *

In the House, a coalition of nine Republicans joined with the 24 House Democrats to approve the spending plan on a series of 33-27 votes, setting the stage for end the first special session of the 51st Legislature, which Brewer called into action at Tuesday evening.

The Republicans in the House who voted for the budget were Rep. T.J. Shope, Rep. Frank Pratt, Rep. Kate Brophy McGee, Rep. Heather Carter, Rep. Doug Coleman, Rep. Jeff Dial, Rep. Doris Goodale, Rep. Ethan Orr and Rep. Bob Robson.

 

Out-of-state right-wing organization behind public employee pension initiative in Tucson

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Back in March of this year, the City of Phoenix referred two ballot measures to the city election ballot pertaining to the City of Phoenix Employee Retirement System (COPERS). City of Phoenix Pension Reform, Propositions 201 and 202 - Ballotpedia:

Two City of Phoenix Pension Reform Questions, Propositions 201 and 202, were on the March 12, 2013 ballot for voters in the City of Phoenix in Maricopa County, Arizona. Both propositions were overwhelmingly approved.

Proposition 201 amended the Phoenix City Charter to make five changes in the City of Phoenix Employee Retirement System (COPERS). The most important of these changes requires any member of the Plan to contribute half of the funds for his or her retirement and establish that retirement eligibility occurs when the sum of the employee's age and years of service equals 87 instead of 80, which was the rule before Proposition 201 was enacted. Proposition 201 left intact the previous retirement eligibility rules of 60 years of age with 10 years of service and 62 years of age with 5 years of service. Proposition 201 also established certain multiplier benefits to increase over time instead of decrease in order to encourage later retirement.

Proposition 202 puts in place what is known as a "prudent investor rule". It also ensures that the city's Retirement Plan remains tax-exempt and makes the amended plan compatible with all applicable federal tax laws.

Proposition 201 applies only to those employees hired on or after July 1, 2013. The provisions do not apply to any employees who were hired by the city prior to July 1, 2013, nor do the provisions apply to any now-retired former city employees. Police and fire employees, and elected officials, are exempt from the changes in Propositions 201 and 202.

With the enactment of Proposition 201, the city's contribution to COPERS is expected to decrease by 51%, yielding an approximate cumulative savings of $596 million by year 2037, while the highest employee contribution rate is estimated to be 13.6 percent of salary.

Propositions 201 and 202 were referred to the March 12, 2013 ballot on October 31, 2012 through a unanimous (9-0) vote of the Phoenix City Council.

Annexation and incorporation mean more revenue sharing for Pima County

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Pima County has long suffered from a lack of state revenue sharing for one simple reason: state revenue sharing goes to incorporated cities and towns.

Pima County has large areas of developed unincorporated land adjacent to the City of Tucson, which means that Pima County residents have long been subsidizing the state of Maricopa, nearly fully incorporated decades ago, with their tax dollars.

For as long as I have lived in Tucson, mayors of Tucson have promoted the concept of "mountain to mountain annexation" of the Tucson valley. This has always been met with opposition from the unincorporated areas adjacent to the City of Tucson, which has cost Pima County residents millions of dollars in state revenue sharing over the years for infrastructure investments.

The City of Tucson is not blameless. Back in the 1990s, Casas Adobes and Tortolita held incorporation votes, but state law at the time permitted an incorporated city to prevent incorporation within 10 miles of its city boundary. Tucson sued, and Casas Adobes and Tortolita lost in court. Again, this has cost Pima County residents millions of dollars in state revenue sharing over the years for infrastructure investments.

Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild brings a new vision to this state revenue sharing problem: he continues to support annexation to Tucson but also the city will not oppose incorporation of unincorporated areas adjacent to City of Tucson boundaries.

Frank Antenori and Ron Gould are desperate for media attention

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

When I opened the Arizona Daily Star this morning, I was treated to a Howard Fischer report on how former state legislators Frank Antenori and Ron Gould are planning a referendum drive should the Arizona legislature enact Governor Jan Brewer's Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration plan. 2 want Medicaid issue up to voters:

Frank Antenori, who represented Tucson, said Tuesday he already has written commitments from 500 GOP precinct committeemen to gather signatures this summer to refer the issue to the ballot if the proposal by Gov. Jan Brewer is approved by the Legislature. He and Ron Gould of Lake Havasu City need just 86,405 valid signatures within 90 days of the end of the session -- whenever that happens -- to force the issue to a public vote.

* * *

House Speaker Andy Tobin said Tuesday he has given up on his own bid to make approval of Brewer's plan contingent on voter approval at a special election. Tobin said he cannot line up support in his chamber.

* * *

Antenori said, though, it should be no problem finding enough Arizonans to sign referendum petitions -- especially if the measure is sold as a way to kill "Obamacare.''

Just getting the signatures would be a setback for Brewer. The Arizona Constitution says any measure referred to the ballot cannot take effect until voters get a chance to either ratify or reject what lawmakers have approved.

The earliest that could happen is the 2014 general election. Antenori said that delay works in his favor.

Neo-Confederate dead-enders put the long discredited and unconstitutional theories of 'nullification, interposition and secession' on the 2014 ballot

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I posted about this previously, Arizona's Neo-Confederate dead-enders and secession:

Remember the "Checks and Balances in Government" citizens initiative aka the "nullification" initiative from a nutty Scottsdale millionaire businessman, Jack Biltis, that failed to qualify for the ballot due to an insufficient number of signatures last year? Businessman spends $1.2 million to put nullification measure on ballot.

Biltis has decided to bypass the expense of another initiative effort and to take the easy route of getting his fellow Neo-Confederate dead-enders in the legislature to repackage his "nullification" initiative as a constitutional amendment referred to the ballot by the Arizona legislature. SCR1016 is sponsored by the usual suspects, Sen. Rich Crandell (R-Heber), Sen. Judy Burges (R-Sun City West), and cosponsors Sen. Cap'n Al Melvin (R-Saddlebrooke), and Rep. Brenda Barton (R-Payson).

The ballot measure would amend the state Constitution to allow the state to reject any federal action the public deems to be a violation of the US Constitution by passing an initiative, referendum or bill, or by using any other legal remedy. The proposal also prohibits the state from using its employees or resources to enforce or cooperate with a federal action that’s rejected by the people.

It turns out that Jack Biltis has a lobbyist buddy who helped him out in getting these yahoos to sponsor SCR1016: the wannabe tinhorn dictator of Tucson, Jonathan "Payday" Paton. If there is a bad idea, you can bet this tool is behind it.

Deceptive plot to kill Citizens Clean Elections one step closer to the ballot

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Back in 2010, then Sen. Jonathan "Payday" Paton had a purposefully deceptive plot to kill Citizens Clean Elections by technically leaving the Citizens Clean Elections Act approved by voters in 1998 in place, but leaving no money in the fund for candidates in the 2012 election. Public financing of elections all but dead | The Sierra Vista Herald:

Sen. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, a foe of public financing, conceded that he fears the public, confronted with a measure that asks to repeal the “Clean Elections” system, would not see it the way he does.

This bill, said Paton, gets around that political problem. More to the point, it offers a carrot to convince voters to go along.

It has an excellent chance of passing,” he said. Paton said the measure provides voters with the choice of “funding junk mail and yard signs or funding our classrooms.”

Evil Tea-Publican plots never die, they just get recycled year after year until they get their way. This year, "Tempe Normal" graduate student Rep. Paul Boyer (R-Phoenix) is the water-carrier for this purposefully deceptive plot to kill Citizens Clean Elections. You can bet that lobbyist "Payday" Paton, the Goldwater Institute, and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce -- longtime foes of Citizens Clean Elections -- are in the shadows behind this purposefully deceptive plot to kill Citizens Clean Elections.

The Doobie Brothers: Jason Rose and Constantin Querard

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Political consultants should stand on a street corner with a sign that reads "will sell my soul for cash." That's the only thing that really motivates them.

Stephen Lemons at the Phoenix New Times has this fun post about the supposed principles of political consultants, Russell Pearce's Pal Constantin Querard Pimps Medical Marijuana Industry:

Next, there's this little tidbit that I find eyepopping: Constantin Querard, Dark Prince of Sand Land's Far Right, supporter of recalled, disgraced ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce, and founder of the uber-conservative Arizona Family Project, is now pimping for the medical marijuana industry.

I could hardly believe it myself, but there it is, in black and white, on the Arizona Secretary of State's online guide to lobbyists, under Querard's name, the info that CQ is a "Lobbyist for Compensation" working on behalf of Arizona Organix, the state's first-ever duly licensed purveyor of medical Mary Jane, which opened for business December 6, in Glendale.

The crazy train has left the station in the Arizona legislature

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I have had Democratic senators in the Arizona legislature, who shall remain nameless, assure me that there are enough reasonable Republicans in the Senate to defeat the crazy train bills that we have become used to in recent years. Yeah... about that.

The Birthers-Birchers-Secessionists of the Tea Party in the Arizona legislature have been riding the crazy train off the rails of late.

Yesterday, the Senate gave voice approval to the Glenn Beck "Agenda 21" wingnut conspiracy bill sponsored by the Birther Queen, Sen. Judy Burges, R-Skull Valley. Arizona Senate OKs bill rejecting UN declaration on environment:

The Senate voted Wednesday to make it illegal for state and local governments to recognize the United Nations or any of its declarations as legal authority here.

While some lawmakers have always been suspicious of the U.N., the focus of this measure is that organization's Rio Declaration, adopted in 1992, which deals with issues of environment and development.

Tea-Publicans in the Arizona Lege are trying to limit voters' rights

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Think back to November 2012 and what were the problems with the election: voter lists from the county recorders were inaccurate, voters did not know where to go due to precinct consolidation into new "voting areas," and many voters were listed as an early voter but wanted to vote in person, all of which contributed to a large number of provisional ballots being cast. This slowed the counting of the vote.

A large number of voters dropped off their "early" ballots on election day -- as is their lawful right to do so -- which also contributed to the slow counting of the vote.

And then there was the scandal of "dark money" independent expenditure committees corrupting the political process with attack ads funded by contributors who do not have to disclose their identity or the amount of their political contributions.

(Update) Arizona's Neo-Confederate dead-enders and secession

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I posted about this previously, Arizona's Neo-Confederate dead-enders and secession:

Remember the "Checks and Balances in Government" citizens initiative aka the "nullification" initiative from a nutty Scottsdale millionaire businessman, Jack Biltis, that failed to qualify for the ballot due to an insufficient number of signatures last year? Businessman spends $1.2 million to put nullification measure on ballot.

Biltis has decided to bypass the expense of another initiative effort and to take the easy route of getting his fellow Neo-Confederate dead-enders in the legislature to repackage his "nullification" initiative as a constitutional amendment referred to the ballot by the Arizona legislature. SCR1016 is sponsored by the usual suspects, Sen. Rich Crandell (R-Heber), Sen. Judy Burges (R-Sun City West), and cosponsors Sen. Cap'n Al Melvin (R-Saddlebrooke), and Rep. Brenda Barton (R-Payson).

The ballot measure would amend the state Constitution to allow the state to reject any federal action the public deems to be a violation of the US Constitution by passing an initiative, referendum or bill, or by using any other legal remedy. The proposal also prohibits the state from using its employees or resources to enforce or cooperate with a federal action that’s rejected by the people.

It turns out that Jack Biltis has a lobbyist buddy who helped him out in getting these yahoos to sponsor SCR1016: the wannabe tinhorn dictator of Tucson, Jonathan "Payday" Paton. If there is a bad idea, you can bet this tool is behind it.

Arizona's Neo-Confederate dead-enders and secession

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I warned you about this at the start of the legislative session. Neo-Confederate dead-enders revive  discredited 'nullification theory' again.

Remember the "Checks and Balances in Government" citizens initiative aka the "nullification" initiative from a nutty Scottsdale millionaire businessman, Jack Biltis, that failed to qualify for the ballot due to an insufficient number of signatures last year? Businessman spends $1.2 million to put nullification measure on ballot.

Biltis has decided to bypass the expense of another initiative effort and to take the easy route of getting his fellow Neo-Confederate dead-enders in the legislature to repackage his "nullification" initiative as a constitutional amendment referred to the ballot by the Arizona legislature. SCR1016 is sponsored by the usual suspects, Sen. Rich Crandell (R-Heber), Sen. Judy Burges (R-Sun City West), and cosponsors Sen. Cap'n Al Melvin (R-Saddlebrooke), and Rep. Brenda Barton (R-Payson).

Republican legislative agendas: It's like deja vu all over again

By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

 

In case anyone thought that the Republicans learned some lessons from their trouncing in November, think again.

In the US House, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-somewhere past the orbit of Pluto...ok, she's from Minnesota.  But this time of year, Pluto and MN are roughly the same temperature.  :) ) introduced, on the very first day of the 113th Congress, introduced HR45, a measure to repeal healthcare reform, also known as "ObamaCare" and HR46, a measure to repeal Dodd-Frank, the minimal increase in oversight of Wall Street and the financial services industry after the financial speculation bubble burst late in the last decade. (no text available for either measure as yet)

The Rs have been wailing against both measures basically since both were enacted; for example, in just the last Congress, the House Republicans voted to repeal health care reform 33 times.

None of their efforts made it through the Senate, and there's no reason to think that these will, if one or both even passes the House.  Of course, both HR45 and HR46 were assigned to *9* committees each, which may be the House Republican leadership's way of saying "quit wasting our time, Michele."

Republicans & non-voters shouldn't whine about school closures (video)

by Pamela Powers Hannley

As I was reading Arizona Daily Star education reporter Alexis Huicochea's Tweets from the latest public school closure hearing on last Saturday, I wondered to myself: How many of these parents-- who are now gnashing their teeth about their kid's school-- voted Republican or didn't vot at all?

Remember 2010, when the Repulbicans swept all of Arizona's statewide offices and won a super majority in the Arizona Legislature? Things were bad before that, but our state really slid into dark times with Governor Jan "George Wallace in a Skirt" Brewer and her henchmen-- Attorney General Tom "Kill MAS" Horne, Public Instruction Head John "Charter Schools" Huppenthal, Secretary of State Ken "Birther" Bennet, and former State Senate President Russell "Get the Messicans" Pearce-- in charge. They are the reason that Tucson Unified Schools District (TUSD) has a $17 million short fall. They are the reason TUSD is closing schools, increasing class sizes, and laying off teachers. And, actually, you are the reason, too.

Parents, grandparents, and activists-- if you voted for Republican legislators, the governor, and her gang of thieves and/or voted against continuation of the sales tax for education and jobs (prop 204) OR didn't vote at all-- shut up about school closures. You got want you wanted-- smaller government, impoverished public education, and millions of dollars of corporate welfare. Hurray for the 1%! Screw you, children of Arizona. 

Your theme song plays after the jump.

Ballots are still being tallied, but the election is finally over in Arizona

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Nearly two weeks after election day, Pima County finishes its provisional ballot count:

Pima County has finally finished counting its election ballots while Maricopa County still has thousands to go.

Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell says 1,119 early ballots and 30,372 provisional ballots cast at the polls on Nov. 6 were tabulated Monday.

She says about 450 early ballots remain to be processed for tabulation along with some 34,000 provisional ballots.

The last two undecided races in Arizona have now been called. Remaining 2 Ariz. races are called:

Proposition 118, a new formula for distributing the money from Arizona's permanent land endowment fund, has won voter approval, according to The Arizona Republic's analysis of election returns.

The Republic also called the remaining legislative race for Rep. Eric Meyer in an east Phoenix/Paradise Valley district. Meyer, a Democrat, had been leading Rep. Amanda Reeve, R-Phoenix, since Election Night. His margin, although slight, grew steadily as early and provisional ballots were tabulated.

As Arizona marks two weeks since the Nov. 6 election, all counties but Maricopa had completed their ballot counts.

The legislative results mean the state House of Representatives will have 36 Republicans and 24 Democrats when the 2013 legislative session begins in January, compared with the current 40-20 split. The Senate will have 17 Republicans to 13 Democrats, compared to today's 21-9 makeup.

Prop. 409, City of Tucson Road Bonds Wins Approval

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Press release from the City of Tucson:

VOTERS APPROVE PROPOSITION 409 NEWS CONFERENCE AT CITY HALL - 3 P.M.

Unofficial election results from the Pima County Elections Department indicate the passage of Proposition 409, the bond package to improve the condition of City of Tucson streets. The approval of the bond package will result in $100 million being spent to repair and resurface City streets over the next five years. The road work will be carried out entirely by private contractors and begin in the second half of 2013. Residents can expect to see a variety of treatments being applied to City streets as part of the new pavement preservation program.

At 3 p.m. today, a news conference will take place at City Hall, 255 W. Alameda Street, first floor conference room. Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, City Manager Richard Miranda and Bruce Burke from the Citizens' Committee will be available for comment.

Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and City Manager Richard Miranda are pleased that residents have given a vote of confidence to the City to improve the condition of City streets. Returning to a regular maintenance program for the City’s approximately 1,900 miles of roadways has been a top priority for the Mayor and Council. In addition to improving driving conditions, the City is confident that restoration of streets will restore pride in the appearance of Tucson and make an excellent first impression on visitors and the investors alike.

“We all recognize the need to do something about our roads,” said Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild. He added, “I’m pleased that the people of Tucson stepped up and made the decision to invest in our community.”

The Mayor also pledged that he and the City Manager will make sure that the money from the Bond package is spent as promised and welcomed residents to apply for a position on the Citizen Bond Oversight Commission.

The Citizen Bond Oversight Commission application process is now open to any city resident and applicants will be screened on the basis of interest, qualifications, leadership role in the community, stakeholder group and geographical representation. Each of the seven members of the Mayor and Council will make an appointment to the commission and the City Manager will make four selections for a total of 11 members. The Oversight Commission will meet quarterly to review the progress of the bond program and report annually to citizens, ensuring that bond funds are expended in accordance with the direction of the voters. To apply for a position, please send resumes to The City Clerk’s Office at [email protected] or 255 W. Alameda, Tucson AZ, 85701 no later than December 31, 2012.

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