Recent Articles from Christian Palmer
Goddard weighs in on Horne’s redistricting commission probe
Former Attorney General Terry Goddard this weekend accused now AG Tom Horne of taking part in a Republican “intimidation campaign” against the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. The announcement was odd, and so was the timing – given that Horne’s investigation has been ongoing for more than a month.
IRC Democrat still leery of cooperating with AG probe
If Republican Attorney General Tom Horne would be willing to meet the Independent Redistricting Commission halfway, a Democrat on the panel said he would be prone to reconsidering his stance that he and his colleagues should resist cooperating with an investigation Horne launched last month.
Redistricting commissioner set to cooperate with AG investigation
More than a month after Attorney General Tom Horne announced an investigation into possible open meeting and procurement law violations by the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, his attorneys will finally get to conduct their first interview with a commissioner Wednesday morning.
‘Job creator’ Cardon destined to hire numerous consultants
Last week, East Valley investor Wil Cardon announced he’d challenge Congressman Jeff Flake for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate in what could be described as the Political Consultant Employment Act of 2011. In these times, a complete lack of experience is somehow touted as a benefit when it comes to running for political office. With that in mind, Cardon seems to be the man for the j[...]
IRC split on cooperating with AG investigation
The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission could stumble into another partisan divide, but this time it involves whether members will cooperate with Attorney General Tom Horne’s investigation into whether the commission violated open meeting and procurement laws when it hired a mapping consultant in June.
Let’s hope for a recall worth remembering
Tell me that the upcoming recall election of Russell Pearce isn’t going to be as uneventful as I expect it will be. So far, all the signs are pointing to a disappointing blowout, with Pearce clobbering political newbie Jerry Lewis.
Christian Palmer talks matching funds
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Bipartisanship endangered, not extinct
It was announced this week that the National Institute on Civil Discourse awarded its first grants to several UofA departments: one to watch how politicians handle confrontational questions from constituents... […]
How to buy the benefit of the doubt, for nothing
Several years ago I attended a government commission meeting where an appointed chairman openly rejected an assistant attorney general’s recommendation to convene an executive session.
“No, I don’t think we need an executive session to talk about this,” the chairman said, to the best of my recollection.
It’s not that every — or even most — public bodies are eage[...]
Supreme Court labels matching funds ‘substantial burden’ to free speech
Arizona’s system of public campaign financing has been dealt a major, although expected, blow by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled June 27 that the matching funds provision of the Clean Elections Act is unconstitutional.
Matching funds: Remember the departed as they were
The big news this week is the U.S. Supreme Court striking down Arizona’s matching funds provision from Clean Elections. The ruling could be a game-changer for some who will seek legislative and statewide elected positions. But it also begs the question: What will we really be missing?
Christian Palmer talks about what the matching funds ruling means
Yellow Sheet Report associate editor Christian Palmer talks about the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on matching funds and what it will mean for politics in Arizona.