Arizona Capitol Times Your Inside Source for Arizona Government, Politics and Business

ERCOT (the power grid operator for most of Texas) is predicting a power shortage starting next summer. This is because they have relied on market signals to get new generation built and keep current plants open. This model is obviously not working.

The act of calling on David Stringer by the Prescott City Council to resign his elected seat in the Arizona House of Representatives was grossly disproportionate to the true facts of the matter, as well as far outside the council’s legitimate role and powers.

In the past year, there has been a movement in American business to grant certain familial leave, responding to the evolution in our society of companies responding to the basic needs of their employees. Arizona is a state made up largely of small businesses so it doesn’t have the leeway many large companies do. But at the end of the day, it’s about employee/employer loyalty and compassion.

While the criminal justice reform movement gains momentum across the country, Arizona remains on the outside looking in. Even as more conservative states with a tradition of harsh justice reduce prison populations through smart reforms that target the root causes of crime, Arizona persists in the failed policies of mass incarceration, wasting resources to imprison low-level offenders.

I tend to reason through my personal experiences using common sense, but I have learned as Will Rogers once said, “Common Sense ain’t so common.” If it doesn’t make common sense I usually don’t accept it as fact or the truth. Voting in Arizona just doesn’t make the common sense smell test.

The prosecution function has come a long way in the last two decades across the country and here in Maricopa County.

Eisenhower said five decades ago, “…Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing,… so that security and liberty may prosper together.” So vote, because what we know is voting is a behavior. Engage civilly, because tolerance renounces bloodshed. Mostly, love thy neighbor…. Unless he is a bowtie-wearing, espresso-drinking, data-geek who can tell you the price of everything and the value of nothing — that is a political consultant. Stay away from them.

Recent attacks and inaccurate statements about the integrity and success of Primavera Online and its students demand a proper response. On behalf of the more than 200,000 students we have served over the past 18 years, the truth about us deserves to be told.

I applaud Governor Ducey’s and former Governor Babbitt’s public statements of support for Arizona’s adoption of the drought contingency plans (DCP), expressed last week. Arizona’s water future depends on careful conservation, management, and collaboration to ensure that all of our communities are able to plan well into the future. This leadership is a valuable and essential part of how we get to a more sustainable future for the Colorado River basin.

Our schools need a leader who will prioritize service to our children, schools, and communities — and as state superintendent, that’s precisely what I’ll do. It will take collaboration and legislative support across party lines. However, this election showed that communities across Arizona value public education and there is bipartisan support for pro-public education policies.