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

As we approach election season, here are tips for making your vote count.

My friend, Barry Goldwater Jr., paid spokesman for TUSK ("Tell Utilities Solar Won't Be Killed"), has spoken on the race for Arizona Corporation Commission, and his words are an incitement to hearty debate. I write in defense of the candidate I have endorsed, Doug Little, whose candidacy has elicited a degree of ferocity that is entirely disproportionate to his views -- which are mainstream -- and disrespectful of his values, which are stellar.

As elected leaders of multiple West Valley communities, we want to cut through the over-heated rhetoric surrounding the Tohono O’odham Nation’s proposed West Valley Resort casino, which will benefit our region and all of Arizona tremendously.

As Arizonans sharpen their focus on the actions that will enable our state to become more competitive, emerging evidence points to the profound economic impact of arts and culture organizations. In fact, the arts not only enrich our community, but they contribute to a healthy economy.

Water issues in Arizona are as varied as the state’s terrain but one thing’s for certain — the price we pay for our most precious natural resource is going to increase in the face of shortages triggered by continued drought and climate change.

Now that SB1344 has taken effect, I write to announce that the Clean Elections Commission will continue its mission without change.

The Arizona Tax Research Association would like to correct an important error in the Arizona Capitol Times (July 11). The National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers union in the nation, ranks Arizona 29th for school year 2012-13 in average salaries for K-12 “public school teachers.” The Capitol Times article incorrectly reported Arizona at 42nd.

I’ve been around Arizona Republican politics for quite a while. As always, the stakes in the upcoming primary election for our party are significant.

Lost in this week’s headlines about the Glendale City Council’s 4-3 vote to no longer oppose the Tohono O’odham Nation’s neighborhood casino are some critical points about what this new casino could mean for Valley neighborhoods and for the Nation’s sister tribes.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 7 ordered that “dreamers” who the federal government allow to work in this country also be issued Arizona driver’s licenses, at least for the time being. The court rejected arguments by Gov. Jan Brewer that she was entitled to issue an executive order two years ago denying licenses to those in the federal government’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.