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Giffords injury leads to void in Senate race
The shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in January has left Democrats in Arizona without a candidate for next year's U.S. Senate race even though party officials in Washington have declared the state a tremendous opportunity to pick up a seat.
Votes, attendance still question marks for special session
Baring the same determination she employed in pushing for a temporary sales tax hike, Gov. Jan Brewer called for a special session to be held on June 10 to extend aid to jobless Arizonans. But it's unclear whether the votes Brewer needs are there.
Group submits 18,000 signatures to recall Pearce
Saying they have defied doomsayers and skeptics, a group filed Tuesday more than 18,000 signatures to recall Senate President Russell Pearce, a conservative lawmaker from Mesa who is nationally known for his anti-illegal immigration legislation.
Free redistricting tool uses incredible power of ‘crowdsourcing’
In regards to the article, “Commissioners eye free mapping software, say it could be used differently than creators intended” Arizona Capitol Times, May 8, we offer the following to address concerns noted by some of the members of Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission.
Lawmakers’ voting participation remains high in shorter session
Records from the past three legislative sessions point to a simple truism of the citizen-legislature model: The shorter the session, the better the attendance.
By keeping a 100-day session — the length prescribed by legislative rules — 27 of the Legislature’s 90 members voted on every bill that was brought to the floor, and only one lawmaker missed more than 20 percent of floor vo[...]
Few see increase in civility following Giffords’ shooting
The January shooting in Tucson, which occurred just two days before the 2011 legislative session began, inspired soul searching among rattled and emotional lawmakers, who pledged a new era of civility across the partisan divide. Others vowed drastic changes to Arizona’s laws on guns and mental health in response to a mass shooting carried out by a man with documented-but-untreated mental health [...]
UpClose with David Schapira: Found some success at blocking legislation with ‘watchdog’ approach
The Senate minority announced an audacious goal this year — to put the spotlight on Republicans and their legislation. That task fell to a young father to articulate his party’s positions in a year when Republicans, who are control both chambers, don’t even need a single Democratic vote to pass emergency legislation.
The immediate challenge for Senate Minority Leader David Schapir[...]
UpClose with Chad Campbell: House Dems strive for transparency, cite ‘broken’ budget process
With a mere third of the House of Representatives being Democrats, Minority Leader Chad Campbell knew it was going to be an uphill battle trying to put a dent in the Republicans’ agenda this past session.
Predictably, the Democrats couldn’t get their proposals for tax reforms into the budget, nor could they stop a torrent of conservative legislation. But Campbell said that they did [...]
GOP-led Legislature focused on ‘sideshows,’ not mainstream agenda
If this unfortunate legislative session has to be remembered in years to come, it will be recalled as a time that politicians put sideshows ahead of seriousness. Birther bills, birthright citizenship, and tea party license plates are great at getting partisan activists riled up.
Redistricting commission’s attorney selection prompts criticism from Republicans
Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commissioners split along party lines Friday over who will serve as the group’s legal counsel, with the commission’s independent chair siding with the Democrats to select the firms Ballard Spahr and Osborn Maledon.
Freshmen reflect on 2011: Views mainly depend on party affiliation
With more than three tumultuous months under their belt, House and Senate greenhorns have been property initiated. And looking back, some of them seem a little shell-shocked, while others appear to be having the time of their life.
