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Rio Nuevo shakeup fosters conspiracy theories
Word broke Tuesday that Pierce ousted two members of the Rio Nuevo board, including its chairwoman. Letters dated May 31 were sent to Chairwoman Jodi Bain and fellow board member Rick Grinnell. The three-sentence letters merely thank them for their service and say that Pierce intends to appoint new members to the panel, but do not give a reason.
Stroke of genius?
Decision time is fast approaching for Antenori, who still hasn’t decided whether to pursue a Congressional race in new CD2 or seek re-election to the Senate in the new Dem-leaning LD10. “I probably won’t know ’til about 4:55 tomorrow,” he told our reporter this morning.
Salmon hits the airwaves
Salmon unveiled his first television ad this week, which began airing on Fox News in the East Valley on Monday.
Polling reportedly shows Flake up by 24
A poll recently commissioned by a political committee eyeing the state’s U.S. Senate race shows Flake with a significant lead over Cardon, despite the latter’s million-dollar-plus advertising push since March, a source who had seen the poll told our reporter today.
Flipping over the race card
Gallardo yesterday led the Latino charge against the two recent FAIR Trust lawsuits against the IRC’s maps. With an eye directed primarily at the legislative map, he, Lopez and Quezada teamed up with Mary Rose Wilcox and attorney Danny Ortega to denounce the lawsuits as a dishonest and racist Republican attempt to maintain control of the Legislature.
Things looking up for Gould’s race on the river
Gould yesterday picked up the endorsement of the fiscally conservative Club for Growth, whose endorsement could provide an influx of needed cash into his race against Gosar and Babeu. Chris Chocola, the group’s president today gave Gould the ringing endorsement of “taxpayer superhero,” and Chocola didn’t mince words about Gould’s incumbent opponent: “Ron has stood up to the big spender[...]
…Every decision of any consequence
In their latest legal episode, the IRC will be defending itself from allegations that its legislative district plan is the result of a careful and deliberate conspiracy to fix the game for Democrats. On Friday, FAIR Trust attorney Michael Liburdi filed a federal lawsuit charging that the commission went through great lengths to pack GOP legislative districts to maximize Dem chances.
It’s on: IRC faces two-front war over districts
The IRC is now facing two lawsuits aimed at obliterating the commission’s legislative and congressional lines. FAIR Trust attorney Mike Liburdi and Lisa Hauser were expected to file lawsuits in state and federal court today challenging the commission’s procedures, its results and raising the possibility of open meeting law violations.
Time to call it a session, hit the campaign trail
Brewer seems to have avoided the ignominy of having a supermajority Legislature of the same party strike a deal with the Democrats to roll her on the budget, as word emerged late yesterday that her office and GOP leaders had arrived at the framework of a budget deal. Today, Republican lawmakers were briefed on the Ninth Floor’s latest proposal, and though details about the entire plan aren’t y[...]
Johnny Paycheck has nothing on Duane Belcher
After 20 years of work with the Board of Executive Clemency, Executive Director Duane Belcher was fired and shown the door on Monday – and not without the help of Capitol Police. Belcher was kicked out of the Ninth Floor after engaging in a heated conversation with Brewer deputy chief of staff and DOA Director Scott Smith. “I called him an a**hole,” Belcher told our reporter, adding that pol[...]
RNC helps dig AZ GOP out of debt
The Republican National Committee rode to the Arizona Republican Party’s rescue, writing it a $50,000 check in early March that was then used to pay down the state party’s crushing debt load. According to the latest FEC campaign finance report, the party paid off roughly 70 percent of the $88,841 debt it reported last month, and is now reporting $24,730 owed.
Scant letter doomed Mathis removal
During the removal process of Mathis, much debate was focused on what behavior would constitute the misconduct needed to remove a sitting member of the IRC. Brewer and the Senate claimed that the answer to that question was theirs to decide, but the Supreme Court found otherwise, declaring that the “Constitution provides clear comprehensible standards.”
