Articles Tagged "Election"
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Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:27:35 -0700
Filling vacancies at the Legislature became almost routine this year as lawmakers bolted to run for Congress. But the latest vacancy is a reluctant one, created by Rep. Doug Quelland's violations of campaign-finance laws. Quelland continues to dispute those offenses, both in court and to anyone who asks him about it. No matter. Following the laws that govern Arizona's public-campaign-finance system, elections officials declared his District 10 seat vacant. On Monday night, the precinct committeemen in the northwest Valley district chose three Republicans as a potential replacements for Quelland. They are Kimberly Yee, who is running for the House seat this fall; Harry GrosJean and Francine ...read the rest of this post
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Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:10:37 -0700
Two of the Arizona Democratic Party's key fund-raising posts are being vacated, just as the party is headed into a hot election cycle. The announcements were made the same afternoon that the Terry Goddard campaign for governor confirmed that manager Rod McLeod was leaving because his commitment to starting the campaign was fulfilled. The rash of departures is a quirk of timing, party officials say. Devin Rankin, who's worked with the party for eight years, is stepping aside from her development duties -- which she does as a consultant -- to become development director for a biotech startup in downtown Phoenix. And Vanessa ...read the rest of this post
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Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:33:20 -0700
For those weary of tiny steps toward so-called government reform (like renaming the Secretary of State position "lieutenant governor"), look West to California. On Tuesday, California voters endorsed Proposition 14 with nearly 55 percent of the vote. The measure scraps party primaries, puts all candidates on the same ballot, and sends the top two voter-getters to the general election. The proposition passed in all but two of the state's counties, with the "no" votes from Orange and San Francisco counties showing how the state's political extremes viewed the idea of doing away with party primaries. Read more here about the proposition, which ...read the rest of this post
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Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:29:55 -0700
One of the unusual developments out of Wednesday's hurry-up meeting of the Citizens Clean Elections Commission was the unusual alignment of Democrats with...Buz Mills. Mills' attorney told the commission that it should reject a request from Gov. Jan Brewer's campaign to invoke an emergency clause and release publicly funded candidates to raise private dollars. It's needed, Brewer's crew argued, because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that bars the distribution of matching funds to publicly funded candidates. "Let the courts sort it out," attorney David Cantelme said. "You didn't cause the problem; you didn't create it." Ditto, said Rhonda Barnes, an attorney representing the ...read the rest of this post
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Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:17:42 -0700
John Munger, R-No Longer Running for Governor, blamed his reluctant departure from the race on the state's Clean Elections system. It was NOT Gov. Jan Brewer's recent surge in popularity for signing SB1070 that drove him away, the Tucson Republican said. Rather, it was the state's public-campaign-finance law, which he was not using but which Brewer and Dean Martin are, allowing them to pull in $2.1 million each in public dollars for their campaigns. "I got out because the Clean Elections mechanism has made it impossibel for me," Munger told Insider last week. Hmmm....sounds like an excuse. A pretty good ...read the rest of this post
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Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:59:58 -0700
An error in the forms used to file his nominating petitions could prove to be troublesome for state Sen. Ken Cheuvront, who is termed out at the Legislature and is running for justice of the peace. According to Yvonne Reed, a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Recorder's Office, Cheuvront correctly filed paperwork to run in the primary for the Encanto JP job. But the paperwork he used to gather his nominating petitions was for the general election, to be held in November. The snafu could make his candidacy subject to challenge, Reed said, although to date no challenge has been filed. Cheuvront copped ...read the rest of this post
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Wed, 19 May 2010 17:14:23 -0700
As election returns were rolling in last night, an aide to Gov. Jan Brewer recalled a meeting two months ago in conservative Yavapai County. Brewer was addressing a group of staunch Republicans, and they treated her -- here the aide looked for the right words -- "like dog poop." After last night, you can say goodbye to dog poop. And say hello to the alpha dog. The twin engines of SB 1070 and Proposition 100 have transformed the governor's race, taking a candidate dismissed as "toast" by the intelligentsia just a few months ago into the favorite in her primary. SB 1070 may be ...read the rest of this post
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Wed, 12 May 2010 13:26:13 -0700
Republican gubernatorial candidate John Munger is calling Gov. Jan Brewer "hazardous to the health of Arizona's economy." And he's not referring to the boycott threats that have rained down on the state since she signed SB1070. Munger is critical of Brewer's comments that she could not support tax cuts after asking Arizona voters to approve a tax hike. Brewer made the comments Tuesday after casting her ballot in the statewide sales-tax election, Proposition 100, which seeks a one-cent increase in the state sales-tax rate. Munger notes the penny increase amounts to an 18 percent bump in the state's 5.5 percent rate, and ...read the rest of this post
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Mon, 10 May 2010 15:59:38 -0700
The attorney for Rep. Doug Quelland, R-Phoenix, on Monday said the Citizens Clean Elections Commission "arbitrarily and capriciously" ignored critical facts in the lawmaker's campaign-finance case. That disregard means Maricopa Superior Court Judge Crane McClennan should send Quelland's case back to an administrative-law judge so those facts can be considered, attorney Tim Casey argued. But attorney Jose Jesus de Rivera, representing the commission, said the facts have been well-established in Quelland's long-running case. The judge should uphold the decisions made to date that Quelland must forfeit his seat in the Legislature for violating the state's public-finance and campaign-reporting laws, de Rivera said. "This ...read the rest of this post
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Fri, 07 May 2010 17:25:19 -0700
Gov. Jan Brewer is using her election campaign to chide President Obama for making light of the lack of border security.
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Fri, 07 May 2010 16:52:38 -0700
If it seems like all the messages you’re getting on the upcoming sales tax election are to vote for it, that’s not surprising.
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Fri, 07 May 2010 15:17:32 -0700
Gilbert voters on May 18 will be asked to approve Proposition 406, a quarter cent permanent sales tax increase for public safety services.
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Wed, 05 May 2010 17:54:13 -0700
Would you like to talk about the proposed increase in the state sales tax without hearing angry charges about too much taxation or out-of-control spending? Thursday evening is that chance. Project Civil Discourse is sponsored by a bevy of disparate groups that have agreed to lay aside partiasn differences and discuss the pros and cons of the May 18 sales-tax election. Proposition 100 seeks a 1-cent increase in the state's 5.6-cent sales tax, to run for three years. The state's Democratic, LIbertarian and Republican parties will participate in the event, which runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the AE England Building ...read the rest of this post
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Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:45:46 -0700
The Legislature has sent to the November ballot a measure that would rename the office of Secretary of State as lieutenant governor. But it's more than a name change. SCR1013 would allow voters in their party primaries to select their nominees for governor and lieutenant governor. The winning nominees then would be required to run as a ticket in the general election. This is the first of a package of so-called government reform bills to make it to the ballot. Still pending are measures that would seek a repeal of the state's public campaign-finance law and one that would require an earlier deadline ...read the rest of this post
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Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:43:37 -0700
The Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix think tank that promotes limited government, says it's not a lobbyist. And staffers can cite a number of legal interpretations that they say make it so. Still, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, questioned whether Nick Dranias, director of the institute's Center for Constitutional Government, had crossed the line into lobbying when he told the House Judiciary Committee that, essentially, the state's Clean Elections system is a bad idea. "When government funds elections, it controls them," Dranias told the committee, "We're playing with fire." The committee was pondering whether to send to the ballot a measure that would seek the repeal of the ...read the rest of this post
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Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:44:21 -0700
Somos Republicans, which is the voice of various Latino Republicans, denounced SB1070 and promised to work against the election of Republicans who support the bill. And they blamed the legislation that has inflamed passions nationwide on President Obama. "SB 1070 is a direct failure of the Obama administration because Obama liked to Hispanics when he promised to pass fair immigration reform within 90 days of his Presidency," the group stated in a news release. Absent federal action, Sen. Russell Pearce and like-minded Republicans felt free to step in and push their brand of immigration reform, the group stated. Not that they're letting Republicans off ...read the rest of this post
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Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:31:53 -0700
The Board of Supervisors is holed up in downtown Phoenix deliberating who the next Maricopa County Attorney will be. The selection is turning into a horserace, insiders say. Former County Attorney Rick Romley is in the lead, but Andrew Pacheco, a private attorney who ran for County Attorney in 2004, is gaining ground. Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn apparently has fallen behind for lack of prosecutorial experience. Cleve Lynch, a county homicide prosecutor, is not in the running. The supervisors expect to have a decision and swearing-in ceremony early this afternoon. But even before a decision has been announced, Sheriff Joe Arpaio already is threatening to ...read the rest of this post
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Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:39:54 -0700
Phil MacDonnell, the second-in-command at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, threw his name in the mix of attorneys vying to lead the office until the special election in November. MacDonnell essentially runs the day-to-day operations of the prosecutor's office. His name was a surprise. Even if he's not chosen, he "will be here to assist in the transition," if the appointed interim county attorney wishes. Andrew Thomas stepped down from the position last week to run for state attorney general. With Thomas gone, MacDonnell has already made major moves in the office. He transferred two top Thomas lieutenants -- including Lisa Aubuchon, ...read the rest of this post
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Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:21:35 -0700
Rick Romley has officially formed an exploratory committee to run for Maricopa County Attorney, according to documents filed April 8 with the county's Elections Department. Romley last week said he was interested in either being appointed for the post, or running for the office. Andrew Thomas stepped down from the position earlier this month to run for state attorney general. Candidates have until 5 p.m. May 26 to file petition signatures with the Elections Department. The deadline to apply to be appointed county attorney is 5 p.m. today. The Board of Supervisors has assembled a five-member committee that is reviewing applications. That committee will ...read the rest of this post
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Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:07:17 -0700
Three Republican lawyers have jumped in the race for Maricopa County Attorney, according to paperwork filed with the county Elections Department. Andrew Thomas stepped down from the position Monday to run for state attorney general. The candidates are Bill Montgomery, a deputy county attorney; Jay Beckstead, a private attorney and former county prosecutor; and Justin Pierce, a Mesa attorney. Candidates have until 5 p.m. May 26 to file petition signatures with the elections department, said director Karen Osborne. Republicans must submit 3,516 valid signatures, Democrats must submit 2,807valid signatures and Libertarians must submit 80 valid signatures. The primary is in August; the general election is in November. On April 16, the ...read the rest of this post