Speaking of endorsements or actually, false ones, here’s a scoop about a fabricated endorsement by liberal Republican Carolyn Allen, the RINO running against conservative Colette Rosati in the primary race in district 8.

Apparently, Allen has been telling the public that she has been endorsed by conservative Republican and Speaker of the House, Jim Weiers.

Not true. In fact when recently asked in a public forum about the so-called endorsement, Weiers asserted that he had not endorsed Allen.

Here’s the story:

Carolyn Allen Falsely Claims Endorsement

Liberal Republican Senator Falsely Claims Endorsement of House Speaker

(Scottsdale)  Showing that she will say or do anything to hold onto her seat, liberal Republican State Senator Carolyn Allen has falsely claimed to have the endorsement of House Speaker Jim Weiers. 

In the March 12, 2006 edition of the Arizona Republic, it was reported that Allen “boast(ed) about an endorsement from House Speaker Jim Weiers.  Two nights ago at a Republican meeting, Speaker Weiers was asked if he had in fact endorsed Allen, Weiers said no he had not. 

“I am extremely disappointed that my Senate colleague Carolyn Allen would falsely claim an endorsement she didn’t have,” said State Senator Jack Harper who along with nearly 40 other people witnessed Speaker Weiers say he did not endorse Allen.  “The Speaker seemed pretty clear to me when asked whether or not he had endorsed Allen as she had claimed.  His answer was an emphatic NO.” 

“It’s not surprising to me that she would claim a conservative endorsement she doesn’t have,” said State Representative Colette Rosati.  “Carolyn’s plan in the race has been clear from the beginning.  She is going to do everything in her power to hide her liberal record of supporting higher taxes, illegal immigration, and more government spending.  She knows that if she runs on her own liberal record, she will lose.”

Rosati continued, “I encourage Carolyn to join me in running a campaign that is focused on the issues.  Falsely claiming endorsements in an attempt to trick voters is not what this campaign should be about.  I plan to run this campaign on the issues, and I hope Carolyn will abandon her misleading ways and join me in a healthy debate on the issues facing our district and our state.”

     Political endorsements are quite valuable but not always in the obvious way.  Take the race in Arizona Congressional District 8. 

     The top of Steve Huffman’s Endorsements page is filled by two moderates, Jim Kolbe and Bob Walkup.  You only need to go down to his number 3, 4, and 5 endorsements until you find 3 liberals.  Liberals is a very strong word.  What warrants such a term?  Simply put a Republican so devoid of principals as to vote against a tax cut.  That is exactly what these three, Hershberger, Burns, and Konopnicki, did on May 25 of this year.  According to the blog by Steve Voeller of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club titled Upset at a Little Sunshine (5-28-06.)
 
This may be a little inside baseball, but oh well.I received an email yesterday from an upset lawmaker. Upset at the fact that in a press release, I highlighted which Republicans voted against an income/property tax cut package on May 25. He was one of them.

Six Republicans voted against the bill. They are: Jennifer Burns, Bill Konopnicki, Pete Hershberger, Lucy Mason, Russ Jones, and Tom O’Halleran.

The problem for these folks is that they’re used having nobody notice when they vote against free market and pro-growth policies. But at the Club, our job is to advance these policies, and we have to find creative ways to do it. Publicizing votes and commenting on them is certainly part of the package.       So, a few Republican legislators voted against a tax cut.  These are the people who have spent the past few years working with Huffman and getting to know him well.  And what to these Tax and Spend representatives think of Steve?  They love him so much they are endorsing him.  Tell you something about Steve?  It tells me a lot.      So, a few Republican legislators voted against a tax cut.  These are the people who have spent the past few years working with Huffman and getting to know him well.  And what to these Tax and Spend representatives think of Steve?  They love him so much they are endorsing him.  Tell you something about Steve?  It tells me a lot.      So, a few Republican legislators voted against a tax cut.  These are the people who have spent the past few years working with Huffman and getting to know him well.  And what to these Tax and Spend representatives think of Steve?  They love him so much they are endorsing him.  Tell you something about Steve?  It tells me a lot. 

     So, a few Republican legislators voted against a tax cut.  These are the people who have spent the past few years working with Huffman and getting to know him well.  And what to these Tax and Spend representatives think of Steve?  They love him so much they are endorsing him.  Tell you something about Steve?  It tells me a lot. 

     The legislative races in Northwest Tucson just got a little more competitive. The two conservative Republican candidates have received another round of clean election funds. 

     Captain Al Melvin (Ret. USNR) just got another $25,307. Al is running for the State Senate against moderate Toni Hellon. They both attended a district forum last weekend in which Toni recommended a vote against Al because he was from Pinal County. Gee Toni, great way to win over the 3,300 retired Republicans in SaddleBrooke who will vote in droves in the primary. 

     Homebuilder David Jorgenson received an additional $11,898 in funds. David is running for the seat vacated by Steve Huffman. David is the only Reagan Republican in a crowded 4-way race for the State House of Representatives. 

     It will be interesting to see if Pete Hershberger survives as the most liberal, anti-gun member of the Republican legislative caucus with such excellent alternatives. 

     These will probable not be the last clean election checks that Al and David receive due to the large amounts of money that the other candidates have raised. The campaigns will become very competitive, as they are able to get their appealing message out to the conservative voters of the district who have been waiting years for a reason to vote in the primary. 

The latest news on the LD 6 House race is that Clancy Jayne is off the ballot. So what’s the story with his name still posted as a candidate on the Secretary of State’s website? They must really be backed up as they count/check signatures – so much to the point that even the webmaster doesn’t get a break.

In other news from district 6, the challenge on Ted Carpenter’s signatures has now escalated to the Arizona State Supreme Court. The lower Superior Court determined that there was not enough information available to warrant an act of fraud. Thus, the challenger, has asked for the case to be heard by the State Supreme Court. Look for this to make headlines in the next week.

     The Star has an article on the state of the Rio Dinero.  My favorite is the $350 million dollar rainbow bridge.  More like the pigeon housing project. 

     Steve why didn’t you represent your district and get a little money for a bridge over the CDO wash at La Cholla.  That is actually a project that people would use. 

     The 4th is a wonderful time to have a picnic and watch some fireworks. Few places offer a better setting than Oro Valley. Hundreds of people gathered at Riverfront Park to enjoy the the sounds of the Tucson Symphony while gazing at the beautiful silhouette of the Catalinas and Pusch Ridge. Thanks to GOVAC. 

     Due to the time of the year several political campaigns were out in force. As you walked in Gabby Giffords supporters were handing out literature to everyone. Since the area is about 2-1 Republican this was a sign of how well organized and funded Gabby’s campaign is. Patty and the other candidates or their supporters were nowhere to be seen. Since Jeff Latas lives a few minutes from the park you would at least think some of his supporters would have been there. Nothing from Jeff. Not a good sign for him. 

     The stand out among the Republicans was the Randy Graf ramada. Some Graf supporters had got there early in the morning to reserve the spot. They served hot dogs and sodas. It was base camp for the other conservative candidates. Randy was walking around among the people meeting and talking with voters. Also out in force were supporters for Carol Somers. They were handing out necklaces for Carol. Al Melvin and David Jorgenson were handing out their literature and talking with the locals. 

     Lisa Lovallo was working solo handing out her literature. She did not spend too much time at the Graf ramada. Toni and Mike Hellon were there but they did not seem to be interested in campaigning. 

     The amazing part was that Steve Huffman did not have a presence. Oro Valley is in the middle of Steve’s legislative district. The price that Steve will need to spend to buy this seat goes up each day. If he cannot even get supporters to show up for a major event in his back yard how can he ever expect to win the general? Some are saying Steve is too moderate to win the general. More like Huffman is a horrible campaigner and Gabby or even Patty would easily out campaign him. 

Clancy Jayne has been removed from the ballot. Today, a Maricopa judge heard the complaint by the Seel campaign challenging the validity of Jayne’s signatures. Seel won. Since the court hearing, both Clancy Jayne’s websites (site 1) (site 2) have been pulled. (Prior to noon, both sites were up and running.) This means that Jayne will now have to return clean elections money to whomever he received it. He will also have court fees to pay. What is not settled is if Jayne’s complaint against Carl Seel will still go to court.