It was a clear victory Tuesday night for the conservatives in LD 11. Not only did Rob Haney get 215 votes to Symington’s 166 but the whole conservative slate for the District triumphed. John Acer won 1st Vice Chair, Tom Husband got 2nd Vice Chair, Carolyn Berta for Corresponding Secretary, Charlotte Reed for Recording Secretary, and George Teegarden for Treasurer. The best speech of the night was from Tom Husband who was funny but also on message. The largest margin of victory was for Carolyn Berta who received 229 votes to Paul Boyer’s 151.
Everyone got along very well and was polite to each other but it was a little much to listen to Fife talk about how he was a grassroots guy. He promised better speakers at the meetings and to even cook. Apparently that is not what LD 11 PC’s were seeking in a chairman.
The turnout was high. One of the counts stated that there were 242 ballots in person and 140 by proxy. Dignitaries included State Senator Jack Harper (who was openly supporting Haney), Superintendent Tom Horne, RNC Committeeman Randy Pullen, Commissioner Jeff Hatch-Miller, Representative elect Adam Driggs, Don Goldwater, and County Recorder Helen Purcell. Speaking of Helen the county brought in their machines to tally the votes. Good idea given the turnout. None of the people who signed the letter supporting Fife were anywhere to be seen. They definitely phoned in their support. (If I missed any other dignitaries and high-power lobbyists in fancy suits please excuse a tired correspondent for not getting every name.)
It was a long night. The place was already getting full by 6:30 pm. Speeches by the candidates got underway just after 8:00 pm. The final results were read at 9:45 pm. The winners stayed around to chat but the room cleared out pretty quickly. The district is entitled to 133 state committeemen but those results were not announced at the meeting. Given the votes for the district officers and the level of organization displayed by the conservatives it is not likely that many moderates made the final cut.
Someone had filled the room with Lisa James literature. She is apparently running against Randy Pullen for Republican State Chairman. Good luck to Lisa. I hope she was not counting on LD 11 to put her over the top.
Wednesday 11-29-06, 12:55 am
For a transcript of the best speech of the night go to Hot AZ It Gets.
The Arizona Republic weighs in on the LD 11 election.
For a summary of who was not elected to be state committeemen from Hot AZ It Gets.
(One of the subjects of this story has objected to a certain picture posted here. Since he was nice enough to write in we have updated the photo. We were a little confused by his comment that we “are a disgrace to Republican ideals.” If we are a disgrace I wonder what he thinks of Duke Cunningham and Bob Ney.)
