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LD 29 Democrat Debate.

July 23, 2008 By 3 Comments

     I do not usually attend Democrat Clean Elections debates by I could not resist the 7 primary candidate LD 29 gathering on July 17th. I was a little disappointed to find one of them, Anthony Guerra, absent but that still meant 6 Democrats on the stage.

     The six who did attend were Eric Carbajal Bustamante, Ephraim Cruz, Matt Heinz, Daniel Patterson, Patricia Puig, and incumbent Tom Prezelski. I am not sure what motivated 6 people to run for 1 open seat and I do not know how many of the candidates would just as soon replace Prezelski as take the open seat. It certainly does indicate for all of its recent success the Democrat Party is not organized enough to groom or recruit just enough candidates for the one open slot. This can often be seen in districts with a heavy registrations edge and is happening with the Republicans on a smaller scale in nearby district 30.

     Bustamante was the first to speak. He came across as a bit young and less practiced. Next was Cruz. He spoke well and made sure to mention his military and law enforcement experience. Next was Matt Heinz, M.D. Heinz naturally made heath care one of his main issues. Patterson was well prepared and mentioned his union endorsements. Puig seemed to wander a bit in her remarks and mentioned “animal cruelty” and one of her issues. I always think a For or Against should be added when a candidate lists an issue like that. “I am running because of education, health care, and animal cruelty” sounds a bit strange. Prezelski looked bored out of his mind and a bit contemptuous of the whole thing but always perked up when it was his turn to speak. His experience showed and he sounded knowledgeable on the issues. He made sure to mention, a few times, that he lives in Bario Viejo. For more details about the evening visit Scramblewatch ’08.

     The real reason I covered the debate is because there is a very interesting Republican candidate running this year in LD 29, Juan Ciscomani. We wrote about his campaign in early July. My two favorite Democrats for Juan to face would be Heinz and Patterson but that is not a prediction. My guess would be that Prezelski makes it back in with maybe Patterson as the second nominee for the Democrats. Ciscomani had a team in the audience diligently taking notes. Pat Kilburn, the other Republican running for LD 29 House, was at the debate but did not seem as intent on taking written notes.

     Once more we find the Dems driving some awfully large vehicles. Here is a photo of the official F-250 Owners for Patterson truck.

     If you are trying to keep track of the LD 29 candidates Arizona Politics has a full list of the field.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections

Press Release: Gibbons Funded by Out-of-Town Supporters

July 23, 2008 By 10 Comments

The political participants in Legislative District 18 have obviously done their homework. Back on June 30th when the campaign finance reports were turned in, we posted the reports for Kevin Gibbons and Russell Pearce. As we noted, Pearce was running under the Clean Elections system, while Gibbons was running traditional. One of the best indicators of where a candidate stands on issues is where the campaign is getting its money. Supporters of a specific agenda tend to give to a candidate who will push that agenda. It’s called special interests and political action committees (PAC’s) are the best example of this.

When we first looked at Gibbons reports we were amazed that so much money was coming in from out of the district. A large part of his contributions were coming from Yuma and specifically, individuals and groups who depend on migrant labor to farm their crops.

As I mentioned, someone actually took the time to analyze Gibbons’ reports and it just so happens to be the 1st Vice Chairman of Republicans in Legislative District 18. Today, they issued the following press release:

For Immediate Release: July 23, 2008
Contact: E. Paul Whetten, Paul.Whetten@gmail.com

Gibbons Funded by Out-of-Town Open Borders Supporters
District 18 1st Vice Chairman, E. Paul Whetten to Kevin Gibbons: “Give Back Money from Open Borders Advocates”

MESA – District 18 Senate Republican Candidate Kevin Gibbons claims that he has the answers for our immigration policy problems. As an immigration attorney Mr. Gibbons has a credible claim to expertise in immigration law, but one look at his list of donors shows where his loyalties in immigration policy come from.

While Gibbons says that he wants represent Mesa, only 20.6% of his donations come from people who live within the city. In fact, only 15.1% of his donations are from people in District 18. In contrast, 100% of Russell Pearce’s donors are from inside the district.

More to the point, 53 of Gibbons’ donors are out-of-town farmers from Yuma and Buckeye, with over 30% of his total donations coming from Yuma alone.  A large majority of these donations come from the farming community that is actively engaged in employing cheap labor which is against Arizona’s new employer sanctions laws. Since Mr. Gibbons would obviously better represent the views of his Yuma “constituents,” perhaps he should consider running for their senate seat.

Kevin Gibbons supports initiatives that will weaken the laws requiring the use of E-Verify. He also advocates for a guest worker program that will basically open the borders for his farm and fast food supporters who desire cheap labor. Kevin Gibbons’ policy positions are not the forward thinking policies supported by the citizens of District 18.  On the contrary, they are the failed “business-as-usual” policies that do nothing to solve our immigration problems and promote the defiance of our laws.

While Gibbons talks of “real reform” for illegal immigration, his supporters and backers tell a different story.  From former Democratic Party Chairmen to Open Border Supporters, his rhetoric does not match the real intentions of his patrons.

Russell Pearce has been a champion of the taxpayer and a nationally recognized leader on immigration issues. He has the conservative credentials and a solid track record of representing the people of District 18. Even a cursory examination of Mr. Gibbons’ list of out-of-town open border advocates and Democrat power brokers reveal who he would really represent.

If Mr. Gibbons sincerely wants to represent the citizens of District 18, I suggest that he return donations he’s received from supporters whose policies we have clearly rejected.

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Hat tip to Mesa Issues for breaking the story first, which by the way, is the best blog covering local issues in Mesa!

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Illegal Aliens, Illegal Employment, Illegal Immigration, Press Release Tagged With: , ,

Napolitano: Do nothing, just say something about illegal immigration

July 23, 2008 By 6 Comments


Maybe you saw the article Thursday in the Trib titled “Warrant task force racks up 123 arrests since May,” 7/17/08. You remember this task force was formed recently by Napolitano as an excuse for her to take away Sheriff Arpaio’s immigration enforcement funding to give it to this task force. This after Janet Napolitano, former US Attorney and Attorney General, said she had not done anything like this previously because she did not know there were 60,000 warrants outstanding in the state.

The Napolitanoized reporter, John Leptich, says that the program “appears to be working” because they have arrested 123 of these felons since May 23. Hmmm, let’s see. That’s about 62 arrests per month. At that rate, it will take about 80 years to clear 60,000 warrants, but only if no additional warrants are issued.

Looking at it another way, they have cleared .205% of the warrants, meaning they just have the other 99.805% of the warrants left to go. Way to go Janet!

Filed Under: Border, Crime and Punishment, Government, Illegal Aliens, Illegal Immigration, State Government

Bob Robson’s Son Robbed Putting Up Signs

July 23, 2008 By 1 Comment

I’ve done my fair share of sign duty on campaigns so this news item certainly perks my fear factor.

Last week while putting up signs for his father, Daniel Robson and a friend, Scott Tarkett, were confronted by two men who pulled a shotgun, demanded Robson and Tarkett hit the ground and then took their wallets. The event occurred at 12:30 AM near Stapley and Main in Mesa. The two robbers then drove off but were apprehended by police responding to another hold-up occurring on Southern Avenue.

The two were identified as Ernesto Banuelos-Beltran, 21 and Heidenger Castrillion, 18. The East Valley Tribune did not identify whether they were citizens or immigrants.

Both Robson and Tarkett identified the two as the assailants who robbed them.

Daniel’s father, Bob Robson, currently serves in the State House of Representative as Speaker Pro Tempore but is now a candidate for the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Word of wisdom to all the campaign workers out there. Be watchful when you’re out pounding signs in the middle of the night!

 

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Crime and Punishment