Arizona Politics for Conservatives: Sonoran Alliance
Arizona Politics, News, Commentary and Information with a Blatantly Conservative Worldview Presented by an Alliance of Writers, Activists, Consultants and Government Insiders.
Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup rarely endorses fellow Republicans. One blog even complained about Walkup’s reluctance to endorse the only Republican running for congress in CD 8.
Emil Franzi often refers to Walkup as the quintessential RINO. Now Bob Walkup shows up on an endorsement piece for long time incumbent Ann Day, who scored a perfect hat trick with endorsements by the Star, Citizen, and Tucson Weekly. I wonder why RINO’s and the liberal press are so wild about Day?
Legislative district 20 candidate, Frank Schmuck, is being investigated by the Clean Elections Commission for failing to report campaign expenses and in-kind donations for fundraising events according to a report in the Arizona Republic today.
Schmuck, who is running in a four-way primary, failed to report expenses during a fundraising event held in Ahwatukee.
According to the Republic,
But the candidate may have violated several other laws, Lang wrote, specifically when Schmuck failed to report expenses for rental of the country club, did not list vendors providing services for some expenses and appeared to exceed the maximum amount of early contributions from supporters.
The CCEC will continue the investigation with the Primary Election only days away. Whether or not it affects the outcome of the race is to be determined especially with many early ballots already returned.
Sonoran Alliance has endorsed John McComish and Jeff Dial in the Primary race in LD-20.
Here is a guest editorial from David Gowan, legislative candidate for House of Representatives from LD 30*.
The Voters Will Have The Final Say On Taxes/Spending
David Gowan
Republican Candidate LD 30 State House
With our proximity to the border, stopping illegal immigration will remain the top concern for our district for the immediate future, but more and more people are sharing their concerns about the rapid growth of our state government and its implication for our tax burden.
Between 2000 and 2007 our state’s population grew by 24% while our state’s budget grew by 94%. That is shameful and absolutely unjustified. It is the result of big-spending governors and too many legislators without the backbone to defend taxpayers and say “No!” to the lobbyists and special interests. Everyone wants more money, all the time, and if you give them everything they say they absolutely need, they’ll be back the next year for even more. It will never be enough, not for any of them. We are fast approaching the tipping point where the decision will be made to seriously cut spending or to raise taxes.
I have taken a No New Taxes pledge and the only way to keep that promise is to start cutting spending. But before I, or any other genuine conservative can go to work, it will be up to the voters to decide what they want from their government. If they want more spending and higher taxes, then they have those choices available. If they want less spending and lower taxes, then they have that choice available as well.
So there you go Mr. and Mrs. Arizona Voter, as you sit there looking at your mail-in ballot… Its your turn to decide… Don’t forget or set it aside to fill out later. We are relying on each other and you need to fulfill your responsibility before I can go fulfill mine.
*Publication of this editorial is not meant as an endorsement of the author but rather an opportunity for candidates to directly reach our audience.
Common sense prevailed. Yet another partisan witchhunt by Attorney General Goddard thwarted by the rule of law. After millions of dollars were spent on a trumped-up investigation of Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sandra Dowling, all that is left is a minor misdemeanor for nepotism (hiring her daughter for a $5/hr job) – something numerous other public officials have done but haven’t been prosecuted for, probably because nobody really cares about low-paying jobs. Dowling was sentenced yesterday by Judge Burke to probation until her term expires this fall. She is not running for reelection.
Dowling has said the Board of Supervisors got Goddard to investigate her because they didn’t like her expanding the accommodation school district (which serves homeless and alternative students). Dowling’s Thomas J. Pappas school for the homeless was wildly popular, but the Board of Supervisors didn’t care. After much litigation, the courts agreed with Dowling that Arizona statutes do not make it clear that the Board of Supervisors have control over the purse strings to fund Dowling’s accommodation schools. According to the Republic, “The Board of Supervisors is suing Dowling to recover the money that they say she stole – even though the $1.9 million theft charge was dismissed….In the criminal court proceeding Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Edward Burke rebuked the prosecutors who asked for restitution on behalf of the victims – the Board of Supervisors – saying, “There’s no restitution required in my opinion, because there wasn’t a dime that was taken.”
Kudos to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office which took over the prosecution from Goddard. Recovering from such a botched politically motivated prosecution without causing more damage was difficult, but the District Attorney was able to resolve it fairly satisfactorily without validating the partisan charges. At the sentencing, Dr. Dowling presented numerous letters of support, including letters from Rep. Trent Franks, Barry Goldwater, Jr., and Sen. Carolyn Allen.
Let’s hope this isn’t the end of Dowling. She has been a tremendous supporter of home schoolers. She’s a fighter, and we’d like to see her come back again. Which supervisorial district does she live in…..
Watch Janet Napolitano at the Democratic National Convention by clicking here. We’ll have more to write after her remarks…
Well, Janet Napolitano just concluded her remarks in about 7 minutes and really did not say much.
JaNo started off by citing the list of prominent Arizonans who ran for President and lost – Goldwater, Udall, and Babbit. The dig at McCain came when she stated that these losses were a tradition that she hoped would continue.
JaNo then revisited a quote about John McCain not understanding economics. Considering she just committed the next generation of Arizonans to more debt, she may want to reconsider the hypocrisy of her statement. But then again, she’s probably hoping to hitch a ride into a seat on Obama’s cabinet.
Overall, JaNo delivered her standard deep-voiced bray seeking to get the herd of ungulates, Equus asinus, into motion.
The Arizona Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that the TIME and the state trust land initiatives waited too long to appeal, and will not be on the ballot in November.
The question is now when will Emily (Bittner) DeRose accuse the state Supreme Court of being in on the conspiracy.
Thoughts on Mesa has posted a fairly detailed account of what’s really going on behind the scenes with the legislative district 18 race and how certain members of the LDS community are courting leaders in the Hispanic community mainly, The Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens (MAHC).
Their goal? To elect “kinder and gentler” Mormons to the State Legislature in order to push through anti-employer sanction legislation.
Thoughts on Mesa also continues on the speculation that Kevin Gibbons and Steve Court have been running as a defacto team although neither will admit to it. However, campaign finance reports reflect a different story with some of the same donors making contributions to both candidates.
The Archbishop of Denver, Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput has responded to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s incorrect remarks about the Catholic Church’s position on abortion and life. You can read the letter at this link (PDF.)
Chaput’s letter is clear and well written so it is hard to pick out the best line. Here is a good one.
Abortion kills an unborn, developing human life. It is always gravely evil, and so are the evasions employed to justify it. Catholics who make excuses for it – whether they’re famous or not – fool only themselves and abuse the fidelity of those Catholics who do sincerely seek to follow the Gospel and live their Catholic faith.
Kudos to Mesa Issues for keeping us up to date on East Valley races, particularly on the finance reports. When you have a moment, head on over to Mesa Issues and catch up on the latest.
I never thought running a conservative blog would bring so much attention so imagine my surprise when Sonoran Alliance was invited to appear on a special Channel 12 News broadcast this Thursday.
That’s when four prominent Arizona bloggers will appear live on camera covering the closing night of the Democratic National Convention. Two of us will be blogging from the right (EspressoPundit) while the other two will blog from the left.
I’ll blog on my impressions of the Democratic convention and where I believe John McCain and the Republican Party needs to go next to ensure victory. I’ll also be blogging on how Arizona’s politics will be affected by a McCain win.
As Thursday approaches, I’ll bring you reminders. I’d also like to hear from you and your impressions as the Democrats rally so feel free to email Sonoran Alliance with your thoughts.
A film by Gigi Gaston about fraud in the Democratic Presidential primaries and caucuses.
Don’t forget to tune in to The Arizona Right Report tonight at 8 PM.
This week’s guest include David Schweikert, Tom Husband and Lyle Tuttle. Sonoran Alliance has been covering news on each of these gentlemen all week.
Click here to listen.
The majority of Democrats won’t admit it but if you listen to all the political talking heads today, you’d hear a sense of anger and remorse in Obama’s choice of VP.
Financial Times
ABC This Week
Fox News Sunday
The good news for John McCain is that Barack Obama had a chance to checkmate McCain with a Queen and instead moved a rook to some benign position on the political chessboard.
John McCain now has an excellent opportunity to make a VP pick that will move his campaign closer to victory while the Democrats continue to seethe over Hillary’s absence on the ticket and a party that is still not united.
We are working on having a Sonoran Alliance correspondent at the GOP convention and have received lots of e-mails regarding press rules for the event. We just received this list of prohibited items. Here it is. (I am especially glad that they clarified that explosives will not be allowed.)
OK, I admit I was wrong about Obama picking Hillary.
But this pick should really concern Obama’s supporters and Democrats across the country. For one thing, I didn’t realize that Delaware was such an important state to have in your political pocket. Secondly, since when did a Senator-Senator team demonstrate depth in the ticket? Then there’s all those Democratic women who you should be counting on with some “gender diversity” on the ticket.
I suggest that having Biden on the ticket is a big positive to Republicans. Anyone who has been following politics for a decade knows that Biden has made some serious verbal gaffs. Watch for many of those to be aired over the weeks ahead.
In fact, the McCain camp is already ahead of the game. Here’s the latest ad that was released today:
The Pearce campaign has released the following statement regarding recent events.
Statement of Rep. Russell Pearce
August 22, 2008
“I fully agree with the letter that Congressmen Franks, Shadegg and Flake sent to the Maricopa County Republican Party this week.
We have no room for hate speech or hate groups. We must enforce our laws with compassion, but without apology. “Illegal” has no race or nationality. I refuse to apologize for standing up for America and the Citizens of this Nation who have a Constitutional right to expect our laws to be enforced.
In my 61 years in this community and as a law enforcement officer, a Judge, as a father, grandfather, neighbor, scout master, little league coach, pop warner coach, I have never been accused of such asinine things. The most radical groups I have ever been associated with are the Boy Scouts of America and the Fraternal Order of Police, and I confess I still associate with both of them.
So it goes without saying that I completely disavow Mr. Ready and the groups he associates with.
Finally, the chronology of events as outlined by Nathan Sproul in a recent press release is, as all other material from Mr. Sproul, a distortion of the truth and flatly inaccurate. I refuse to further comment on any material distributed by Mr. Sproul or his committee because to do so only lends an aroma of credibility to a man and an organization who is making his living in the gutters of American politics.
Nathan Sproul is a target of a federal voter fraud investigation and has demonstrated to be as credible on politics as Mr. Ready has been on race.”
-Russell Pearce
Blogsite The Real Kevin Gibbons just issued the following press release linking local restaurant owners, Mac Magruder and Kevin Levecke to Gibbons campaign donations:
For Immediate Release: August 22, 2008
Franchisers spend $33,780 attacking Russell Pearce and his Employer Sanctions Law
“Mesa Deserves Better” and “Stop Illegal Hiring” Bankroll Campaign for Cheap Labor
MESA -When it comes to attacking Russell Pearce and his employer sanctions law, fast food franchise owners Jason Levecke and Mac Magruder have taken a three pronged approach: fund Pearce’s opponent, subsidize a misleading personal attack campaign, and finance an initiative to weaken laws.
In all, the proponents of punishing Pearce and gut his employer sanctions law have directly spent $33,780. Here is their latest spending:
Magruder Family
$780 to Kevin Gibbons, Pearce’s opponent
$10,000 to Mesa Deserves Better
$9,500 directly to Stop Illegal Hiring
Levecke Family
$4,000 to Mesa Deserves Better
$9,500 directly to Stop Illegal Hiring
“Now that the curtain has been pulled back, it’s clear that these fast food franchisers are only looking to line their pockets. I think it’s disturbing that they are spending so much money to attack me,” said Rep. Pearce.
According to campaign finance reports, Magruder and Levecke’s personal donations make up nearly half of the funds given to “Mesa Deserves Better,” the controversial group targeting Pearce with misleading personal attacks. Affiliates of their “Stop Illegal Hiring” campaign donated the remaining funds, along with giving an additional $1,860 in donations to Kevin Gibbons.
Their ill-fated “Mesa Deserves Better” personal attack campaign on Russell Pearce and his family has been decried by hundreds of supporters, the East Valley Tribune, the Arizona Republic, and even Governor Janet Napolitano.
Russell Pearce is being challenged for the Arizona State Senate by immigration attorney Kevin Gibbons, who has outspent Pearce through donations from special interest groups. Democrats, and proponents of weakening the employer sanctions laws.
“The ultimate goal of this group is to roll back immigration policies and weaken Arizona’s Employer sanctions laws by any means necessary,” said Pearce. “Their proposed law eliminates required use of E-Verify and its 99.7% accuracy rate in favor of the Federal I-9 process, which is prone to more fraud. They want to gut the law and make sure I am not around to do anything about it.”
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