You are here: Home / 2010 / April / Archives for 1st

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas Posts Campaign Video About His Future

April 1, 2010 By 17 Comments

Andrew Thomas AG

For Immediate Release: Thursday, April 1, 2010

PHOENIX, ARIZONA. April 1, 2010. With crime and illegal immigration down dramatically in Maricopa County, a possible run by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas for Arizona Attorney General has been one of the biggest questions in Arizona politics. That question has now been answered via video at www.thomasforagexploratory.com.

Thomas announced today he is resigning as Maricopa County Attorney to run for Attorney General of Arizona. To allow for a proper transition, his resignation will become effective in a few days. April 6th will be his last day in office.

YouTube Preview Image

Thomas said recent events have made clear the need for strong leadership statewide in the fight against crime and illegal immigration. The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer for the state.

The video released today shows Thomas walking with Cochise County Sheriff along the border with Mexico in Cochise County. Thomas and Sheriff Larry Dever met and discussed the border crisis on March 29th, two days after the murder of Robert Krentz, a long-time rancher in Cochise County. This visit had been scheduled prior to the murder. Krentz was murdered while trying to assist what he assumed to be an illegal immigrant in distress.

Sheriff Dever has endorsed Thomas for Attorney General. Quotes from Thomas and Dever are available on the video.

Thomas first ran for Maricopa County Attorney in 2004 on a platform vowing to “Stop Illegal Immigration.” And by all indications and measures illegal immigration has been substantially reduced, along with crime in general, in part due to

Thomas’ commitment to longer criminal sentences and a crackdown on soft plea bargains for criminals.

Thomas will run as a “Clean Elections” candidate for the Republican nomination. A candidate for Attorney General must collect 2,775 $5 contributions to qualify for Clean Elections funding. Thomas has collected more than 3,000, along with thousands of signatures. He will continue to collect $5 contributions and thousands of additional signatures in the coming weeks.

“April 1st seemed an appropriate day to announce my intentions, since Arizona Republicans won’t be fooled by conservative impostors also interested in this office. And Arizonans won’t be fooled by liberal candidates who are

unproven crime fighters,” Thomas said.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has endorsed Thomas’ run for Attorney General.

“County Attorney Thomas has dedicated his life to successfully fighting crime. Just as he has helped to reduce crime in Maricopa County I have every expectation he will help do so in every part of our state as Attorney General,” Arpaio said.

Besides an aggressive posture against illegal immigration, Thomas’ office successfully prosecuted the Baseline Killer and Serial Shooting suspects. During his tenure he has pushed for harsher penalties against child predators and, more recently, launched an innovative program to restore Gila River habitat and pursue charges against environmental pollution there. He is in favor of the death penalty and has been criticized by defense lawyers for his strong enforcement efforts. He has tackled tough public corruption cases and led innovative programs to ensure better food safety and crack down on graffiti and cruelty to animals.

Thomas is married with four children. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School. Prior to serving as Maricopa County Attorney, Thomas served as an assistant attorney general for Arizona, deputy counsel and criminal justice policy advisor to the Governor, special assistant to the Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, and a deputy county attorney.

During Thomas’ time in office, crime rates have plummeted. The 19 percent drop is more than twice the national rate of decline, and this despite an 11 percent increase in the county’s population during that time. The illegal immigrant population has dropped by anywhere from 18 percent (Dept. of Homeland Security estimate) to 30 percent (Center for Immigration Studies estimate). Like the fall in crime rates, this dramatic decline in illegal immigration is far greater than the average in the rest of the nation.

Thomas will not be conducting any interviews with Arizona media until Friday. He is meeting with his staff at the County Attorney’s Office today to coordinate the transition. His office will release a letter to Governor Brewer and Maricopa County officials regarding his resignation later today.

Here is a copy of Andrew Thomas’ resignation letter.

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, County Government, Press Release

A Tale of Two Speeches

April 1, 2010 By 5 Comments

Here is video of the two Senate candidates who spoke at  last Saturday’s Tea Party event at the State Capitol. This is courtesy of Arizona Smart Girl Politics.

YouTube Preview Image
Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Protests

29 Business Groups Sign Letter in Support of Economic and Jobs Recovery Bill

April 1, 2010 By 2 Comments

Arizona State Seal

For Immediate Release: April 1, 2010

PHOENIX – Citing the need for more jobs and to attract more businesses to the state, more than two dozen Arizona-based business and civic groups showed their support for HB 2250, the Economic and Jobs Recovery Bill, by signing a joint letter to Governor Brewer, Senate President Bob Burns and House Speaker Kirk Adams urging them to advance the bill.

“In this current fiscal crisis, no one knows better than Arizona’s business community how important retaining existing businesses and attracting new businesses are to our state,” said Speaker Kirk Adams. “The support of the business community for HB 2250 demonstrates the commitment they have to taking bold actions to ensure Arizona enjoys a prosperous future.”

HB2250 was developed in conjunction with leading economist Elliott Pollack to attract and retain industries that provide high wage jobs. The bill was passed out of the House of Representatives and is awaiting action by the Senate.

To view the letter, please visit this site.

For more information on HB 2250, please visit www.AZHouseRepublicans.com

Filed Under: Economics, Endorsements, Jobs/Labor, Legislation, Press Release, State Economy, State Government

Paulina Morris applauds Governor and Legislature for Defending Arizona from Obamacare

April 1, 2010 By 13 Comments

Paulina Morris

For Immediate Release: April 1, 2010

Former legislators no longer around to help Arizona join lawsuit

Phoenix- Paulina Morris, candidate for Arizona Congressional District 3, criticized today the recent passage of the Obamacare Health Plan and throws her full support behind efforts to stop the unconstitutional Federal mandates. Along with the billions of dollars of increased Federal spending; this plan will cost the State of Arizona an estimated $3.8 Billion over the next three years and nearly $11 billion over the next ten years. With our state facing unprecedented budgeted deficits, these additional federal mandates could literally bankrupt our state.

“I have seen firsthand the effects of healthcare costs while serving on the Maricopa County Special Healthcare District,” said Morris. “Just like the bailouts on Wall Street and the banking system, in healthcare, we now are faced with a system of little transparency and increasing bureaucracy, which few understand and even fewer will be able to regulate.”

Over 62,000 voters elected Paulina Morris in 2004 to the inaugural Maricopa County Health District, whose boundaries nearly match those of Congressional District 3. She served as Chairman for two of those years. The Board oversees and directs the Maricopa Integrated Health System, which consists of the Maricopa Medical Center, 11 family health centers, psychiatric facilities, a health plan and a $700 million budget.

“It is unfortunate that the State Legislature is missing a few members who decided not to stick around to tackle important issues such as this,” said Co-Chair Phil Francis. “That’s the difference between those just looking for a new job and someone working hard to get the job done. Paulina served four years of countless hours, at no salary, to save the Maricopa Integrated Healthcare System. She’s not an elected official looking for a soft place to land or someone doing this for a hobby, she is in this race to serve and give back to a country who has given her so much.”

Morris congratulated Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, Speaker of the House Kirk Adams, Senate President Bob Burns, and members of the Arizona House and Senate for passing legislation to allow Arizona to seek legal remedies in stopping the Obama Healthcare plan.

Morris said, “I want to congratulate Arizona’s leaders for taking a stand. With Obamacare, the control is no longer in the hands of the consumers or the taxpayers. This bill puts government bureaucracy squarely in the driver’s seat, which is something we should fight at all costs. We must demand transparency and real reforms to protect consumers instead of government-controlled medicine. As your Congresswoman, I will take my experience to Washington and fight for real reform that is right for Arizonans.”

Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Health Care, Press Release, State Budget, State Government

Teachers union pushes for larger class sizes taught by bad teachers

April 1, 2010 By 3 Comments

by Matthew Ladner, Ph.D.
Goldwater Institute
 
During a special session last year, the Arizona Legislature passed a budget provision which said in the event of layoffs, school districts could not use years of service as the only factor for determining which teachers to let go. The Arizona Education Association–the teachers union–is trying to overturn the measure by filing a lawsuit on technical grounds. The union also is opposing a similar measure before the Legislature this year.

A recent Brookings Institution study reveals just how damaging the effort to protect veteran teachers could ultimately prove to Arizona students. The study tracked the value-added gains of students, after statistically controlling for a variety of factors. The bottom line finding was that some teachers are great at adding value, and some are abysmal, dragging down their students’ learning.

If Arizona schools have to follow an outdated rule that says no one who has been teaching at a school for more than three years can be laid off, then schools are forced to let the new teachers go: even if they are highly effective teachers. If you shield veteran teachers from layoffs, you shield even those who should not be in the classroom.

Such a practice is certain to lead to larger class sizes; it is also certain to put more students in the classrooms of ineffective teachers. Larger class sizes are unpopular but academically harmless, all else being equal. Systematically protecting ineffective teachers based on seniority and giving them more students, however, will be catastrophic in terms of how much those students learn.

There is more than one way to address this problem. The Legislature could, for instance, re-enact the budget provision but spell out that neither years on the job nor current salaries shall be the sole determining factor in deciding who gets laid off. The school districts should focus on measurable factors of how teachers are doing their jobs, and get rid of the bad ones first.

Teachers unions talk as if they are open minded, but behind the scenes work to kill every idea that would make schools accountable for actually teaching children. The harder the AEA pursues this agenda, the more policymakers and parents see through the facade.

Dr. Matthew Ladner is vice president of research for the Goldwater Institute.

Filed Under: Education

Johnny’s Song

April 1, 2010 By 4 Comments

Here is the latest parody video detailing the bi-partisan history of Arizona’s senior senator:

YouTube Preview Image
Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, Personalities, Political Correctness, Political Parties