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AZ Redistricting Commission Neglects Constitutional Mandate

October 5, 2011 By 1 Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2011
CONTACT: Thayer Verschoor

AZ Redistricting Commission Neglects Constitutional Mandate

Proposed Congressional Map Gerrymandered to Benefit Democrats

Phoenix – The Arizona Republican Party strongly condemns members of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission for neglecting their constitutional duties in the crafting of the new Arizona Congressional District map. Three members of the Commission voted on Monday to adopt a draft map that is clearly gerrymandered and manipulated to favor certain Democrats in upcoming elections.

State Party Chairman Tom Morrissey denounced the three members for their apparent collusion and blatant obfuscation of the process. “This is not about partisanship. It’s about fairness. When the people of Arizona passed Proposition 106, they had fairness and transparency in mind. It’s stunning that the two Democrats and one Independent on the Commission would think they could roll over the Arizona Constitution and interfere with the Arizona public’s sacred right of political participation.”

The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission receives its mandate in Article IV, Part 2, Section 1 of the Arizona Constitution in establishing Congressional Districts:

(14) The independent redistricting commission shall establish congressional and legislative districts. The commencement of the mapping process for both the congressional and legislative districts shall be the creation of districts of equal population in a grid-like pattern across the state. Adjustments to the grid shall then be made as necessary to accommodate the goals as set forth below:

A. Districts shall comply with the United States Constitution and the United States voting rights act;
B. Congressional districts shall have equal population to the extent practicable, and state legislative districts shall have equal population to the extent practicable;
C. Districts shall be geographically compact and contiguous to the extent practicable;
D. District boundaries shall respect communities of interest to the extent practicable;
E. To the extent practicable, district lines shall use visible geographic features, city, town and county boundaries, and undivided census tracts;
F. To the extent practicable, competitive districts should be favored where to do so would create no significant detriment to the other goals. 

Morrissey added, “With their blatant disregard of the ‘communities of interest’ and ‘geographically compact and contiguous’ provisions, these three Commissioners have flipped the law on its head to serve their political masters. The whole thing reeks of political collusion.”

Arizona Republican Party Chief of Staff Thayer Verschoor also remarked, “Republicans have watched in shock as these three Commissioners blatantly broke procurement procedures and even violated open meeting law. And to add insult to injury, when questioned about their actions, they thumbed their nose at the Attorney General.” Verschoor added, “It is time for Attorney General Horne to step in, force the AIRC to abide by its constitutional duties and make a dramatic correction to this process.”

Other elected officials were equally critical of the draft congressional maps:

Governor Jan Brewer : “Arizona voters are owed a redistricting process that is lawful and transparent. The Arizona Constitution mandates that IRC members conduct redistricting in an honest, independent and impartial fashion, upholding public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process. Based on this proposal and the IRC’s prior behavior, it seems clear the commission is bent on awarding to the Democratic Party control of congressional districts that it could not win on Election Day. This is nothing less than neglect of duty and gross misconduct.” 

Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl: “We had hoped that the work of the Independent Redistricting Commission would be a fair process. It is clear that instead it has been political, which is very disappointing and must be corrected.” 

Congressman Paul Gosar : “I serve my constituents daily with several key principles in mind. They include honesty, integrity and accountability. Today I applaud Governor Brewer’s efforts to demand these same principles be used to make sure that all residents of Arizona are fairly represented and maintain the community of interest as required by the Arizona Constitution. All of these factors apply to the Independent Redistricting Commission and should in every step of the process.” 

Congressman Ben Quayle : “Like Governor Brewer, I have serious concerns about whether the preliminary congressional map drawn by the Independent Redistricting Commission fairly represents all Arizonans. The IRC was supposed to take politics out of the redistricting process, but that obviously did not happen. This gerrymandered map was drawn with an undeniable partisan purpose. Arizonans deserve a map developed in a fair, nonpartisan manner.” 

Congressman David Schweikert : “This commission’s transparent effort to benefit Democrats makes a mockery of our redistricting law. Couple this with alleged violations of Arizona’s open meeting law and even a claim by one commissioner’s attorney that the open meeting law does not apply to them, and you are left with a process that has raised grave concerns about the shadiness in which this commission conducted it’s business.” 

Congressman Jeff Flake : “Simply put, the IRC’s proposed congressional map is not in the best interests of the state of Arizona. Drawing a map that everyone can agree on is an unenviable task in a state with concerns as unique as Arizona’s, but the IRC seems to have sacrificed communities of interest for competitiveness. While that might make some partisans happy, it ignores the law.” 

Arizona Speaker of the House Andy Tobin : “Up until now I have intentionally not commented on the actions of the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) hoping they would follow their constitutionally mandated duty of providing fair maps in an independent and transparent manner. Unfortunately this has not happened. The spirit of the voters’ intent in developing fair and independent maps has been hijacked.” 

Arizonans will now have 30 days to submit public comment on the draft congressional maps before the commission proceeds with final approvals. The Arizona Republican Party urges voters to participate in this process.

Should the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission refuse or ignore to come into compliance, the Arizona Republican Party will consider pursuing legal action to force the commission to meet its legal and constitutional obligations.

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Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Campaigns & Elections, Political Parties, Political Science, Press Release Tagged With: ,

The Reformer vs. The Status Quo

October 5, 2011 By 11 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2011
CONTACT: Daniel Scarpinato

Gullett offers a reform agenda; Stanton offers more big government

PHOENIX – Wes Gullett continued to demonstrate at tonight’s debate – hosted by Valley Leadership, the Arizona Republic, Channel 12, Cox Communications and SCF Arizona – that he’s the only candidate for Mayor committed to reforming city government and protecting taxpayers.

Career-politician Greg Stanton, on the other hand, once again confirmed his commitment to big government, protecting the status quo and dodging the tough questions.

“Wes Gullett will fundamentally change the way Phoenix does business. He’ll have a laser focus on jobs. He’ll cut red tape,” said Gullett spokesman Daniel Scarpinato. “Greg Stanton? He made clear he wants to continue to advance the big government, big spending, business-as-usual agenda that defined his nine years on the City Council.”

The differences between the candidates are stark:

  • Wes Gullett has a Seven Point Jobs Plan that will create jobs and grow the economy; Greg Stanton is offering a job-killing agenda of more government and higher taxes.
  • Wes Gullett will immediately repeal the food tax and pay for it; Greg Stanton wants the $50 million tax to stay in place and continued to make excuses for taxing Phoenix families who are struggling.
  • Wes Gullett will cut the union contracts that are giving $3.7 million of taxpayer money to fund political and lobbying work; Greg Stanton supported those contracts while on the City Council and after a blockbuster report from the Goldwater Institute, Stanton took weeks to even acknowledge that problem exists – only commenting after Gullett called on him to do so.
  • Wes Gullett will stop the automatic water rate increases; Greg Stanton voted for water rate increases before quitting his job on the city council and has promised to continue raising them.
  • Wes Gullett has released a comprehensive pension reform package that would transition city employees to a 401K resulting in substantial long-term savings; Greg Stanton has trashed the idea and wants to bury his head in the sand while government employees continue receiving better benefits than the taxpayers who fund those benefits receive.
  • Wes Gullett has released a comprehensive Government Reform Plan that would cut taxes, fees and red tape; Greg Stanton has proposed dozens of ways to grow the size of government and has offered no way to pay for them.

“Wes Gullett wants a government we can afford; Greg Stanton wants a government we can never afford, unless we smother Phoenix families under soaring taxes and fees,” said Scarpinato. “Phoenix voters have a clear choice between the reformer and the status quo.”

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Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, City Government, Government Reform, Press Release, Spending, Taxation Tagged With: , , , ,

Congressman David Schweikert Blasts Shady Redistricting Process

October 5, 2011 By 15 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2011
CONTACT: Chris Baker

“Commission’s transparent effort to benefit Democrats makes a mockery of redistricting law”

(Scottsdale, AZ) Congressman David Schweikert (AZ-05) released the following statement regarding the Independent Redistricting Commission Congressional map:

“Like many Arizonans, I have watched the redistricting process over the last several months with increasing concern. From the very beginning, it was apparent that the majority of this commission was all too willing to blithely ignore fundamental principles such as compactness, communities of interest, and geographic features that are supposed to guide redistricting in our state.

“Instead of compact districts that respect those principles, we are left with communities carved apart for no apparent reason, and districts that in some cases are thousands of square miles in size, all done in the name of giving one party what they were not able to achieve at the ballot box.

“This commission’s transparent effort to benefit Democrats makes a mockery of our redistricting law. Couple this with alleged violations of Arizona’s open meeting law and even a claim by one commissioner’s attorney that the open meeting law does not apply to them, and you are left with a process that has raised grave concerns about the shadiness in which this commission conducted it’s business.

“Arizonans deserve better than this from their redistricting commission, and they should utilize the upcoming public comment period to let the redistricting commission know that the draft Congressional map they have proposed is the wrong way to go.”

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Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Campaigns & Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties, Political Science, Press Release, State Government Tagged With: , ,

Jeff Flake Comments on IRC’s Proposed Congressional Map

October 5, 2011 By 1 Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2011
CONTACT: Steve Voeller

Map Not in the Best Interests of Arizona 

Phoenix, Arizona — Arizona Republican Representative Jeff Flake, a candidate for United States Senate, today released the following statement regarding the Independent Redistricting Commission’s (IRC) proposed congressional map.

“Simply put, the IRC’s proposed congressional map is not in the best interests of the state of Arizona,” said Flake. “Drawing a map that everyone can agree on is an unenviable task in a state with concerns as unique as Arizona’s, but the IRC seems to have sacrificed communities of interest for competitiveness. While that might make some partisans happy, it ignores the law.”

Representative Flake announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in February. He’s running for the seat being vacated by Senator Jon Kyl.

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Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Campaigns & Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties, Political Science, Press Release, State Government Tagged With: , ,

Rep. Paul Gosar: Response to Governor Brewer’s Remarks regarding the IRC

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2011
CONTACT: Colin Shipley

Statement by Congressman Paul Gosar in Response to Governor Brewer’s Remarks regarding the IRC

“I serve my constituents daily with several key principles in mind. They include honesty, integrity and accountability. Today I applaud Governor Brewer’s efforts to demand these same principles be used to make sure that all residents of Arizona are fairly represented and maintain the community of interest as required by the Arizona Constitution. All of these factors apply to the Independent Redistricting Commission and should in every step of the process.”

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Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Campaigns & Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties, Political Science, Press Release, State Government Tagged With: , ,

Statement by Senators McCain and Kyl on the Arizona Redistricting Commission

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2011
MEDIA CONTACTS: Andrew Wilder (Kyl) / Brian Rogers (McCain)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl today issued the following statement regarding Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission:

“We had hoped that the work of the Independent Redistricting Commission would be a fair process. It is clear that instead it has been political, which is very disappointing and must be corrected.”

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Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Campaigns & Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties, Political Science, Press Release, State Government Tagged With: , ,

Speaker Tobin Criticizes IRC Congressional Map

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2011
CONTACT: Paul Boyer

This statement is attributed to Speaker Andy Tobin (R-District 1):

“Up until now I have intentionally not commented on the actions of the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) hoping they would follow their constitutionally mandated duty of providing fair maps in an independent and transparent manner. Unfortunately this has not happened. The spirit of the voters’ intent in developing fair and independent maps has been hijacked.

The draft map adopted by three commissioners of the IRC fails to meet the standards set forth in the Arizona Constitution.

Further, the process has been flawed. Commissioners voted on this map without even looking at the data or the map they voted on. The “we need to vote on it so we can see what’s in it” approach didn’t work for Obamacare. Neither will it work for the Congressional and Legislative District maps all Arizonans will have to live with for the next ten years.

For Arizonans to have confidence in the constitutionality of the maps, we must be assured the Commission adheres to all of the necessary criteria and is conducted in an open and transparent process so we know the rationale behind the maps and the data that drives it.

I hope the Commission listens to the concerns of the entire public during this thirty-day comment period, especially those in rural Arizona.

The Arizona House of Representatives will defend our citizens against efforts to gerrymander votes by hijacking the process.

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Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Campaigns & Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties, Political Science, Press Release, State Government Tagged With: , ,

Rep Quayle Statement on Ongoing Redistricting Process

October 5, 2011 By 3 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2011
CONTACT: Richard Cullen

WASHINGTON (DC) Congressman Ben Quayle (R-AZ) released the following statement regarding the ongoing redistricting process:

“Like Governor Brewer, I have serious concerns about whether the preliminary congressional map drawn by the Independent Redistricting Commission fairly represents all Arizonans. The IRC was supposed to take politics out of the redistricting process, but that obviously did not happen. This gerrymandered map was drawn with an undeniable partisan purpose. Arizonans deserve a map developed in a fair, nonpartisan manner.”

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Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Campaigns & Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties, Political Science, Press Release, State Government Tagged With: , ,

Governor Brewer: Redistricting Commission Has Botched Process

October 5, 2011 By 4 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2011
CONTACT: Matthew Benson

Proposed Congressional Map is Fatally Flawed and a Partisan Giveaway to Democrats

Governor Jan Brewer today blasted a new Arizona congressional map preliminarily adopted this week by the Independent Redistricting Commission.

“The IRC proposal is simply gerrymandering at its worst,” said Governor Brewer. “This unaccountable, unelected Commission has misused its authority to draw a congressional map that is every Democrat’s dream. In doing so, they’ve violated their bedrock legal requirements to maintain districts that protect communities of interest and are geographically compact.”

Arizona undergoes redistricting every 10 years, with the new map generally tweaking congressional boundaries to account for population shifts and the gain or loss of districts. This new proposal, however, throws that concept out the window – completely rewriting Arizona’s congressional lines in a move that splits counties and communities and tosses large numbers of voters and sitting members of Congress into new districts.

To what end? The consensus among independent national and local media is becoming clear: to benefit Democrats. National political analyst Stuart Rothenberg, author of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report, said the proposed congressional map has “significant partisan implications,” and “really helps Democrats and screws Republicans.” Politico said the draft plan “has the potential to drastically alter the state’s congressional landscape,” and that the map has Democrats “poised for gains.”

“Allegations have been rampant throughout the redistricting process that the IRC has violated the law, from its refusal to cooperate with a state investigation, to its disregard of procurement procedures and Arizona’s Open Meeting Law,” Governor Brewer said. “I’ve held my tongue, waiting for the results of the Arizona Attorney General’s investigation and hoping the IRC would put forward a fair proposal consistent with the requirements set forth in the Arizona Constitution. This map dashes those hopes, and I’ll be silent no longer. Arizona voters are owed a redistricting process that is lawful and transparent. The Arizona Constitution mandates that IRC members conduct redistricting ‘in an honest, independent and impartial fashion, upholding public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process.’ Based on this proposal and the IRC’s prior behavior, it seems clear the commission is bent on awarding to the Democratic Party control of congressional districts that it could not win on Election Day. This is nothing less than neglect of duty and gross misconduct.”

Members of the public will have 30 days in which to comment on this proposed congressional map. The IRC will host public hearings around the state beginning Oct. 11, or you can comment at the IRC’s website: www.AZredistricting.org.

“I’ll be formally commenting to let the IRC know how I feel, and I urge Arizonans to do the same,” said Governor Brewer. “Redistricting only happens once every decade, and nothing will play a more critical role in Arizona’s congressional makeup. This is our opportunity to stop this travesty.”

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Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Campaigns & Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties, Political Science, Press Release Tagged With: ,

Phoenix Mayoral Candidate, Greg Stanton: The conflict of interest expert

October 5, 2011 By 4 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2011
CONTACT: Daniel Scarpinato

Stanton used his elected office and taxpayer resources to benefit client 

PHOENIX – Career-politician Greg Stanton likes to talk about conflicts of interest.

It’s no wonder. He’s an expert at them.

As a city councilman, Stanton voted and used the resources and power of his elected office to benefit a client he was getting paid by – and for nearly half of the time he was on the City Council.

For at least four years, Stanton was paid $80,000 by Maricopa Community Colleges for a no-bid contract while supporting issues that benefited his employer, according to a 2007 story in the Arizona Republic.

“Stanton also used city email, newsletters and meetings to talk up partnerships among Phoenix, the Maricopa colleges and Arizona universities,” the Republic reported. In addition, Stanton used his City Hall office to conduct or solicit college work. “State law prohibits elected officials from promoting the interests of outside employers and using their position to seek private gain,” the Republic reported.

And Stanton actually defended the questionable practices, despite an outside expert telling the Republic, he was “not acting impartially.”

“Greg Stanton has a record of using his position on the City Council to benefit his client and line his own pockets,” said Gullett spokesman Daniel Scarpinato. “How do Phoenix voters know that Greg Stanton won’t abuse his power again if he’s elected Mayor?”

Stanton has a record of being a certified hypocrite. He resigned his job on the City Council to take a top-paying job as a taxpayer-funded lobbyist. He’s taken more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from lobbyists. And in his last year of office alone, he voted to appoint at least 10 lobbyists to city boards and commissions, despite now saying he’s against the practice.

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Filed Under: Campaigns & Elections, City Government, Press Release Tagged With: , , , ,

A tax credit to reduce government red tape

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

by Nick Dranias
Goldwater Institute

Excessive regulation is needlessly destructive to the economy and job creation – and the Goldwater Institute’s annual Legislative Report Card shows that elected officials in both parties fail to recognize the problem.

Since 2003, the report card has measured the voting patterns of state legislators on bills that offer new regulations. Year after year, the average legislator votes to advance more regulation rather than curtail it. But when tens of thousands of Arizonans are looking for work, we no longer have the luxury of tolerating excessive regulation—if we ever did.

The fundamental problem is this: Government does not have any incentive to stop over-regulating. But there is a powerful way to give government the missing incentive it needs – through a regulatory tax credit.

Here’s how it would work: A regulatory tax credit would allow taxpayers to reduce their taxes in an amount equal to the cost of complying with excessive regulation by the government, providing a powerful incentive for government to avoid and reduce regulations.

By empowering taxpayers to align government’s insatiable hunger for revenue with a limited government regulatory policy, tax credits such as these could finally reduce government red tape and let businesses flourish.

Nick Dranias holds the Clarence J. and Katherine P. Duncan Chair for Constitutional Government and is director of the Joseph and Dorothy Donnelly Moller Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute.

Learn More:

Goldwater Institute: 2011 Legislative Report Card for Arizona’s Fiftieth Legislature, First Regular Session

Goldwater Institute: Cities can boost business with more freedom

Goldwater Institute: Susie’s lemonade stand not welcome in Phoenix

Filed Under: Government Reform, Regulations, Small Business, State Government