Here’s your chance to vote for the winner of the Arizona Republican Presidential candidate debate and tell us why:
No More Tax Credits for Hollywood
February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
By Stephen Slivinski
It’s like a bad re-run. A few legislators are trying to revive Arizona’s film production tax credit (SB 1170) that lapsed in 2011.
According to the last annual report on the effectiveness of the credit, in 2009 four media companies completed production on credit-approved projects. After taking into consideration the small bit of sales tax revenue the film generated while in production, the state paid out a net of just over $2 million in tax credits. That’s an average of half a million dollars per project.
How many jobs did that create? About 41 jobs directly related to the project and another 20 that were presumably from the ripple effect on the local economy. An analysis by economists at the W.P. Carey School at Arizona State University shows that these jobs were temporary and, thus, the post-production employment impact of this tax credit was “minimal.”
States like Washington and Iowa terminated their film credit programs last year and others have suspended them until their effectiveness can be studied. The general consensus among analysts is that these credits cost more than they’re worth and their existence owes more to star-struck policymakers than it does to economic logic.
The legislature this year, just as they did last year, should avoid putting Arizona taxpayers back on the hook for film production. Arizona doesn’t need to buy another ticket to this overpriced flop.
Stephen Slivinski is a Senior Economist for the Goldwater Institute.
Learn more:
Arizona Department of Commerce: Motion Picture Production Tax Incentive Annual Report for 2009 (PDF)
Tax Foundation: Report on Film Tax Credit (2011)
Digital Learning: A Game Changer for American Indian Students
February 21, 2012 By 1 Comment
By Jonathan Butcher
American Indian students are more likely to live in poverty and face unemployment later in life. These children carry the burdens of geographic isolation and multi-generational poverty that are heavy to lift.
In my conversations with state leaders on ways to help students in chronically failing schools—ideas such as expanding eligibility for education savings accounts and allowing parents to petition to convert a failing school to a charter school—policymakers regularly cite the unique challenges presented by American Indian students.
Digital and online learning opportunities offer hope. As Goldwater Institute Senior Fellow Dan Lips explains in his new Policy Brief, Digital Learning: Improve Educational Opportunities for American Indian Students, online programs can be made available to any student and would increase educational opportunities in rural areas and on reservations.
Over 300,000 American Indians from 21 tribes call Arizona home, and American Indian students comprise 5 percent of the state’s K-12 population. These students score well below their white peers on the nation’s report card, often lagging behind other minority groups such as African American and Hispanic students. Among 4th graders, 70 percent of American Indian students score below the basic level. Only 8 percent can read at grade level.
Lips’ Policy Brief explains how policymakers can incorporate blended-learning programs into the classroom; provide a specific option for children attending Bureau of Indian Education schools to allow them to enroll in Arizona Online Instruction classes; expand private school choice programs to offer full or partial scholarships to American Indian students to enroll in virtual school courses; and create a Federal Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Virtual School.
Reasonable people can disagree about what’s best for American Indians in the 21st century. But everyone agrees that more quality educational choices for children of any heritage are worth pursuing.
Jonathan Butcher is the Education Director for the Goldwater Institute.
Learn more:
Goldwater Institute: Digital Learning: Improved Educational Opportunities for American Indian Students
Arizona Department of Education: 2007 Indian Education Annual Report
Arizona Republic: Arizona’s American Indians
Republican Mark Koskiniemi to Announce Bid for Arizona’s CD-8
February 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, February 17, 2012
CONTACT: Mark Koskiniemi
(Oro Valley, AZ) - KOSKINIEMI 4 AZ8 announces a kick-off event to be held at Toscana Studios and Art Gallery, 9040 North Oracle Road, Oro Valley, AZ at 10:00am on Saturday, February 18, 2012.
Toscana Studios is located just north of Hardy Road on North Oracle Road (map).
Mark Koskiniemi will make an announcement concerning the upcoming special election to fill the opening in Congressional District 8 to the U.S. House of Representatives.
For more information, please visit Koskiniemi4AZ8.com.
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Save Money, Double Turnout with Consolidated Local Elections
February 15, 2012 By 13 Comments
By Lucy Morrow Caldwell
Ask any grassroots activist and he’ll tell you that getting out the vote is tough, because the majority of Arizonans have busy lives beyond the ballot-box. Worse still, with elections happening at a variety of times throughout a two-year cycle, many voters don’t know when an election is taking place.
This gives special-interest groups the upper hand because they can turn out their supporters on obscure election days while regular Arizonans are left in the dark.
This could all change with a single piece of legislation.
HB 2826, a bill currently moving its way through the Arizona Legislature, conforms all election dates across the state—from bond to municipal to statewide—to occur in the August-November cycle of even-numbered years.
In Scottsdale, where municipal elections have been consolidated to Novembers in even-numbered years since 2008, voter participation has ranged from 60 percent to over 85 percent. Previously, when Scottsdale municipal elections occurred in the springtime, voter turnout rarely rose above 30 percent.
Voter turnout suffers in cities without consolidated election dates.
Less than 30 percent of registered voters turned out in Phoenix’s 2011 mayoral election, and only 25 percent voted in the council races in 2009. Tucson’s 2011 mayoral election turned out just over 30 percent of registered voters.
This is not an indicator of voter apathy in those cities. When Tucson placed a municipal ballot question on the 2010 general election ballot, over 60 percent of registered voters participated.
The Arizona Legislature has a long history of pursuing legislation to increase citizen participation in the voting process—the motor-voter initiative, the permanent early voting list, and other voter-awareness campaigns. HB 2826 is the natural next step to increase voter participation across the state and make Arizonans’ voices heard.
Special interest groups that enjoy advancing their agendas under the radar in off-cycle elections are likely to oppose HB 2826. But the measure is a slam-dunk for Arizonans who want to give all voters a voice in elections at every level of government.
Lucy Morrow Caldwell is the external affairs manager at the Goldwater Institute.
Learn more:
Arizona Legislature: House Bill 2826
Let’s Open the Door to Compassionate Volunteers
February 14, 2012 By 2 Comments
By Diane Cohen
As you read this, hundreds of doctors and other health care professionals are ready to come to Arizona to provide free medical care for those in need. They are volunteers from around the country, who pay their own travel, room and board so that they can donate their skills over the course of several days at free medical clinics.
These volunteers do not need government funding or reimbursements. They do not care if those they serve have insurance, because they would not take it anyway. The only thing these volunteers need is for the government to get out of the way by allowing them to come to our state to serve.
Remote Area Medical (RAM) is one such group, which brings together medical professionals to serve in free medical clinics in the United States and around the world. RAM provides everything from free diabetes screening to dental surgery, vision tests, free eyeglasses and even veterinary care, to those in America’s inner cities, rural areas and on reservations.
Since 1985, RAM’s thousands of volunteers have treated more than half a million people through more than 660 free medical clinics.
Stan Brock, RAM’s iconic and inspirational founder, dreams of a world where people help each other, “just because they can,” but says the biggest obstacle to providing free care is not the lack of volunteers, but their inability to cross state lines and donate their expertise due to restrictive state licensing laws.
Inspired by RAM, Senator Nancy Barto introduced SB 1189, which would amend Arizona law by providing a temporary exemption from our licensing laws to volunteer medical providers who are licensed in good standing in other states. The law would also open the door for other, similar charitable organizations to aid Arizonans.
A committee hearing will be held on the bill this Wednesday, February 15, at 2 p.m., in Senate Hearing Room 1. With its passage, Arizona would join Illinois and Tennessee, which have passed similar laws.
Let’s open our doors to that which makes America great: its people, who more than any government ever could, want to help others just because they can.
Diane Cohen is a senior attorney for the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation.
Learn more:
Arizona Legislature: Contact your legislator to share your opinion on this bill
Remote Area Medical: RAM Website
CBS News: 60 Minutes profile of RAM
State Rep. Terri Proud: Where’s the Money Huck?
February 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
What did you get for 1.5 billion dollars?
The Arizona legislature is considering a bill, HB2565, which will protect the citizens of Pima County from the bait-and-switch bond tactics which have been perpetrated for years by County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry and the 3-vote majority on the Board of Supervisors.
Pima County alone has almost $1.5 billion in bond debt, more than two and a half times all the other counties in Arizona – COMBINED. Tucson ranks among the worst in the nation for foreclosures yet has the highest property taxes in the state.
Citizens of Pima County are losing jobs while struggling to pay off government debt. Meanwhile, Huckelberry is interfering with job growth but presiding over a bloated bureaucracy. Taxpayers are losing their homes but Huckelberry is keeping property taxes sky-high. He is taking money from honest, hard-working families while creating more debt on projects that after 14 years are still not completed.
During FY 2011-2012, the Pima County Board of Supervisors, with Huckelberry’s approval, created a communications department, allocating a half million dollars for a staff of 12 people. Their graphic services design department, which was already established, paid out $530,129 in FY 2009/2010, $460,849 in 2010/2011 and $358,153 in 2011/2012. So with the creation of the communication department, “communication” costs total nearly 1 MILLION dollars for FY2011/2012.
For their next step, they raised YOUR property taxes and blamed the state for lack of money. For what? So Huck can send out “educational” pamphlets to everyone within Pima County with misinformation about your representatives, about the state, and about whatever else he wants you to think.
So while he’s sitting like a fat cat on your tax dollars telling you how much more bonding we need because the nearly 1.5 BILLION dollars you are already in debt … AND STILL PAYING FOR … isn’t enough, I’m out here fighting for you so your taxes can go down, and so you can stay in your homes.
He’s now using Raytheon as a selling point for his “new” bond. We’ll, Raytheon is only getting 10% of that money for the land next to Davis Monthan that they’re protecting. It’s another sweet deal for Huckelberry and his good friend Don Diamond, because Diamond owns the land.
Yes, I predict something will happen shortly after that and not far behind will be the Pima County Bond Program designed to offer first-time homebuyers a mortgage loan with YOUR tax money.
So, here are the facts to counteract Huck’s propaganda and fight over HB2565:
- Since he’s repeatedly taken bond money and spent it on projects other than what voters intended, it’s only fair to have those who he’s taking it from be fairly represented by the people they have elected.
- Nothing in this bill eliminates his advisory committee. Nothing in this bill is going to cancel established projects. Nothing in this bill is going to stop bonds from ever happening. All it’s doing is allowing the elected officials in the surrounding towns to fairly represent their taxpayers. Why should Huck have a problem with that?
- The bond problem has been an issue for years in Pima County, so this is nothing new.
- This is a local control issue. All it’s doing is giving power to the government closest to the people: the surrounding towns.
Get the Facts. Read the bill yourself. Go to www.azleg.gov and enter HB2565. Fight back and stop the misuse of YOUR taxes. Support HB2565. We need your voice!
What to Do about Accountability in Education
February 13, 2012 By 3 Comments
By Jonathan Butcher
No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the primary federal education law for K-12 public schools, was signed by George W. Bush a decade ago. Heralded by many as a great bipartisan agreement, NCLB ushered in a new era of accountability for public schools and, for the first time, required schools to show evidence of student achievement or face consequences.
But NCLB was a compromise, and no one was completely happy with the plan. NCLB applies to a system with diverse stakeholders and powerful, entrenched interest groups, so we should have anticipated the derision the law receives today from all sides. In addition, the law required states to use high-stakes tests as a yardstick for student achievement, and some schools and teachers gamed the system by teaching to the test or simply cheating outright.
But because of NCLB, the first decade of the new century may be considered the era of education accountability. This is especially true in Arizona, where schools are growing into their new A-through-F school and district grading system — the system that is replacing labels such as “performing” and “performing plus.”
But if you look at the fine print, you will notice that the range is actually from “A” to “D,” since a school must earn a “D” for multiple years before being labeled an “F.”
State leaders quickly recognized this needed to be addressed or some schools would find ways to cut corners, much like what happened under NCLB. The Arizona Legislature is considering a bill—HB 2663—to allow the state board of education to classify a school as an “F” sooner. Otherwise, schools could flounder with a “D” for multiple years before taking serious measures to improve.
HB 2663 is an important adjustment to the system, and the details of the law and implementation will be critical. No school wants an “F,” but it’s more important that parents know the truth about their school and can find better educational opportunities immediately.
Jonathan Butcher is education director for the Goldwater Institute.
Learn more:
Goldwater Institute: My school got a D, now what?
Washington Post: No Excuses for Atlanta’s Cheating Scandal
Arizona Department of Education: A-F Accountability
David Schweikert: Entire Base of Grassroots Support Schweikert
February 13, 2012 By 12 Comments
To All Interested Parties:
Congressman Ben Quayle has decided to move Congressional districts and primary fellow-Republican David Schweikert in his distirct, AZ-06.
- Quayle’s home isn’t in AZ-06, it’s in AZ-09
- Quayle’s campaign office isn’t in AZ-06, it’s in AZ-09
- Quayle’s Congressional office isn’t in AZ-06, it’s in AZ-09
As this primary challenge gains attention, the choice for Arizona conservatives is clear. They support the Republican who lives in AZ-06 and who has served that very same community for 30+ years.
Since Ben Quayle’s announcement to “carpetbag” into Schweikert’s district, Arizonans have responded in backlash. This week the Schweikert campaign rolled out several prominant endorsements.
- Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery
- Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio
- Phoenix City Councilman Jim Waring
- Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane
- State Senator Michele Reagan
- State Representative Michele Ugenti
- State Representative John Kavanagh
David’s campaign office opened this morning with a record-breaking volume of volunteer participation. In 2010, Schweikert’s ground operation was widely noted as being a model for campaigns across the country.
It is clear that David has the entire base of grassroots support in AZ-06 behind him.
Included is a polling memo for your interest. Please feel welcome to circulate. Of particular note are the favorable ballot numbers at the very bottom of the memo. Arizona primary voters who “like” both David and Ben choose David 56% – 31%. Even more impressive is the informed ballot of Arizona primary voters who have an “opinion” of David and Ben, either “favorable or unfavorable” choose David 57% – 31%.
PS: When you hear reports about the Schweikert/Quayle primary, please help us keep the facts straight, and if you need information or have a question, please don’t ever hesitate to ask!
Ben Quayle: Facts for Our Supporters
February 13, 2012 By 24 Comments
“This should be a substantive race with a tone that honors our party, our nation and the voters of the 6th District.” – Ben Quayle
That was the hope. It didn’t take long…in fact, it took less than 24 hours for our challenger to go negative. If that wasn’t enough, a few hours later he followed that up in a move that shows desperation by blasting a blatantly false email around to Arizonans to try to distort the facts about the new Congressional District 6.
We would like to help our supporters by providing you with the facts. We ask you to help us spread this information so that your family, friends, and neighbors are all armed with the truth.
Fact #1: CD 6 consists of nearly 70% of Ben’s current constituents.
Nearly 70% of CD 6 is currently represented by Congressman Quayle.
Fact #2: CD 9′s current Congressman is David Schweikert by nearly 3.5 to 1.
Numbers are tricky to spin. For every 1 person in CD 9 that is represented by Congressman Quayle, 3.5 people have Congressman Schweikert as their representative. There is a vast majority of constituents in CD 9 who are currently being represented by Congressman Schweikert and are familiar with him.
Ben needs your help.
We need your voice to set the record straight and silence the nonsense. Americans are tired of mud slinging political maneuvers. Together we can keep the discussion factual and focused on the issues that matter.
Please visit our website to learn more about Ben’s campaign and receive updates on how to stay involved!
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Arizona Public Notices – It’s time to change the law!
February 9, 2012 By 2 Comments
Committee Testimony on HB 2403: Online Public Notices is Thursday morning
Editor’s note: Sonoran Alliance and several other Arizona political news blogs (ACOM – Arizona Coalition of Online Media) strongly support this bill and will be at the hearing Thursday morning. Help stop the print newspapers’ monopoly over public notices.
by Lynne LaMaster, eNewsAZ
Right now, newspapers have a monopoly on the publication of Public Notices. You know, those ads you see in super-tiny print next to the want ads in the local paper?
Representative David Stevens, however, has a different idea. Let’s allow Public Notices to be published online or in printed newspapers. If his bill passes, competition for Public Notices will go up, prices should go down. Taxpayers will benefit as their governmental agencies won’t have to pay nearly as much in fees (estimated to be over $1.8 million in Arizona alone).
It will also make public notices more available world wide, allow for better, more readable formatting, better access for those with disabilities, and more information to be shared, such as links to maps, bid specifications, agendas and more.
Newspapers aren’t supporting this because they believe they are the watchdog over Public Notices. They also question the ability for online entities to offer verification, and serve those who don’t get the Internet.
See http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/opinion/article_605be59a-4e92-11e1-a963-0019bb2963f4.html
There is a hearing Thursday morning at 9am in front of the committee, and they are going to vote on it. There is also a stakeholder’s meeting Wednesday at 4pm.
Here are the committee members:
- David Stevens (R) – bill sponsor
- Sally Ann Gonzales (D)
- Justin Pierce (R)
- Carl Seel (R)
- Bruce Wheeler (D)
- Terri Proud (R)
- Jeff Dial (R)
Please email or call them and let them know you support this bill. http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp
Bill info – http://www.azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=HB2403&Session_ID=107
Read Lynne’s full analysis of why you should support HB 2403.
Update on Arizona’s 9th Congressional District
February 8, 2012 By 13 Comments
It’s been awhile since I’ve written some original content so I’m gonna throw a quick overview on Arizona’s CD-9 – the crescent-shaped district located in Phoenix.
So who’s in?
On the Democrat side, Kyrsten Sinema, Andrei Cherny and David Schapira have all announced. Schapira won’t get very far. He’s got the excitement of Bradypus variegatus (everybody’s scrambling to Wikipedia) and no money raising skills. On the contrary, Kyrsten has made the contacts and trips to DC having rubbed elbows with DNC mukety-mucks and Obamatons. Andrei “I-can’t-wait-to-get-the-hell-outa-here” Cherny recently abandoned his chairmanship at the Arizona Democratic Party taking his mediocre fundraising skills with him. This leaves the ADP in a frantic scramble to replace him from among a rapidly diminishing talent pool. My assessment: Cherny and Sinema battle for the heart of Arizona leftists while it remains on life support. Close call in the August Primary but I’d have to guess Sinema eeks out a win. Cherny heads back to Califormia.
Travis Grantham
Now let’s talk about Republicans. Republicans actually have some great talent to put up. Some have ooodles of money, some are damn hard workers and others are simply looking for a career change to make a bigger difference. First to enter the race was Travis Grantham, a Gilbert resident, businessman and Air National Guard pilot. Grantham originally staked out a shot east of the new CD-9 but reoriented his trajectory not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of Adams vs. Salmon. Smart move but Grantham doesn’t live in the new CD-9 (although there’s nothing illegal with that.) He has a chance and is sitting on almost $120K.
Wendy Rogers
Next to file is my personal favorite (sorry gents, I always gravitate to the lady candidates), Wendy Rogers. Wendy actually lives in the district and has done so with her family for many years. She’s a retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel who works harder than anyone I know when it comes to anything she sets her heart on. Wendy has a loyal following of supporters not only here in Arizona but across the country who can be counted on to raise the money needed in a lickety-split second for this race. Wendy is a perfect match for the district.
In the wings waiting are Steve Moak, Vernon Parker, Gary Pierce and Martin Sepulveda. Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley has also been mentioned but with such high negatives and an already announced re-election campaign underway, his political days are numbered.
Steve Moak
Steve Moak ran in 2010 finishing 2nd in a 10-way primary. He’s likely got the cash but many question if he’s far more risk averse this time hesitant to charge up his 2012 campaign coffers.
Vernon Parker
Paradise Valley councilman Vernon Parker is also eyeing the race. Parker also ran in the crowded 10-way 2010 primary finishing 4th place. Parker is also seeking re-election to the Paradise Valley Council leaving many to question his motivations in seeking any public office. He is expected to decide any day.
Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce also wants in on the action but he’s just settled into another term on the ACC. He’d have to step down under Arizona’s resign to run law given his term expires in 2014. Pierce has obviously run statewide but financed his ACC race using “Clean Elections” money. His ability to raise money for a federal campaign is probably one of the biggest factors he would have to weigh.
Gary Pierce
That leaves former Chandler City Councilman Martin Sepulveda as the last candidate considering. Sepulveda is a fiery US Navy combat veteran who have a great deal of respect for (we even had our own little political brush-up during the 2010 US Senate primary. What is it with us US Navy guys?) Given a sizeable number of Republicans reside in this portion of the district, Sepulveda would be competitive. He also served as a surrogate for our senior senator during the 2010 Republican primary. That kind of help could come in handy with the fundraising if the door is open.
Martin Sepulveda
That’s my assessment. I really can’t say who I’d like to see win the Republican primary but I do know that this will be a very competitive race with plenty of political drama. I can’t wait for the field to be set.
Majority of State Senate Republican Caucus Supports Salmon
February 8, 2012 By 13 Comments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 8, 2012
CONTACT: Adam Deguire
Salmon Receives Endorsements from 14 Arizona State Senators
EAST VALLEY – Former Congressman and candidate for Arizona’s 5th Congressional District Matt Salmon today announced the endorsements from 12 additional Arizona state senators, joining previous endorsements from Senate Majority Leader Andy Biggs (District 22) and Senator John McComish (District 20). Salmon released the endorsements from the following state senators:
Senate President Steve Pierce (District 1)
Senate Majority Whip Frank Antenori (District 30)
Senate President Pro Tempore Sylvia Allen (District 5)
Senator Judy Burges (District 4)
Senator Linda Gray (District 10)
Senator Gail Griffin (District 25)
Senator Lori Klein (District 6)
Senator Al Melvin (District 26)Senator Rick Murphy (District 9)
Senator John Nelson (District 12)
Senator Don Shooter (District 24)
Senator Steve Smith (District 23)
Former Congressman Matt Salmon stated, “My career as a public servant began as an Arizona state senator, so I am especially thrilled that so many of our current senators have chosen to stand with me in my campaign for Congress. These leaders have witnessed firsthand the dereliction of duty by our federal government to control runaway spending and pass down unfunded mandates to state governments. I commend them for the many sacrifices they continue to make as public servants, and I pledge to work with every state government official to provide a better and more prosperous life for all Arizonans.”
About Matt Salmon
Matt Salmon was first elected to the United States Congress in 1994 and served until 2000, honoring his term limit pledge. A proud conservative, Salmon was rated in the top five among all 535 members of the House and Senate by Citizen’s Against Government Waste for all six years he was in office. He is a lifetime member of the NRA with an A+ rating and also earned a 100% rating by the National Right to Life. He was also the proud recipient of the American Cancer Society’s “Top National Elected Official” award.
Matt Salmon has received the endorsements from Arizona Congressman Trent Franks, Arizona Congressman David Schweikert, former Arizona Congressman John Shadegg, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Mayor Scott Smith (Mesa), Mayor Jay Tibshraeny (Chandler), Mayor Hugh Hallman (Tempe), Mayor John Insalaco (Apache Junction), Mayor Gail Barney (Queen Creek), Arizona State Senate Majority Leader Andy Biggs (LD22), State Senator John McComish (LD20), former State Senator Chuck Gray, and State Representatives Eddie Farnsworth (LD22), Jeff Dial (LD20), and Bob Robson (LD20). Salmon has also been endorsed by South Dakota Senator John Thune, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey and Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-49).
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Michael Monti, Hugh Hallman Urge Tempe to Lead Arizona Cities on Gift Bans and Reporting Requirements
February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 7, 2012
CONTACT: Julie Lind
Tempe Candidate for Mayor and Current Tempe Mayor Praise County Attorney for Showing the Way
(Tempe, Arizona)Candidate for Tempe Mayor Michael Monti is joining Mayor Hugh Hallman in calling for gift bans and reporting requirements in Tempe. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery has proposed a long list of restrictions to prevent another Fiesta Bowl scandal. Monti and Hallman believe Tempe should lead the way and adopt a strict set of rules on the municipal level. They include:
- Reporting any gifts worth more than $15 dollars
- Banning all gifts valued at more than $50
- Immediate reporting of gifts on the city website
- Penalties for officials who knowingly violate the rules
- Immediate reporting of taxpayer funded travel expenses
Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman has set the standard in Tempe by refusing gifts of any kind. He has even turned down perks such as a parking space at Tempe City Hall. County Attorney Bill Montgomery has listed a set of rules that can easily be adopted at all levels of government.
Monti said, “Our Mayor has set the standard. Our County Attorney has identified the proper standards. Now it’s time for Tempe to adopt those standards so that we can lead the way in clean government. Not everyone has followed Mayor Hallman’s example.”
Michael Monti, owner of Tempe’s historic Monti’s La Casa Vieja, co-founded Local First, Arizona. He is also active in the Tempe Diablos Charities, and is the youngest inductee in the Arizona Restaurant Association’s Hall of Fame.
His campaign is based on bringing private sector ideas to government, fiscal responsibility, civic involvement, economic opportunity, and innovation. His proposals include:
- Financial incentives for city workers who save tax dollars
- The creation of the Tempe Community Corps to increase volunteerism, and aid Tempe neighborhoods Partnerships with ASU and the business community to bring more jobs to Tempe
- The creation of a public swimming beach at Tempe Town Lake, paid for by the private sector
- Partnerships with the ASU College of Nursing to aid Tempe seniors
- Encouraging businesses to embrace eco-friendly projects such as the Blink Car Charging Stations at Monti’s La Casa Vieja
- A ban on texting while driving in Tempe
- Gift bans and strict reporting requirements
Arizona leaders and organizations that have endorsed Michael Monti include:
- Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman
- Tempe Council Member Onnie Shekerjian
- Tempe’s first elected Mayor, Rudy Campbell
- The Tempe Chamber of Commerce
- Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne
- Congressman David Schweikert
- Former Tempe City Council Member ‘Hut’ Hutson
- Former State Rep. Laura Knaperek
- Tempe Democrat Carl Hayden
- Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery
To visit the Monti4 Mayor Website click here or log on to www.monti4mayor.com (@monti4mayor).
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City-Funded Report on Government Pay Called into Question
February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
By Nick Dranias & Stephen Slivinski
Phoenix taxpayers recently paid almost a half a million dollars for a report that looked at city-employee compensation. The report reveals that some types of workers get paid more than the market average; some get paid less. But when you include benefits, the report found that all government workers in Phoenix are vastly better off than private sector workers.
These findings could have been obtained for a fraction of the cost, simply by surveying existing academic literature. Unlike the Goldwater Institute’s own research, which has revealed that public sector collective bargaining costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, there is little in the way of actual “news” in the new Phoenix report. In fact, the report missed an opportunity to uncover the real differences in pay and benefits between government and private workers in the City of Phoenix.
The Phoenix report omits any comparison of the hourly compensation of government versus private sector workers. It’s a big omission, particularly since the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported state and local government workers receive average hourly compensation that is 44 percent higher than private sector workers.
This failure to compare hourly compensation, despite abundant resources to do so, demonstrates that the city-funded report doesn’t present an accurate picture of the local differences in compensation between government and private sector workers. It also calls into question whether this omission was inadvertent or by design — such an analysis may have revealed that government employees receive dramatically more hourly compensation than private sector workers.
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.
Stephen Slivinski is the Senior Economist with the Goldwater Institute.
Learn more:
Goldwater Institute: Save Taxpayers Tens of Billions of Dollars
City of Phoenix: Balancing Competitive Employment and Stewardship of Public Funds
Establishment Republicans: Are Fish Aware of the Water They Swim In?
February 7, 2012 By 36 Comments
Troy Senik of the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) has written a fine piece on the growing “fissure” within the Republican Party that has lain largely dormant for years — namely the “divide” that separates Conservatives and Establishment Republicans.
Conservatives, represented mostly by those in the Tea Party Movement, are largely responsible for the Republican Party re-capture of the House of Representatives in 2010. The Establishment folks sort of know that and sometimes mutter a few grudging words of acknowledgment, but they are loathe to raise the subject or deal with it in any serious way. Nor do the Establishment types see themselves as any kind of “faction” within the party. To them, they are the party.
Take for example the nominally conservative Jeb Bush, who seems to scoff at the notion of a party “establishment”. Says Jeb:
I don’t know what the Republican establishment is. I haven’t learned the secret handshake, and I don’t know where to go for a membership card.
Should we be surprised at Jeb Bush for his seeming blind spot? After all, are fish aware of the water they swim in?
Senik defines the Establishment types as:
… long-time denizens of Washington or other loci of power. They are institutionalized elected officials, money men, party leaders, or grandees of business, consultancies or advocacy groups. And they are often made suspect by the duration of their power, a trait that gives pause to Conservatives who believe that a dedication to limited government entails a devotion to not assimilating to the ways of the Beltway.
These include, of course, the very same Republicans who were present when the House and Senate voted for entitlement programs that any competent accountant could have shown to be impossible to pay for — ever. With their “old friends across the aisle” (a favorite John McCain phrase), they have effectively signed our children and grandchildren into debt bondage. Did they try to warn us? Did they try to stop the growth of these programs? Shame on them. Recently, they had a chance to make at least a show of repentance by voting for term limits. Alas, even that token gesture was too much for Senators like McCain and Jon Kyl. They voted against term limits. Double shame on them.
Senik concludes with the following observations and a call to Conservatives to prepare for a long-term struggle with the Establishment as well as the Democrats.
The establishment had its turn at the wheel over the last decade and the conservative movement reaped a whirlwind as a result. Federal spending and deficits increased; regulation proliferated; entitlements expanded; embarrassing pork projects passed through Congress as part of a gentleman’s agreement in which both parties agreed to gorge their special interest benefactors; bailouts were given to the financial and automotive industries, and, in the end, the Republican Party was rebuked at the ballot box.
Conservatives should not delude themselves into thinking this is a passing trend. Over the past century, only three men – Calvin Coolidge, Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan – were able to beat back establishment pretensions and earn the party’s presidential nomination. As of this writing, it looks unlikely that a similarly situated candidate will earn the nomination in 2012.
Many Tea Partiers and their sympathists will undoubtedly interpret this as a source of grief. But their demoralization is premature. A short-term focus on beating the establishment has not yielded fruit. That calls not for sorrow, but for a long-term focus on replacing it outright.
To that last line, I can only add amen.
The Capitol Buy-Back: Not a Bad Idea
February 7, 2012 By 11 Comments
By Byron Schlomach, Ph.D.
When I first heard Governor Brewer’s proposal to retire debt on the state’s capitol buildings, I thought it was a bad idea. The main reason: early-payoff penalties. There just was no good reason to bear such costs.
It turns out that early payoff penalties are not an issue. The state has to deposit a lump-sum of $106 million into an account that is held by a third party, over which ownership is exercised by the creditors who lent the state the $81 million secured by the capitol buildings. The cash substitutes for the buildings as collateral and we get back the deeds, free and clear.
The $106 million accounts for all the interest and principal we were going to have to spend to pay off the loan over the next 20 years. There is no pre-payment penalty.
Some might say that getting back the capitol buildings’ paper is just symbolic nonsense for the sake of the state’s centennial. And sentiment is a bad reason to pursue any policy. But this is more than a feel-good idea.
The biggest advantage to this early payoff, though, is that it avoids the temptation to spend temporary money on ongoing programs – the ones that it looks like we can afford now, but that we might not be able to afford later. We did that for several years before the recession, and look where that got us.
It’s not safe to assume we’ve entered into a long-term, steady economic expansion with steady government revenues to accompany it. So, while we have a temporary surplus, let’s pay down the state’s debt.
Dr. Byron Schlomach is the director of the Goldwater Institute’s Center for Economic Prosperity.
Learn more:
Office of the Governor: The Facts about a Capitol Buy-Back
Goldwater Institute: Living Debt Free: Restoring Arizona’s Commitment to its Constitutional Debt Limit