A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
Friday, February 3, 2012
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Maricopa County better not settle expensive lawsuits of cronies
Maricopa County manager David Smith, the hatchet man for the County Supervisors, is proposing that the county settle the million dollar lawsuits filed by the Supervisors’ cronies against Maricopa County and its taxpayers for amounts of several hundred thousand dollars up to $15 million each. This is a bad, bad idea that will end up very costly to taxpayers. The greedy county bureacrats, who are suing the county over nothing more than “stress” from being prosecuted by Sheriff Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas, should be forced to plead their cases in a court of law, so taxpayers can see how sketchy their lawsuits are.
Take Action to Control Powerful Government Unions!
Dear Arizona Taxpayer,
Today in the Senate Government Reform Committee, the majority members voted in favor of four important bills that would reform powerful government-worker unions:
SB 1484 — Paycheck Protection for Government Employees — Prohibits government employers from taking money from employee’s paychecks for union activities without express annual authorization.
SB 1485 — Prohibition on Government Collective Bargaining — Prohibits government employers from engaging in collective bargaining (including “meet and confer”) with government unions.
SB 1486 — Prohibition on Government Union Release Time — Prohibits government employers from paying employees to do union activities on the taxpayer dime.
SB 1487 — Prohibition on Withholding of Dues for Government Unions — Prohibits government employers from withholding any portion of public employee wages to pay for labor organization dues.
To send quick thank-you emails to the members of the Committee, click here. For Goldwater Institute fact sheets on the above bills, click on the bold bill titles, above.
Senate Bills 1484, 1485, 1486 and 1487 will be heading soon to floor votes in the full Senate. Please help us rein in Arizona’s powerful government unions by sending an email to your state Senator in support of these bills.
To take action, simply REPLY to this email and click SEND. It will automatically send an email to your State Senator! You can also customize your message and take action by clicking here.
To learn more about AFP-Arizona’s 2012 Legislative Agenda, click here.
Please forward this alert to your friends and family members!
For Liberty,
Tom Jenney
Arizona Director
Americans for Prosperity
Arizona 2012 Tea Party Endorses Bill Montgomery
A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
Saturday, January 28, 2012
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Arpaio Campaign: Democrat Candidate Penzone Misses the Mark
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 24, 2012
CONTACT: Chad Willems
PHOENIX, AZ – The Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012 campaign committee released the following statement today:
“The first Democrat to file and announce his campaign for Maricopa County Sheriff, Paul Penzone, stumbled out of the gates this morning with an announcement that is riddled with errors about Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s record of service,” stated Arpaio campaign manager Chad Willems.
Penzone states in his online video that “on Sheriff Joe’s watch, more than 400 reports of sexual abuse against women and children were never investigated.”
The fact of the matter is this: the mishandling of these cases was brought to the Sheriff’s attention over four years ago, in 2007. Arpaio immediately ordered the cases re-opened and investigated. They have been brought to a conclusion.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Police Department has nearly 3,000 cases involving sex crimes and molestation that were mishandled. The PPD’s neglect in pursuing these cases surfaced only months ago, yet Penzone fails to mention his own department’s failures in these cases.
Penzone also states that the MCSO has failed to serve more than 40,000 felony warrants across the county. The fact of the matter is the vast majority of those are the responsibility of Penzone’s Phoenix Police Department.
Penzone’s tenure with the Phoenix Police Department as a sergeant offers him no experience in financial management and no decision-making power over the department’s budget.
“Penzone seemingly is a willing victim of believing the rhetoric from fringe groups that want to see Arpaio out of office. As a former spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department, Penzone should know to check his facts before making public statements. Before he gets too far down the campaign trail he might want to review the facts before he further embarrasses himself,” Willems concluded.
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Mike Hellon Files Candidacy for Pima County Supervisor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 9, 2012
CONTACT: Mike Hellon
Pima County businessman and Republican leader Mike Hellon officially filed his candidacy today for Pima County Supervisor District 1, vowing to focus his priorities on economic development, fiscal responsibility and quality of life issues for the residents of District 1.
“This is not a decision I made lightly,” Hellon said. “I have been persuaded that strong leadership is needed on the board of supervisors from District 1 and I believe I have the background and experience to meet that challenge.”
In recent weeks, a number of business and political leaders have expressed concerns about a vacuum developing in district 1 with the retirement of incumbent Supervisor Ann Day. Hellon was offered support if he would consider replacing her.
“Their priorities match mine,” he said. “They want accountability and transparency in their government. They want lower taxes through increased efficiency, not through reduced services. They want a balance between a robust economy and protecting our unique quality of life in Pima County. They want infrastructure, public safety and our roads fixed, not excuses or rhetoric. I have the political experience and leadership skills to effectively pursue those goals.”
Hellon is a decorated Vietnam veteran who has successfully operated his own small business for 34 years. A lifelong Republican, Hellon was the Arizona campaign manager for Ronald Reagan in 1980. He was elected to the Republican National Committee in 1992 and served as chairman of the Arizona Republican Party from 1997 to 1999.
In addition to his service to his country and the Republican Party, Hellon has served the community as a small claims hearing officer for the Pima County Justice Court, on the Pima County Board of Adjustment for District 1 and as a member of the Pima County Merit Commission. In 2004, he was appointed by the Arizona Supreme Court to the Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review and currently serves as the commission’s chairman. He is also a member of the Arizona Judicial Council by appointment of the Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.
Hellon has served as a leader in numerous civic and charitable organizations including chambers of commerce, the Tucson Chapter of the American Diabetes Association and the Catalina Youth Soccer Club. He has two children and lives in Northwest Tucson.
Hellon’s campaign chairman is local businessman Bill Assenmacher. His treasurer is Valerie Samoy, staff assistant to Supervisor Ann Day. The balance of the campaign organization is still being developed.
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Arpaio Officially Announces Campaign for Maricopa County Sheriff
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 5, 2012
CONTACT: Chad Willems
$6,000,000 Raised for Re-Election Campaign
PHOENIX, AZ – Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio formally announced his campaign today for another term as Sheriff of Maricopa County.
Through December 31st of last year, the campaign has raised a record $6 million for a sixth four-year term as Sheriff of Arizona’s most populous county. The campaign committee will continue to actively fundraise between now and the November election.
Arpaio stated, “It is an honor and a privilege to serve as Sheriff of Maricopa County. I am running for a sixth term and will continue to protect the citizens of Maricopa County by enforcing all the laws.”
The Sheriff had considered seeking another office, such as the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Jon Kyl, but determined there was still much work to be done as Sheriff.
Despite recent criticism and brazen political stunts carried out by his perennial detractors, Arpaio remains committed to serving as Sheriff by unapologetically enforcing the rule of law and being tough on crime.
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Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery Concludes Fiesta Bowl Probe, Issues Recommendations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 21, 2011
CONTACT: Jerry Cobb
PHOENIX, AZ (December 21, 2011) – Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery announced the conclusion of an 8-month criminal investigation into whether public officials illegally accepted or failed to report gifts from members of the Fiesta Bowl organization and its representatives. While the investigation did not find evidence leading to criminal liability for those investigated, it did identify areas where Arizona law does not meet legitimate public expectations for transparency in disclosure of the receipt of gifts.
“Despite the public’s legitimate expectations that current laws ensure a reasonable degree of open and honest government, Arizona’s statutes governing receipt of gifts and reporting requirements fall short of meeting those expectations,” Montgomery said. “A combination of inconsistent laws, vague reporting requirements, and a ‘knowing’ standard of conduct created significant hurdles for our investigation in establishing the required mental state to prove criminal liability,” he added.
As a consequence of the difficulties encountered in conducting the investigation, the County Attorney will make the following recommendations to both houses in the State Legislature:
- Create a single reference point in law for lobbyists and legislators that clarifies what, if any, types of gifts are permissible, and establishes consistent definitions of gifts and items that require disclosure.
- Establish an outright ban on gifts, or a minimum value threshold above which reporting and disclosure is mandatory for anything received above the set value (e.g. $25).
- Establish an increased frequency of reporting, no less than quarterly, to eliminate record-keeping, memory and accuracy issues that can arise with annual reporting requirements. A web-based reporting system is also recommended to facilitate the public’s ability to review officials’ disclosures.
- Adjust penalties for violations of reporting requirements, making “knowing and intentional” violations a felony offense instead of a misdemeanor.
- Establish a “reckless” standard that carries misdemeanor or civil penalties that are significant enough to encourage accurate and timely reporting.
- Remove legislative staff attorneys from the role of providing campaign finance disclosure recommendations, training and advice in order to preclude any claim of attorney-client privilege on these matters.
- Amend lobbying disclosure forms to include a certification of having read the instructions, as required on campaign finance disclosure statements. Add an expenditure reporting category for Principals/Public Bodies to the Principal/Public Body Annual Report of Lobbying Expenditures.
“I trust that members of the legislature sharing my concern for upholding the integrity of our respective offices will address these recommendations in an appropriate manner,” Montgomery said.
The County Attorney’s Office began its investigation in April 2011, after receiving the case from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office which had declared a conflict of interest in the matter. Over the course of the investigation, a team of experienced prosecutors and investigators from the County Attorney’s Office reviewed thousands of pages of documents and conducted interviews with multiple legislators, lobbyists and Fiesta Bowl employees. The investigation looked at 28 legislators and 3 non-legislator elected office holders. The Attorney General also declared a conflict on two Fiesta Bowl-related cases involving three lobbyists, which also became part of the County Attorney’s investigation.
Legislators investigated:
- Paula Aboud
- Chad Campbell
- Linda Lopez
- Russell Pearce
- Kirk Adams
- Rich Crandall
- David Lujan
- Gary Pierce
- Linda Aguirre
- Sam Crump
- Lucy Mason
- Michelle Reagan
- Ken Bennett
- Adam Driggs
- John McComish
- Pete Rios
- Robert Blendu
- Steve Gallardo
- Robert Meza
- Andrew Tobin
- David Bradley
- Laurin Hendrix
- John Nelson
- Steve Tully
- Bob Burns
- John Kavanagh
- Ward Nichols
- Thayer Verschoor
Non-legislator elected officials investigated:
- Joe Arpaio
- Ben Arrendondo
- Elaine Scruggs
Lobbyists investigated:
- Charles Coughlin and Doug Cole as part of the lobbying firm, “HighGround”
- Kevin Demenna
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Ally Miller: Pima County Board of Supervisors Anti-Business Decisions Continue
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 17, 2011
CONTACT: Dean Miller
On Dec. 13, 2011, Pima County Board of Supervisors handed down a decision to appeal Raytheon property tax valuation as determined by the AZ State Board of Equalization. “This is yet another example of the short sighted and irresponsible behavior by the members of this board” stated Ally Miller, a candidate for District 1 Board of Supervisors in attendance at the meeting.
Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to appeal the decision approved by the AZ State board of equalization to lower the assessed value of properties owned by Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson. Supervisor Richard Elias was absent.
The appeal submitted by Raytheon, based on the valuation of similar properties was approved by the State board of equalization and resulted in valuations lowered from approximately $46.4 mil to $25.6 Mil for 2011 on 19 parcels identified on the board agenda. The 2011 change in valuation would result in a loss of approximately $571 thousand in tax revenue.
Raytheon reportedly pays $130 million in state and local taxes annually.
“Workers in this community are desperate for jobs yet the Board of Supervisors continues with their anti-business practices spending taxpayer money on litigation which could potentially alienate the largest private employer in our community.” Miller added.
“Did the members of the Pima County Board of Supervisors forget about the recent move by Raytheon to build a facility and locate approximately 300 high paying jobs to Huntsville, Alabama?” asked Miller.
After a trip to Huntsville earlier this year it was reported Supervisor Bronson determined tax incentives and fast tracking the development process were among the reasons Raytheon decided to build this facility in Huntsville versus Tucson.
For more information, contact Ally Miller campaign office or visit the campaign website at www.allyforsupervisor.com
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Republic writer hints that court tower investigation was vindicated
A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
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High-level county employee managing court tower project fired
A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
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The Arizona Republic reported today that Kenny Harris, a top engineer and assistant county manager assigned to supervising the court tower project, has been fired by the Supervisors’ hatchet man, county manager David Smith. The circumstances surrounding the firing are extremely suspicious. Harris was fired over using county funds to pay membership dues to his fraternity. Harris’s finance manager had APPROVED the payments, and his previous employers had paid the dues. When Smith told Harris he disapproved of the county paying the dues, Harris reimbursed the county for the full cost. Smith still went and fired Harris, didn’t even offer him a suspension or lesser penalty.
Calls for Arpaio Resignation Pure Political Opportunism
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 13, 2011
CONTACT: Chad Willems
PHOENIX, AZ – The Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012 campaign committee released the following statement today:
“Elected Democrat officials in Arizona are breathlessly calling for the immediate resignation of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio based on a four-year-old story involving sex crime investigations, which were reviewed and investigated by his office four years ago. These Arpaio detractors are also breathless in their insistence that none of this has to do with politics or partisanship.
The actions and words of Ruben Gallego, Randy Parraz, Steve Gallardo, Kyrsten Sinema, Congress members Ed Pastor and Raul Grijalva, and other elected Democrats, reek of political opportunism and partisanship. After all, these are the same Democrats that have been opposed to the Sheriff’s enforcement of illegal immigration laws for years.
The fact of the matter is this: the mishandling of these cases was brought to the Sheriff’s attention in 2007. Arpaio immediately ordered the cases re-opened and investigated. They have been brought to a conclusion. Further, the Sheriff is hiring an expert in the area of sex crimes investigations to train staff for future cases and will offer that service to other law enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, the City of Phoenix has nearly 2,500 cases involving sex crimes and molestation currently under review. Many of these were never pursued or were mishandled. These cases surfaced only months ago, yet there is a deafening silence from these elected officials in calling for elected Mayor Phil Gordon, a Democrat ally, to immediately resign.
Why would they remain silent about Phil Gordon? Mayor Gordon was responsible for going to Washington several times to request that the Justice Department investigate Arpaio’s enforcement of state and federal immigration laws.
Arpaio has stated he will not criticize Valley law enforcement agencies that currently have the same problem his office experienced four years ago. However, for these elected officials and other activists to use these investigations, which have received extensive coverage media coverage through the years, as a pure political tool is disgusting.
Many of these Democrat politicians calling for Arpaio’s resignation are the same ones that have called upon the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate his office. But they have curiously remained silent on any calls for resignation from (Democrat) Attorney General Eric Holder and his role in the “Fast and Furious” scandal that resulted in the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.
The political left in this state feels emboldened by their recent success in removing Senator Russell Pearce from office. The leader of that effort, Randy Parraz, has publicly stated that his next target is Arpaio.
Tomorrow this group will attend and surely disrupt the Maricopa County Board of Supervisor’s meeting in a futile attempt to have Arpaio removed from office.
The transparent political stunt to resurrect a four-year-old story after steps have been taken to resolve the issue is shameful, desperate and again, disgusting.
The voters in Maricopa County will see this for what it is and reject this partisan witch hunt.”
Next month, Arpaio will announce plans for his political future.
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County employees accepted free gifts from companies awarded Court Tower contracts
A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
Monday, December 12, 2011
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Supervisors award cronies large settlements from taxpayers
A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
Thursday, November 24, 2011
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County Supervisors’ fat cat highest paid employees
A m e r i c a n P o s t – G a z e t t e
Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E , in Arizona
Friday, November 18, 2011
We were pretty disgusted to see how much the Maricopa County Supervisors are paying their favorite county employees. While other county agencies are laying off employees and haven’t given out raises in years, the County Supervisors continue to give their overpaid pet employees raises. YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK! You know what to do, vote them OUT in 2012 when they are all up for reelection.
Lt. Mike Stauffer Supports ‘Arizona Compact’ and Disavows ‘Tent City’
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 18, 2011
CONTACT: West Kenyon
I support the Utah and the proposed Arizona Compacts, in that they reaffirm my beliefs in the rule of law and the constitutional enforcement of the laws and statutes passed by the legislature. These declarations also reaffirm the community’s trust in the discretion of their law enforcement officers in the performance of their duties.
In addition, I have determined that the “tent city” facility does not adhere to the best practices and professional standards of the American criminal justice system. The inhumane treatment of inmates and the lack of rehabilitative services at this facility should be a cause of concern for all citizens.
Under my direction, the “tent city” facility in its present form will cease to exist. As Sheriff I will replace this facility with a self-sufficient work farm for first time and low risk inmates to learn skills, attend rehabilitation programs and provide food and services to the rest of the county jail system.
The inmates at this proposed work farm, who legally reside in the United States, will have the opportunity to participate in a new type of work release program. I will partner with local Maricopa County businesses to interview and hire qualified inmates for work in their businesses. The inmates will be paid by the business to a county audited fund to help defray the costs of administering the work farm and the work release program. The remainder of the inmates pay check, after taxes, will be placed in a trust fund for the inmate, which the inmate will have access to upon their release. The inmates will have earned these funds and a job. Upon their release, they will have the means to provide for themselves and their families as they transition back in to our community. This will have a positive impact on the recidivism rate, as the former inmate will have skills and the ability to make positive choices.
As Sheriff, I will seek to partner with other agencies within the criminal justice system and private enterprises to craft a humane and effective set of programs that will provide realistic treatment and choices for the inmates to become productive citizens upon their release back into society.
Hildy Angius goes to Kingman, confronts Mohave County Supervisors on questionable lease agreement
Hildy Angius searches out for reasons why the county rents office space in high rent districts when the county has several buildings will empty space. Angius then receives a sarcastic response from Supervisor Gary Watson. The returned attitude from Mohave County Supervisor is unproductive to the democratic process.
Hildy Angius is also a candidate for Mohave County Supervisor. View her website here.
What’s Next for Senator Russell Pearce?
Plenty of people are speculating what Senator Russell Pearce should do next now that the recall election is over. Should he run for the same seat again or aim high and run for US Senate?
Of course, the only people who should be making this decision are Russell Pearce and his wife and family.
We thought we’d throw out a few options in the form of a poll to see what our readers would like Senator Pearce to do next.
See poll on sidebar =>