Fierce back-and-forth attacks between Democratic Sen. Robert Meza and his challenger, longtime Hispanic-community activist Raquel Téran, both Phoenix residents, have become a weekly occurrence and range from petty to severe.

Meza claims Téran has been illegally coordinating with unions, the Democratic Party and outside political groups, and even says one of her volunteers raised Meza’s sexuality while canvassing, which Meza said is completely inappropriate. Meza is openly gay.

Meanwhile Téran says Meza has harassed her volunteers. One Democratic activist, who doesn’t live in LD30 and who said she is not connected to Téran but prefers her in the race, has requested a probe into whether Meza has been illegally pocketing campaign cash over ... Read More »]]>

Sen. Robert Meza and challenger Raquel Téran (Photos by Ryan Cook/RJ Cook Photography)

Like a summer monsoon that barely whispers a warning before unleashing a downpour, the fight over the solidly Democratic, though culturally diverse, Legislative District 30 has erupted in recent weeks.

Fierce back-and-forth attacks between Democratic Sen. Robert Meza and his challenger, longtime Hispanic-community activist Raquel Téran, both Phoenix residents, have become a weekly occurrence and range from petty to severe.

Meza claims Téran has been illegally coordinating with unions, the Democratic Party and outside political groups, and even says one of her volunteers raised Meza’s sexuality while canvassing, which Meza said is completely inappropriate. Meza is openly gay.

Meanwhile Téran says Meza has harassed her volunteers. One Democratic activist, who doesn’t live in LD30 and who said she is not connected to Téran but prefers her in the race, has requested a probe into whether Meza has been illegally pocketing campaign cash over the past several years.

The candidate who wins the Aug. 28 primary will take the seat. No Republican is running for either the state Senate or House in LD30, which includes parts of west and central Phoenix and the southeast corner of Glendale.

Sen. Robert Meza briefs his campaign volunteers before heading into central Phoenix to canvass. (Photo by Ryan Cook/RJ Cook Photography)

But partisans, activists and the candidates themselves agree that underneath the accusations, the LD30 fight is emblematic of how Democratic politics in Arizona is shifting.

Read the full article at AzCapitolTimes.com

An inspection of contributions made to each from within the Southeast Valley district shows Worsley besting Pearce by a margin of 25-to-one. When all contributions are counted, Worsley holds a six-to-one margin.

Worsley has received $16,890 in individual and political committee contributions since announcing his candidacy in March of this year. Of the $16,655 that can be traced to the contributors’ address, $7,495, or about 45 percent, comes from inside LD25, while $9,160, or about 55 percent, comes from outside LD25, mostly from Gilbert, Phoenix and Scottsdale.

Meanwhile, Pearce received $2,585 in contributions between February and ... Read More »]]>

Bob Worsley (left) and former Senate President Russell Pearce (File photos)

While the first round of campaign finance reports paints a limited picture of the closely watched primary race between former Sen. Russell Pearce and his Republican challenger, one thing is clear: Newcomer Bob Worsley is getting the hometown support, while the former Senate president is left wanting.

An inspection of contributions made to each from within the Southeast Valley district shows Worsley besting Pearce by a margin of 25-to-one. When all contributions are counted, Worsley holds a six-to-one margin.

Worsley has received $16,890 in individual and political committee contributions since announcing his candidacy in March of this year. Of the $16,655 that can be traced to the contributors’ address, $7,495, or about 45 percent, comes from inside LD25, while $9,160, or about 55 percent, comes from outside LD25, mostly from Gilbert, Phoenix and Scottsdale.

Meanwhile, Pearce received $2,585 in contributions between February and May of this year. Of the $2,199 linked to a contributor’s address, only $300, or about 14 percent, comes from inside the district, while $1,899, or about 86 percent, comes from outside the district, mostly from Santa Barbara, Calif., Scottsdale and Fountain Hills.

For contributions under $25, no contributor’s address is required. Worsley has raised $235 in those small contributions and Pearce has raised $386.

Ryan Anderson, Worsley’s campaign manager, said he’s not surprised to see those figures.

“Bob Worsley has tremendous support from within Mesa — voters, community leaders, business leaders, families,” Anderson said. “I think it’s telling that not only has Mesa Mayor Scott Smith endorsed Bob Worsley, but the entire Mesa City Council. That is unprecedented.”

Anderson attributes part of the trend to the politically active, close-knit Mormon community in Mesa. Once a candidate has been chosen by community leaders, Anderson said, that decision ripples through the church and social networks.

But more than that, Anderson said it’s Worsley’s hours spent knocking on doors, meeting with voters and holding campaign events within the district.

Neither Pearce nor a member of his campaign staff returned requests for comment.

Russell Pearce’s contributions with old campaign committee contributions included
(Click on the red dots to see contribution details)

Russell Pearce’s contributions since announcing his bid to run in LD25 earlier this year
(Click on the red dots to see contribution details)

Bob Worsley’s contributions since announcing his bid to run in LD25 earlier this year
(Click on the red dots to see contribution details)

See the article at AzCapitolTimes.com

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Democratic former Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick has raised more than $1.3 million since launching her campaign to regain the seat she lost in 2010.

And Republican Jonathan Paton has collected $543,000.

But a closer inspection of their campaign finance reports reveals that only a small slice of their swollen war chests has come from within the district those candidates hope to represent.

Of the campaigns’ itemized contributions, which track those greater than $200, only 1 percent of Paton’s contributions — and only 10 percent of Kirkpatrick’s — comes from inside the expansive rural district.

The low median income in CD1, particularly among the Native American communities that comprise a quarter of the district’s population — and the fact ... Read More »]]>

Former U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick and former Arizona state Sen. Jonathan Paton have raised the bulk of the money for their campaigns from outside the sprawling, new 1st Congressional District.

The race to fill the open congressional seat in Arizona’s sprawling 1st Congressional District has become an expensive one, with nearly all of the money coming from elsewhere.

Democratic former Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick has raised more than $1.3 million since launching her campaign to regain the seat she lost in 2010.

And Republican Jonathan Paton has collected $543,000.

But a closer inspection of their campaign finance reports reveals that only a small slice of their swollen war chests has come from within the district those candidates hope to represent.

Of the campaigns’ itemized contributions, which track those greater than $200, only 1 percent of Paton’s contributions — and only 10 percent of Kirkpatrick’s — comes from inside the expansive rural district.

The low median income in CD1, particularly among the Native American communities that comprise a quarter of the district’s population — and the fact that successful congressional campaigns typically require hundreds of thousands of dollars — were cited by the campaigns as at least partially explaining the high out-of-district contributions…

Read the full article at AzCapitolTimes.com

CD1 campaign contributions mapped

Click on the map to see how much money has been contributed to Kirkpatrick from each zip code:

Click on the map to see how much money has been contributed to Paton from each zip code:

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For the past few years, the focus has largely been on pushing for strong “internal enforcement” policies that would make it harder for illegal immigrants to continue living in the state.

SB1070 passed almost two years ago, but additional policies that would alter how schools and hospitals deal with illegal immigrants failed to pass through the Legislature last year.

This year appears to be different, with the focus shifting to the Mexican border in a new way.

A set of bills currently moving through the Legislature would aim to put a volunteer militia on the watch near the Mexican border and begin the enormous project of building a new fence on our southern border.

SB1083 is the bill that would fund a volunteer border militia.

A law created last ... Read More »]]>
For nearly a decade now, Arizona politics has been defined by the struggle to stop illegal immigration.

For the past few years, the focus has largely been on pushing for strong “internal enforcement” policies that would make it harder for illegal immigrants to continue living in the state.

SB1070 passed almost two years ago, but additional policies that would alter how schools and hospitals deal with illegal immigrants failed to pass through the Legislature last year.

This year appears to be different, with the focus shifting to the Mexican border in a new way.

A set of bills currently moving through the Legislature would aim to put a volunteer militia on the watch near the Mexican border and begin the enormous project of building a new fence on our southern border.

SB1083 is the bill that would fund a volunteer border militia.

A law created last year allowed the governor to create the armed Arizona State Guard for any reason, but it appropriated no money for the group, so it has remained largely symbolic legislation.

This year’s effort would shift $1.4 million from other gang- and immigration-related programs to pay for equipment, training and a few full-time administrators for the Special Missions Unit, which would be tasked with combating drug cartels.

Another effort this year is SB1104, which builds on legislation passed last year that established a border fence donation fund. Last year’s law allowed people from anywhere in the world to donate money into a fund that promised to be used for a border fence.

But this year’s bill would put the money into the hands of the small group of lawmakers, ranchers and sheriffs that make up the Joint Border Security Advisory Committee.

So far, the two bills have moved easily through legislative committees and appear to be headed for a full vote that would put them on Gov. Jan Brewer’s desk for either a signature or a veto.

But like practically every proposed law regarding illegal immigration, they haven’t moved without contention. And like most illegal immigration policies, there is roughly a party divide, with support coming mostly from Republicans and opposition coming mostly from Democrats.

But there is some fracturing among the usually strong Republican bloc.

Critics of the Special Missions Unit say the proposal has too many unanswered questions, including liability.

A ranchers’ association representative logged his group’s opposition to the bill this week, saying that if the border militia were to get wrapped up in litigation over some action taken on private land, it could lead the landowner liable.

Others have questioned whether the state would similarly be liable if some action led to a wrongful death or wrongful arrest suit, for example.
And those assailing the border fence funding bill say there is a simple math problem: properly building a border fence will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, by most estimates.

But the donation fund has only collected about $300,000 so far.

This year’s legislative session is moving toward its end, and while the final destiny for these border security bills isn’t clear, a safe bet will be that they will spark more media chatter as their potential realization becomes a greater possibility.

– From ABC15

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The report published by Phoenix New Times detailing threats supposedly made by Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu to an ex-boyfriend should prompt some reflection on an important question: When does the private become a public matter, and was the New Times justified in also revealing personal details about Babeu’s love life?

Rumors about the nationally known immigration hawk and the impact they could have on Babeu’s congressional campaign were nothing new among political insiders.

But chasing after, then putting the details of somebody’s private life on display – gay or straight – is not the typical business of news organizations. But where serious accusations of misconduct necessarily involve someone’s private life, the situation changes. Babeu is accused of abusing his power as sheriff. And the pattern of alleged behavior, which portrays a sense of running above the rules, leads to questions of sound ... Read More »]]>

The report published by Phoenix New Times detailing threats supposedly made by Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu to an ex-boyfriend should prompt some reflection on an important question: When does the private become a public matter, and was the New Times justified in also revealing personal details about Babeu’s love life?

Rumors about the nationally known immigration hawk and the impact they could have on Babeu’s congressional campaign were nothing new among political insiders.

But chasing after, then putting the details of somebody’s private life on display – gay or straight – is not the typical business of news organizations. But where serious accusations of misconduct necessarily involve someone’s private life, the situation changes.
Babeu is accused of abusing his power as sheriff. And the pattern of alleged behavior, which portrays a sense of running above the rules, leads to questions of sound judgment.

If an imaginary – but straight – sheriff who touted his tough stance on immigration issues had threatened to deport an immigrant ex-lover over a personal matter, those allegations would hopefully be taken seriously just the same. In this case, however, Babeu’s private sexual life became the venue for serious charges of misconduct. “Jose” and his attorney knew full well that would be the case, too.

Babeu would have the public believe his sexuality and the parade of explicit sexual details that was included in the New Times story was the ultimate goal, and that this was an attempt by his political enemies to damage him politically. So, he turned his Saturday press conference into a defense of his lifestyle and of every American’s choice to live with a degree of privacy.

That slick redirection scores some easy political points, and it will make him look like he’s taken the higher road. But it doesn’t dismiss the claim that Babeu threatened to deport his ex-boyfriend if he went public with their relationship and revealed that Babeu is gay. Babeu might want to move on, saying he’s addressed the issue, and claiming that the issue is his homosexuality. But the accusations of threatening to deport an ex-boyfriend in order to keep him quiet will not go away with a defiant coming out party.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office will be inundated Monday morning with records requests, as journalists try to verify his claims that explicit text messages and photos weren’t sent from a government cell phone. Reporters across the state will also try to land interviews with the ex-boyfriend.

Whether having his sexual life splayed for public perusal was the goal, it will probably go on until the questions about the troubling allegations are cleared up.

Given that it’s only February, one also has to remember that election-year politics has only just begun and this story will only continue to heat up.

– From ABC15