politics

Former State Representative Ted Downing sent an e-mail out to Democratic activists about the race for Pima County Democratic Party chair. Downing has spent the last couple of weeks talking to party activists and elected officials, and it was assumed by observers that he was thinking about running.

The e-mail arrived in folks’ boxes yesterday. The answer to the question, “Is Ted Downing running?” is, um, maybe?

Happy New Year, fellow elected precinct committee persons,

For the elected PCs who do not already know me, I am Ted Downing, former two term State Representative for LD28, an anthropologist, a U of Arizona faculty member, and a battled-scared activist for change both locally and globally (see my professional and political backgrounds (www.

I’m sure you have all heard about this, but you all with a link to read about the whole sorry affair.

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Filed under Barack Obama, George W Bush

Saturday, January 10th Maricopa County Republican Precinct Committeemen will meet and vote on leadership and resolutions. At the meeting, the MCRC Resolutions Committee will offer several resolutions for county precinct committeemen to vote on. These resolutions are legally non-binding and are meant to signal guiding principles and practices by all Republicans on specific issues. Here is the first in a series of these resolutions:

MCRC RESOLUTION #1
Resolution: In support of a Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR)

WHEREAS, undisciplined government spending and tax increases are a burden on taxpayers and harms economic performance; and

WHEREAS, spending by Arizona state government increased an average of twelve percent annually from fiscal year 2003-2004 through fiscal year 2007-2008 while the state economy grew at an average less than seven percent annually, a figure artificially inflated by the housing bubble; and

WHEREAS, Arizona state spending as a portion of state personal income rose from 5.

For Immediate Release: January 7, 2009
Contact: Brett Mecum, 602.957.7770

PULLEN NAMES MECUM INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Phoenix, AZ – Randy Pullen, chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, today named Brett Mecum as interim executive director of the Arizona Republican Party.

“Brett’s background, work ethic, and dedication have earned him my complete confidence,” said Pullen. “Brett knows the personalities, the operations, and what it takes to win. He is the clear choice for the job.”

“I look forward to continuing the work that we started two years ago,” said Mecum. “I have thoroughly enjoyed working for this state Republican Party as both communications and political director. It is truly an exciting time to be an Arizona Republican and I’m ready to continue to grow the Party and get Republicans elected to office.

Arizona Republican Party political director Brett Mecum will take the party's reins as executive director - temporarily, at least.
Mecum, who joined the state party in early 2007, takes over for Sean McCaffrey, who announced his resignation in recent weeks.
"Brett's background, work ethic and dedication have earned him my complete confidence," said state GOP Chairman Randy Pullen. "Brett knows the personalities, the operations and what it takes to win. He is the clear choice for the job."
Jeez, an endorsement like that makes it sound like Mecum may be more than just the "interim" pick.
A lot figures to depend on the outcome ...

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There’s all kinds of speculation about who would fill Maricopa County Supervisor Andy Kunasek’s seat on the board if Gov-to-be-Jan Brewer anoints her longtime Republican buddy with the high-profile Secretary of State gig. 
Two names are already surfacing if Kunasek goes SOS on us, the Insider hears.
Former Phoenix City Councilwoman Peggy Bilsten, whose signature crusade was against child prostitution. (You might remember that Bilsten also asked her staff to paint her house, half of which up and quit in disgrace towards the end of her term).
The other is former Maricopa Integrated Health System board member Paulina Vasquez-Morris, who didn’t run for reelection ...

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The East Valley Tribune website appears to be going through some changes. I’m not sure if these changes are permanent or dynamic but what I have noticed is that the graphics on the front page have gone to one color - red. Could this be part of cutting costs?

This was too good not to share with our readers.

Key legislative leaders want to ask Arizonans to repeal a constitutional amendment that bars legislators from trimming voter-approved programs.

And they want to take the issue to the ballot in a special election as early as March.

Russell Pearce, incoming chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said it will be virtually impossible to balance next year’s budget if almost half of the state’s spending is constitutionally off limits.

The Mesa Republican said lawmakers need the flexibility to make adjustments.

Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, who will be Pearce’s counterpart in the House, said putting the entire budget in play “would allow us to do (overall) cuts with more mercy.

State Treasurer Dean Martin said Monday he wants lawmakers to give him more flexibility over when he has to pay his bills to keep — or at least delay — the state from going in the red and eventually maybe even having to declare bankruptcy.

Martin also said he may need to borrow money just to keep the state’s checks from bouncing, something the state hasn’t done since the Great Depression.

Those options, he said, only help the problem of cash flow: More money going out than coming in. Martin said, though, the only real solution is for lawmakers to stop spending money so fast.