Not known for using the best of judgment, Sen. John Huppenthal (R-Dist.20) has ticked off another constituency — and this time it’s the one he wants to sway to his camp.
Candidates for public office make good use of those oilcloth banners with grommet openings that are a staple at political events. Most often they are corded and hung aloft for maximum prominence. Usually they are six to eight feet in length, making them easily visible to crowds.
Huppenthal, a candidate for state Superintendent of Public Instruction, deserves an A+ for ingenuity, in ordering the largest banner in anyone‘s memory. Its enormous 24-foot expanse has to be a record-breaker in the history of Arizona political signage.
He gets an F- for thinking that it was acceptable to personally drill numerous holes in the wall of the auditorium at Saguaro High School where the GOP statutory meeting was held this past Saturday. School administrators were not amused and are billing the state party for the necessary repairs.
It’s not much of a guess where the party will forward the bill.
Bad judgment? No kidding! But not just regarding signs. Some Republicans erroneously consider Huppenthal a conservative. This message from the NRA should put that misconception to rest.
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?id=5003
I’m a life member of the NRA and remember receiving this “URGENT ALERT” this past June.
Uh, another elitist posing as a conservative?
Another ass.
Both of these comments are ridiculous. Two pin pricks are not “holes”, especially when there were mounting marks all over the place. Manufactured controversy. And, Huppenthal record on the second amendment is second to none. He was the deciding vote to bring concealed carry gun rights to Arizona, he supported restaurant carry, he voted for university carry.
He did support exemptions to trunk carry for sensitive installations such as extremely hazardous chemical sites. But, after that issue was dealt with, he voted for the bill.
Senator Huppenthal deregulated home schooling completely creating the best homeschool laws in the nation. He also successfully supported efforts to create parity for homeschoolers on college scholarships.
Sentor Huppenthal was named one of three leegisaltors most responsible for bringing tuition tax credits to Arizona.
Senator Huppenthal has a 17 year 100% prolife voting record.
Senator Huppenthal has successfully supported more tax reduction than any other sitting legislator.
Want to compare conservative records? Huppenthal’s is second to none.
Looks like Sen. Huppenthal is defending himself. The commenter even knows about the “pin pricks, and mounting marks.” I spoke to someone who saw him installing the sign and said he had a drill. That’s a bit more intense than pick pricks, which would not have been stable enough to hold the large banner, in any case.
LOL – OK Falcon 9. You got me.
I’ll want to run out to vote for Huppenthal for State Sup of Schools because he is supportive of homeschooling and tuition tax credit increases for private school? Because he is pro-life? Because he claims responsibility for lowering our taxes to the point where our public schools are 51st in the nation?
Which of the above facts indicates that he’d be a good leader for our state public schools? The gigantic ego banner drilled into the wall of a public school is just icing on the cake.
I don’t know much about Huppenthal so I have to defer to you all on what he is about and where he stands.
The sign is big because is last name is long. Having said that, sometimes less is more.
You are right, push pins won’t hold that weight, no way. I have hung signs up myself and know from experience.
A little joint compound and touch-up paint and five minutes of time and the problem is solved. The bill should be under a hundred bucks, if that. School administrators who submit a bill ought to consider the position he is running for before being hasty.
I thought a nice gal currently in the #2 position wanted to step-up and take Horne’s old job. You might want to give her a look.
My experience is there is no one without fault. Watch out that pointing out the sliver in someone else’s eye might be coming from one with a log in their own.
Huppenthal has been the driving force in making Arizona the leading state for parental choice in education. He has also shown a lack of judgment on a couple of occasions. I do not know anyone who can say they have a perfect record on exercising judgment.
Dugan has an incredible resume working within the system. She has been a good soldier for Horne and the current system, but I have visited her website and her vision does not include any reform agenda for a failed system. With 26 years experience, I would expect more from her.
There are no proposals that would do more than minor maintenance around the edges when the system needs to be picked up and shaken at its roots. Of the two candidates, I believe Huppenthal is more likely to do the necessary restructuring to bring fiscal sanity and a return to a focus on student achievement instead of protecting the educrats.
I will be listening between now and August for more ideas of reforming the system from both candidates.
nightcrawler,
I am not looking for a “nice gal”, which she probably is, I am looking for a person with a hard hat who will structurally alter the edifice from the foundation to the rooftop. My children were failed by our state school system and it has only gotten worse this decade.
Paycheck protection and union activism should not be the goal of K-12.
I don’t know too much about Mr. Huppenthal, but what I do know of him is on the Conservative side. The guy hung a sign, for cryin’ out loud. I certainly don’t claim to be a saint, never have been! I’ve gotten into some very hot H2O! But I learned my lessons. This guy was hangin’ a sign. let it go. If we’ve got some pertinant info that needs to seen by our intrepid bloggers, let ‘er rip. Otherwise…
Doc: This is not the first time Huppenthal has used appalling judgment. He actually engaged in a physical altercation with a nearly 80 year old woman last election cycle. In this instance, he brought along a drill and was seen making holes in the wall of the school auditorium. No, it’s not manslaughter, but it speaks volumes about the man.
I’m a PC in his district and can tell you that this par for his course. He thinks he is infallible.
Take a look at Margaret Dugan. She is far and away the best equipped for the job.
http://www.margaretdugan.com/about/
I particularly like her advocacy of English emersion for Spanish speaking children. She has real life experience in the field of education.
Huppethal works for Salt River Project as an analyst, and was supported by McCain. John McCain even compared Huppenthal to himself! That’s enough for me to look elsewhere! That also makes him a whole lot less than the conservative you think he is. The fact that Huppenthal accepted that support turns my stomach.
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2004/08/23/daily25.html
Thank You for the heads-up, Dist. 20 PC! I’m uneducated on Mr. Huppenthal, apparently. And I’m always ready to cut a guy a break…until I read that said guy is IN ANY WAY connected with ?senator? mccain. That eliminates any slack I normally cut.
As I stated, I learned my lessons. Anyone connected w/mccain is far to arrogant to pay attention in THAT class! Thanks, Again!!!
Excuse me if I repeat that Arizona needs structural reform in the district school system. Nothing that Dugan has done in her decades of service – indeed very successful sevice – or publicly pronounced or published on her own website as a candidate indicates that she is willing to lead in those major reforms. Huppenthal has been a leader in parental choice – with many points of entry from the arrows of the AEA.
A lot of people who have served a long time in an area believe that it is enough. I do not share that belief. I want to hear from both candidates as to their commitment to aggressively lead in the reform of this horrible system.
John Huppenthal, the same guy who messed up his auto-dialer calling everyone at 2 in the morning.
John Huppenthal … oh, John Huppenthal. Once again causing problems. At least this time it wasn’t some poor old lady…..
Editor’s note to JGreene:
We have taken the liberty of excising the last five words of your comment, since they were not factual.
The rest of your comment stands as written.
I admit that when this first was published, it caused me to question Huppenthal’s judgment. Now, however, the school says there was “no damage” and that his actions will result in “no cost to the school there will be no bill to the Party”. That said, the issue about the aggressive democrat activist who was stealing Huppenthal’s sign when he had permission from the manager of the property to place it there, is also twisted in its telling here.
To this point, it seems that Huppenthal’s description of “pin pricks” seems more on point than a portrayal of him showing up with a drill and damaging the school. Cheerlead, if you must, but make it a real story.