Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she plans to return to the national political stage — stumping for conservative issues and even Democrats – giving a brief glimpse into her plans just a week after abruptly announcing her departure from the governor’s post.
“I will go around the country on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation,” she said
“People are so tired of the partisan stuff – even my own son is not a Republican,” said the 45-year-old Palin, who stunned the political world earlier this month with her decision to step down as governor July 26 with 18 months remaining in her term.
She has made no secret of the fact that both her son, Track, 20, an enlisted soldier serving in Iraq, and her husband, Todd, are registered as “nonpartisan” in Alaska.
Palin confirmed signing a book contract — rumored to be $6 million or more. She declined to discuss other employment prospects, including becoming a television commentator, according to a fascinating three page report in the Washington Times.
Billions of dollars in federal aid — about $17 billion – in the first piece of the administration’s massive stimulus package, delivered directly to the local level to help revive the economy, have gone overwhelmingly to places that supported President Obama in last year’s presidential election.
What a surprise!
Counties that supported Obama last year have reaped twice as much money per person from the administration’s $787 billion economic stimulus package as those that voted for his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, a USA TODAY analysis of government disclosure and accounting records shows. That money includes aid to repair military bases, improve public housing and help students pay for college.
The reports show the 872 counties that supported Obama received about $69 per person, on average. The 2,234 that supported McCain received about $34.
An interesting Primary is shaping up in Legislative District 4, giving voters an unusually clear choice. Tony Bouie, the lifelong Democrat who opportunistically registered as a Republican just five days prior to opening his 2008 campaign for a Dist. 6 House seat, is back in campaign mode.
Bouie has reportedly said that he is targeting Rep. Judy Burges — the # 1 PAChyderm rated member of the Arizona House.
Term-limited LD 4 Sen. Jack Harper is running to join Rep. Burges in the House. Adding to the kafuffle Rep. Tom Boone has now filed an exploratory committee against announced candidate Scott Bundgaard, who is running for the senate in the district.
Anyone need a scorecard? The line forms on the right.
Bill Gates (no, not THAT one) selected to fill city council vacancy
Phoenix attorney Bill Gates has become the newest member of the Phoenix City Council, after coming in ahead of 18 other applicants for the post.
Gates, 37, is the in-house counsel for Karsten Manufacturing Corporation which manufactures Ping golf clubs and has lived in District 3 for over a dozen years.
He was elected on a 5 – 3 vote today. Councilwoman Peggy Neely nominated Gates, whom she said she had never met before.
Mayor Phil Gordon, along with council members Tom Simplot, Michael Johnson, Michael Nowakowski and Neely, voted for his confirmation. Council members Claude Mattox, Sal DiCiccio and Thelda Williams voted against Gates.
The daily reports that Gates was also recently appointed by Gov. Jan Brewer to a state regulatory commission, and said he would draw on his long-standing personal relationship with the governor and her family to benefit Phoenix. He grew up with Brewer’s son, Michael.
In recent days, aides to both Gov. Brewer and Sen. John McCain had lobbied the council to select Gates.
Gates will serve on an interim basis until the November special election, when he indicated he plans to run for the seat recently vacated by Maria Baier.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not happy.
He is so unhappy, in fact, that he has compared President Barack H. Obama to former President George W. Bush.
Reacting to Obama’s comment earlier in the week that he is “appalled and outraged” by political unrest, including approximately 20 deaths of protestors, following the disputed election in Iran, Ahmadinejad said, “Mr. Obama made a mistake to say those things — our question is why he fell into this trap and said things that previously Bush used to say.”
“Do you want to speak with this tone? If that is your stance then what is left to talk about? I hope you avoid interfering in Iran’s affairs and express your regret in a way that the Iranian nation is informed of it,” he added, according to a report in Reuters UK.
It appears to be official now that the daily’s Matt Benson has spoken with all-but-confirmed 2010 gubernatorial candidate Jim Pederson. The shopping center developer and former Arizona Democrat Party Chairman told Benson “a combination of factors” has lead to his decision to sit this race out.
Pederson, 66, is among the top tier of national contributors to Democrat candidates and issues.
In 2006, he lost a high-dollar Senate bid to incumbent Republican Senator Jon Kyl 53.3% – 43.5%. The race was reputed to have cost Pederson an estimated $10 million of his own funds.
The Republican 2010 gubernatorial field is beginning to capture the attention of politicos, with State Treasurer Dean Martin’s name now being mentioned as the latest possible candidate to challenge Gov. Jan Brewer — if she decides to throw her hat in the ring.
The Arizona House has voted to allow state citizens to decide the future of Arizona’s Civil Rights Initiative (SCR 1031) by placing it on the November 2010 ballot. State senators will vote on the measure next week.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Russell Pearce (R-Dist.18), will amend the state Constitution to prohibit state endorsed discrimination based on race or gender in public contracting, public employment or public education.
During the recent legislative hearing, nationally recognized civil rights advocate Ward Connerly testified. Connerly is credited with bringing California’s Proposition 209 to the people in 1996, where it passed handily with 54 percent of the vote.
Rep. Steve Montenegro (R-Dist.12) identified by his Hispanic ethnicity in the morning paper, called the measure an opportunity to tell government it can’t discriminate:
“I am appalled personally by the thought that government tells me that I am not good enough to compete,” said Montenegro.
Bravo!
Connerly, an author and former member of the California Board of Regents, is associated with the American Civil Rights Institute, which challenges the “race matters” mentality embraced by many of today’s so-called “civil rights leaders.” ACRI’s supporters believe that civil rights are individual rights and that government policies should not advocate group rights over individual rights. In addition to California, he also has been successful in Michigan, Nebraska and Washington.
In an exposé on the excesses and duplicity of Mayor Phil Gordon in awarding lucrative city contracts to his own family members, posted on this site on Monday, we included a separate item about District 3 City Councilwoman Maria Baier.
Little did we know that on Tuesday Governor Jan Brewer would be selecting the first term councilwoman to serve as the Arizona State Land Commissioner. This appointment is especially notable in view of the fact that the registered Republican Baier blatantly courted Democrats in her campaign with targeted mailers like this one.
In fact, Baier, 48, is so enamored with Napolitano that she willingly agreed to have her name appear on the Republicans for Janet website. It would seem Gov. Brewer might be able to find a more suitable Republican for the cushy job of overseeing the sale of state trust land — the proceeds of which pay for school construction.
Baier will officially resign her elected post today, further encumbering the cash-strapped city with the costs of scheduling a special election this fall to fill the vacancy created by her move.
Baier’s replacement will initially be appointed by the council and mayor and then will conveniently run as an incumbent in the special election. Since the council and mayor run as “non-partisans” there is no requirement that the nominal Republican Baier be replaced with even another nominal Republican.
Rep. Doug Quelland (R-Dist.10) has formally filed an appeal with the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings, challenging the findings of the Citizens Clean Elections Commission (CCEC) which last month ordered him to resign his elected office.
The unelected CCEC panel which previously ousted another elected Republican office holder, determined Quelland’s culpability absent any court proceedings, and demanded payment of $45,500 in fines when it accused him of violating campaign finance laws during his 2008 campaign — a charge he vehemently denies.
Quelland has hired attorney Tim Casey to represent him during the appeal process and promised his defense would be “nuclear.”
Pending the outcome of his appeal, Quelland can retain his seat, which represents northwest Phoenix and parts of Glendale. The daily covers the matter here.
In a separate matter, we have previously covered the matching funds provision of this problem-plagued scheme and the order of a U.S. District judge who ruled that a key provision of Arizona’s public campaign financing system violates constitutional free speech rights.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appeared on Right Now, a new series in the FOX News Sunday lineup – and inspired again.
Romney expressed confidence that the GOP will regain its strength.
“There have been other times when our party has been written off,” he told Fox News. “And what typically happens is that the party that gets all the power starts thinking good about themselves and overreaches, and the American people say they’ve gone too far. I think you’ll see the Republican Party come charging back.”
Asked if he would consider a 2012 presidential run, Romney said. “I’m not going to close that door, but I’m not going to walk through it either.”
Posted by seeingredaz 
Posted by seeingredaz 
Posted by seeingredaz 